Short Bible Study

Here is another question one of my young Sunday School students asked: “why did God create Satan, knowing Satan would sin?”  Of course, it is an interesting question to ponder. Let’s begin by asking this: Is it true that God knew Satan would sin?   YES, of course!   God, undoubtably knew Satan would sin and even created him anyway. (If you look back at my February 18, 2023, post, “Did GOD Know it Before it Happened?”   You will see how the Bible demonstrates that God is omniscient—that is, He is ALL knowing.   There is nothing new to God.   His wisdom and intellect are beyond measure, beyond comprehension.   He exists outside of time and can see from the beginning to the end.   All things are finite, but God is infinite and everlasting (Psalm 90:2).) Let me make something clear first: as I stated in the last post, it was technically Lucifer who was created before he became Satan.   His transformation to Satan was a resultant of Lucifer’s transgression or rebellion, by, what I’

Recently, a young student in my Sunday School class asked, “How did Satan get his name?” This is a good question; a question that had never crossed my mind before.   I told him I’d give him the answer the following week because I really didn’t have it clearly formulated in my mind at that moment. Here’s my journey to the answer… The very first thing to realize (which we won't get into the specifics) is that God created Lucifer (son of the morning), not Satan.   Lucifer, who was created sinless and had free will, at some point before the creation of man, transgressed and fell by allowing his pride to be perverted due to his great beauty, brightness, and wisdom.   He thought that he could be like the Most High God, as the thoughts in his heart echoed.  At that very instant, with his will easily discovered by God, he became Satan. SATAN—DEFINE IT When I got home after class, I pulled out my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to look up the name “Satan”.   (This concordance is s

GOSPEL—LET’S DEFINE IT! I’d say most people in the United States of reasonable age have heard the term “gospel”—even non-churchgoers.  Also, I’d argue that if one has attended a “Christian” church for some length of time, they have heard the word “gospel” mentioned or preached at least once—whether they remember it or not. This word “gospel” seems to be a point of contention or even divisive at times within Christian or denominational circles. Some say there’s more than one “gospel” in the Bible, but others argue there is but only one “gospel”.  Regardless, before we go down that rabbit trail, let’s first look at what the word gospel means; so, we can have some initial point of agreement of its definition. The word “gospel” shows up 104 times in 98 verses in the King James Version Bible, all of which are in the New Testament.  The word gospel is an English translation of a few Greek words that have much the same meaning (without reviewing the subtle nuances).  Gospel simply means glad

THE WILL OF GOD: I'd first like to say, I'm not 'calling out' anyone.  You likely don't know the person and I don't even reference his or her name.  So let's get going! The question might be asked, "Why would you pick apart the following post or any other for that matter?"   The answer is that I want the will of God to be clear , and not for my glory, but for His. The clarity of the 'gospel of salvation' is the issue and it seems that most people water it down, muddy it up, and dilute it. It is of paramount importance that the gospel of your salvation be clear without mixture; because man’s eternal life with Christ depends on it.  And if one doesn’t rightly divide the Word of truth ( 2 Timothy 2:15 ), their message is generally confused or possibly corrupted. So what's the 'will' of God? 1 Timothy 2:4 “Who (God) WILL have ALL men to be SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the TRUTH. ” This is the ‘will’ of God. FA

I wrote a letter to someone whom I've known for over 35 years who has dealt with many hardships in her life but seems to always overcome them.  Now CANCER presents itself, trumps, and compounds the former. Some might ponder that there must be something better beyond this earth, in light of all the sickness and hardships we deal with daily and in this case the "C" word—CANCER, which leads oftentimes to the dreaded "D" word—DEATH. Cancer is horrible.  Cancer devastates.  Cancer destroys.  Cancer kills.  Cancer killed my mom recently. Do you know what is worse than CANCER?  SIN!  And where SIN will take you!  Cancer is a result of a sin-cursed world. Trusting in Christ beats CANCER every time!   Cancer only kills you once if you're in Christ because you are on to a better place thereafter ( Philippians 1:21 ). However, if you are still in the first man Adam, CANCER will be the first death.  But the second death, which cancer can't even hold a candle to, is

If you’re not sure whether you are going to heaven when you die, take this simple exam to determine with certainty.  On a scrap piece of paper, jot down the correct numbers or 1 through 13 representing answer(s) to the following question: How do I ensure I get to Heaven? By obeying God’s Law and Commandments By doing my best and treating others “right”. By living a good life. By doing good works (serving others, helping folks in need, etc.). By trying to obey the “Golden Rule” (treat others as you want to be treated). By tithing or giving money to the church. By church membership (that is, belonging to or becoming a member of a church) By praying to God. By being water-baptized. By partaking in Holy Communion. By being born of “Christian” parents. By confirmation. By penance. Which number or numbers did you choose?  If you chose any of the 13 answers listed, you have failed the exam.  Salvation is not found in even one of those an

Do you know what happens to YOU the very precise instant you are SAVED by grace through faith by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ’s shed blood at the cross of Calvary as payment for your sins? There are FIVE…count them…FIVE things that happen to you in the twinkling of an eye by which YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE! Do you know how fast the twinkling of an eye is?  According to Google, it is about one billionth of a second.  The following five things happen to you that fast after you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You can easily remember them by this simple acronym C.R.I.B.S. And here they are, in no order of importance, because they ALL occur simultaneously:   1)  You are spiritually CIRCUMCISED: Imagine a chain affixing or constraining your condemned soul and spirit to your dead, sinful body.  When you place your trust in Christ, at that very moment, your corrupt body of sin—that is, your sinful nature—is cut off by the operation of God and you are made alive, risen with Christ!  You a