The End Time – An Overview

Posted by on Nov 15, 2009 in Prophecy

The scriptures not only tell us how this world began, they also tell us how it will end. The events in the end times are full of political drama and universal destruction and catastrophes like the world has never known. The scriptures tell us in prophetic detail what to expect next.

The Rapture

The next event in prophecy is the rapture of the Church, called in scripture the catching away of the saints.

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

At the rapture the dead in Christ will be resurrected and the living saints will be transformed, both receiving immortal, glorified bodies (Doctrines of the Bible, p. 282).

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Heaven and Hell

Posted by on Nov 14, 2009 in Eternity

We will all spend eternity somewhere, and we only have two choices: heaven or hell. The scriptures tell us that everyone will live forever in either heaven or hell, with God or with the devil, in paradise or in torment. The choice is ours.

When we die, our body is laid down into its final resting place. Our soul and spirit is no longer there, because death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. Our soul also goes to a resting place – awaiting the final judgment. The soul of a person that is righteous goes to a place of rest. The soul of the sinner goes to a place of punishment.

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Gifts of the Spirit

Posted by on Nov 13, 2009 in Gifts of the Spirit

Gifts of the Spirit are gifts that God gives to members of the body of Christ for edification of the Church.

1 Corinthians 12:7-12  7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;  9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;  10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:  11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.  12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

The Gifts of the Spirit are miraculous and fall within one of three categories: gifts of revelation, gifts of power, and gifts of utterance (Bernard, p. 86).

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Holiness Standards

Posted by on Nov 12, 2009 in Holiness

Holiness standards are universal and unchanging. They are built upon Biblical principles that define how we act, look, and sound.

Attitudes

Christians must have a Christ-like attitude toward others.

Galatians 5:19-23  19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

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Principles of Holiness and Christian Living

Posted by on Nov 9, 2009 in Holiness

God has given His people a call to be separate. He has given His people a call to be set apart from the world. He has given His people a call to be holy. In His Word, God gives us principles that guide our walk into holiness.

We are to place God first in our lives and put the cares of this world behind us.

Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Prayer

A holy life requires daily prayer. God expects us to have a daily prayer life. Through prayer we receive strength and Spiritual guidance from God.

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Introduction to Holiness

Posted by on Nov 7, 2009 in Holiness

Holiness is a part of our daily walk with God. It is just as essential as knowing who our God is and how to be saved.

Hebrews 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

We are to be holy because God is holy.

1 Peter 1:15-16  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

What is holiness? Holiness is a separation from sin and a dedication to God (Bernard, p. 32).

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

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Salvation Part 2 – Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost

Posted by on Nov 5, 2009 in Salvation

Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews that believed Jesus was sent from God. He came to see Jesus by night and Jesus told him about being born again.

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus didn’t understand what Jesus meant.

John 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

Jesus explained what he meant by being born again.

John 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

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Salvation Part 1 – Grace, Faith, and Obedience

Posted by on Nov 3, 2009 in Salvation

Adam and Eve were created without sin. When they disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit, sin entered into the world. Because of their disobedience, we are all born into sin. God’s holiness requires atonement for sin. To solve this, God provided a way to push back the wages of sin until the ultimate sacrifice could be given. God took animal sacrifices until He Himself was manifest in flesh to become the sacrifice for our sins.

We are lost without salvation, but God provides salvation by His grace.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Remission of sins requires shedding of blood.

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Who is Jesus

Posted by on Oct 31, 2009 in Godhead

The Old Testament tells us that God would come in the form of a man. This manifestation of God in flesh would not be another person as if God is made up of individual people; it would be the one God Himself manifest in flesh. Jesus was both man and God- human and divine. As a man, he was completely human with a human body, soul, and spirit. As God, he was completely God- not a part of God; not a person within God; he was all the fullness of God. Jesus is the one God incarnate.

Jesus is the Word made flesh.

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word in Greek is Logos, which means thought, plan, mind, reasoning, word, center of consciousness, speech. Strong’s’ entry for Logos from the New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words is:

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The Doctrine of God

Posted by on Oct 29, 2009 in Godhead

There are many verses in the Bible that say there is one God. The scriptures use terms like Holy One of Israel, no god beside me, none else, alone, by myself, etc. Many religions claim to believe this fundamental truth, but what is meant by ‘one God’? How is God one? Are there three Gods that are one in unity? Is there one God that exists in three personas? Is there one God that simultaneously exists as three individual persons? Is there one God in three forms? Is there one God in number, with many attributes and manifestations? What do the scriptures say?

The scriptures declare that God is one in number:

Deuteronomy 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD

Exodus 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

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Creation and the Existence of God

Posted by on Oct 27, 2009 in Creation

The Bible tells us that God is the cause of the existence of the universe and everything in it.

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

One of the most important and essential concepts that we can believe and understand is that God exists and that God created all things. All doctrine is built upon this foundation. If we do not believe in the existence of God, nothing else matters. The scriptures do not attempt to prove that God exists. Instead, we see by creation itself that there must have been a creator (Rom. 1:20).

Romans 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse

There are three explanations for the existence of the universe:

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Introduction to the Bible

Posted by on Oct 25, 2009 in The Bible

Since the purpose of this site is to present studies in the scriptures, I thought I should start with an introduction to the Bible.

The Bible is the word of God. It is not man’s writings about God. God led men in writing His word. God told them what to write and He guided the writing process.

2 Timothy 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

The Bible is God’s written word to man. The scriptures themselves claim to be the Word of God. There are many evidences we can look at to determine that the Bible is truly the word of God (Bernard, p. 10):

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