“I will Sing of the Mercies” is one of my favorite hymns. I tend to gravitate toward songs that are simply scriptures put to a melody. The hymn is from Psalm 89:1, which says, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.” Such pleasant words, but what do they mean? What are the mercies of God? A closer look at the context within the Psalm will provide us with a fuller understanding of this subject. In the very next verse (Psalm 89:2), the psalmist records God’s […]

Can I be saved by simply being a good person? If God is going to save someone because they had lived a morally good life, then the plan of salvation is no longer valid and there is therefore no more need for God’s grace. If this idea is true, then our salvation is based on works, not grace. This way of thinking demands that God will look at our lives and base His decision of our salvation on whether we have been more good than we’ve been bad. Why then did Jesus die on the cross? Man could have been […]

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, the apostle Paul admonishes the brethren, saying, “Do not quench the Spirit.” But what does that mean? And does it apply today? There are many scriptures that deal with matters of the Holy Spirit that pertain solely to the first century, and therefore, have no direct application for us today. However, there are many other scriptures that also speak of the Holy Spirit, and these transcend the first century and apply throughout time; this is one of those scriptures. Today, if we are not careful, we can easily quench the Spirit of God in our lives, […]

There is an alleged contradiction in the number of angels that appeared at the tomb of Jesus on the day that He was raised from the dead. Luckily, we have some excellent information on this because all four gospel accounts record angels at the tomb; all we need to do is put the puzzle pieces together into one harmonious picture. Interestingly, each account only gives one part of the story of the angels present that great day. Not one account repeats another, so we will not read about the same angel in any given two accounts. Matthew 28:1-8 Matthew’s account […]

Jews In a way, this term came around much later than the biblical text. The many times that it appears in the Old Testament, it is in place of the Hebrew word that would best be translated as “Judahite”. The word comes from the Hebrew word for Judah, one of the 12 sons of Jacob, and literally means a descendant of Judah. However, since the Babylonian captivity, the term was applied to any Hebrew person, no matter if they were an actual descendant of the tribe of Judah. The Hebrew word was translated into Greek, then Latin, while maintaining a […]

Below is a compilation of properly sourced information of what many of the major religions believe today concerning salvation. Followed by this is a data chart that shows how people were saved in the days of the 1st Century church. How close or how far apart are religions today from the biblical record? The Catholic Church We are Inheritors of original sin and all its consequences. The saving grace won by Jesus is offered as a free gift to us through: Repentance Faith Baptism Source: catholic.com   Southern Baptist Salvation is by grace alone, all that is left for us […]

            I believe there are two types of small churches. One of them desires to grow but does not. The other desires to grow and does. The reason for this difference is the amount of work done toward the goal. Growth is driven by a broad spectrum of reasons, I’ll briefly discuss a couple of them here. Growth is driven by excitement. As a congregation gets a little taste of growth, the excitement level soars, causing even more involvement in inviting people to church or a bible study. This excitement level can easily continue as long as new faces continue […]

Question: “Since we follow the apostles’ examples for authority, why don’t we kneel when we pray? (References: Acts 7:60, 9:40, 21:5; Mark 1:40, Matthew 17:14, 18:26, 20:20, Psalms 95:6)” It is true that we must follow the Apostles’ example as the Holy Spirit worked through them in the First Century establishing doctrinal teachings and practices. However, that also implies that we do not follow absolutely everything that the apostles did, only the things that pertain to doctrine. We would weary ourselves trying to do everything the apostles did, whether it be eating only foods with ingredients available in their marketplaces, […]

There are a number of ways to answer this question. First, he absolutely does have a plan for you and everyone else on this earth. A plan for us that is so important that it is the cause for every page of the Bible. God designed a plan for man to live with Him eternally. God first wants man to hear about His plan. This is accomplished through the revelation of His plan documented in the pages of the Bible (Romans 16:25). Then, it is through the spreading of His revelation by His disciples that this is fully accomplished (Matthew […]

Question: “What was the first language?” The first language, the language of Adam and Eve, has been lost, with no hope of rediscovery. While it is clear from the book of Genesis that Adam and Eve and their descendants had a spoken language, we have no idea what language it was, or how long it survived. From the creation of man to the universal flood was 1,565 years. A lot can happen in 1,500 years, and if more recent history is an indication, the original language likely evolved over time into different languages. But if there were any documentation of […]