Biblical Teachings

AT THE HEART OF THE MATTER

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The crucifixion was an event that can never be duplicated and will never need to be repeated AT THE HEART OF THE MATTER How the Crucifixion Saves Us By Charles F Stanley The cross is the heart of the Christian life. The crucifixion is the divine transaction that saves us. Only the blood of Christ can cleanse us from sin and reconcile us to the Father. Although the Jews and the Romans viewed the crucifixion as the execution of a criminal, God saw it as the perfect atoning sacrifice that allowed Him to justify sinful mankind. Christ’s sacrifice surpassed all …

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The Trap of Discouragement

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The circumstances that trigger despair may be unavoidable, but how we respond is a choice The Trap of Discouragement Habakkuk 1:2 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Do you ever feel stuck in discouragement? If so, you are not alone. At some point, everyone experiences dashed hopes. Disappointment—an emotional response to a failed expectation—is the normal initial reaction. But allowed to linger, it can turn into discouragement, which hovers like a dense cloud. When that’s the case, there is no sense …

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Does God Let Your Prayers Go Unanswered?

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Does God Let Your Prayers Go Unanswered? In my fifty years of leadership and teaching at Dallas Theological Seminary I saw many dramatic answers to prayer. But I have also seen many of my prayers go unanswered. The answered prayers have built my faith, strengthened my walk with God, and given me hope in the midst of perplexing problems. But the silence of God creates tension for me. I find God’s silence difficult or sometimes impossible to explain. Is God Really Silent? Because of this tension, I have done a great deal of thinking and a great deal of Scripture-searching. …

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“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”— Genesis 1:4

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“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”— Genesis 1:4 A believer has two principles at work within him. In his natural estate he was subject to one principle only, which was darkness; now light has entered, and the two principles disagree. Mark the apostle Paul’s words in the seventh chapter of Romans: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against …

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27 – Jesus Fulfilled The Law Part II

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Jesus made some statements in the Sermon on the Mount addressed to the Pharisees that would be in sharp contrast with the Old Testament Law. Even though the fundamental Law was the 613 commandments within the Torah, the common understanding of it expanded to the entire Old Testament by the time of Jesus’ first advent. During the early Second Temple period the religious authorities had left Old Testament Mosaic Law in favor of Rabbinic Judaism. Rabbinic Judaism is based on a man-centered philosophy. It also tied people up with so many conditions and rules there was no way a Jew …

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Take a Look at Your Future (It’s Beautiful!)

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Take a Look at Your Future (It’s Beautiful!) Long, long ago, before man was created, the universe was flawlessly beautiful. The morning stars sang together and the angels shouted for joy. That is how God Himself describes the wonder of creation before angels fell and man sinned (Job 38:7). In that glorious day there was no sorrow or pain in God’s creation. Joy and peace reigned everywhere. But when sin entered the universe through the fall of Satan and spread to the human race, God predicted that sorrow would replace joy. To Eve He said, “I will greatly multiply thy …

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Take a Look at Your Future (It’s Beautiful!)

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Take a Look at Your Future (It’s Beautiful!) Long, long ago, before man was created, the universe was flawlessly beautiful. The morning stars sang together and the angels shouted for joy. That is how God Himself describes the wonder of creation before angels fell and man sinned (Job 38:7). In that glorious day there was no sorrow or pain in God’s creation. Joy and peace reigned everywhere. But when sin entered the universe through the fall of Satan and spread to the human race, God predicted that sorrow would replace joy. To Eve He said, “I will greatly multiply thy …

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“Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth.” Judges 16:6

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“Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth.” Judges 16:6 Where lies the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is–an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, “My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain his Word will be fulfilled.” Then faith thinketh, “Who gave this promise?” It considereth not so much its greatness, as, “Who is the author of it?” She remembers that it is God who cannot …

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SAVED BY GRACE

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SAVED BY GRACE Ephesians 2:4-10 (KJV) 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the …

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JESUS IS GOD

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JESUS IS GOD When Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man”, He spoke in reference to His Divine Incarnate self, and to the fact that He had become a human in order to bring atonement to the world. This is His Messianic title. Jesus referred to Himself by this title about 80 times in various aspects of His divine mission. These aspects are 1) His coming to be the Savior of the world in order to forgive sins, 2) His rejection and betrayal, 3) His death and resurrection, 4) His position as final Judge, and 5) His second coming …

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Do You Really Believe in Jesus?

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Do You Really Believe in Jesus? Have you ever really believed in Jesus Christ? I was talking to my five-year old son. He replied quickly, “Of course, dad.” “But have you ever really been saved? How do you really know you are saved?” He replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,.” He ripped off the words as fast as his little mouth could phrase them. It was a verse he had memorized, and he had heard it explained so many times. Perhaps you would have answered just as he did. “Of course I am saved. …

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