Some people teach that in the end God is going to save all human beings, regardless of what they believed or even how they lived.Universalism is the conviction that all persons are so related to God that they will be saved, even if they never heard or believed the gospel. After all, John 3:16 says: … Continue reading –>
Picking up where we left off on Sunday, we can see that although the work of Christ provides the only means of salvation, some believe that explicit knowledge of Christ is not necessary in order for one to be saved. This does not imply that salvation is available apart from Christ but that God is … Continue reading –>
Some Christians have the conviction that only those who hear and respond positively to the Christian gospel can be saved. The people, sometimes called exclusivists, regard all non-Christian religions as constructs of fallen humans, which express willful rebellion against God. Non-Christians are, they believe for that reason, outside the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Some … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 4:12, Ps. 87:4-6, John 10:16, Rom. 2:12-16, John 14:6, Rom. 1:18. Memory Text: Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now … Continue reading –>
Gamini Mendis I remained in the hospital for two weeks in great pain, but slowly began to recover. Many pastors came to visit me. Some said that God struck me down because I had visited the Adventist church. The Adventist pastor visited me several times and brought me a book titled The Great Controversy. I … Continue reading –>
The apostle Paul has been compared with the Butterfly Effect in Chaos Theory: that the flap of a butterfly’s wings in California causes a hurricane in Asia. His work as a writer and preacher helped turn a Jewish sect in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire into a world religion. The ideas put forth … Continue reading –>
Paul was a hard worker with a strong personality and singleness of purpose. Such persons can be loners with few friends but many admirers. However, on his travels, two or three fellow workers often accompanied Paul. At least eight of these close fellow workers are mentioned by name (Acts 13:2; Acts 15:22, Acts 15:37; Acts 16:1-3; Acts … Continue reading –>
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2, NKJV). No question, the Cross of Christ was central to all that Paul lived and taught. But Paul didn’t teach the Cross in a vacuum; instead, he taught it in the context of other teachings, as well; … Continue reading –>
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law (Romans 3:31 NIV) . What law must Paul be talking about here? In English translations of Paul’s letters, the word law appears about one hundred thirty times, and in the Acts of the Apostles, about twenty times. Paul … Continue reading –>
As a skilled communicator, Paul in his mission work used the familiar to explain the unfamiliar. He took everyday features of the Greco-Roman world to illustrate the practical reality of new life in Christ. He drew especially from two areas of his converts’ world for his teaching metaphors—athletes with their games and the ever-present Roman … Continue reading –>
