Many Christians still struggle with the relationship between faith and works. Are we saved by our good works? No. Are we saved by our faith and good works? No. Are we saved by faith that works? No. Then How are we saved? We are saved by faith FOR good works. This is a huge paradigm … [Read more…]
“Give me a text from the Bible,” she said. “Okay, how about this one,” he replied. “That doesn’t mean what you think it means. See I told you that you don’t have any scriptures that back up your beliefs.” “How about this one over here.” “You are completely misguided. You don’t know how to read … [Read more…]
Over the past few days I have been meditating on what it means to be a Seventh-day Adventist. It is obvious to say that being a member of the church means one is willing to support the official teachings of the church as documented in the Statement of Beliefs. However, while the church pushes for … [Read more…]
As a Gospel Adventist, I believe that the Ten Commandments are the eternal law of God. This is the law by which all human beings are judged. This is the law that condemns us all. The law has never changed, and God still requires obedience to ALL His commandments. What has changed is that we … [Read more…]
Is Doctrine Important to our Salvation? God reveals truth to us through the scriptures. We ignore the essential teachings at our own risk. If bad theology is the result of an innocent error then God may overlook our ignorance. However, if we willfully reject the plain teaching of His word then we run the risk … [Read more…]
People tell me over and over again that my beliefs about the Bible are simply a matter of personal interpretation. But that statement assumes truth cannot be known as objective fact. No one agrees 100 percent of the time, yet there are some basic undeniable facts. For example, if a person jumps off an airplane … [Read more…]
Popular athiests have recently published books about the pros of atheism and the cons of Christianity. One reason they promote for rejecting the existence of God is they believe all religion is merely a cultural bias based on tradition. One of the atheist’s favorite expression is “Christians are only Christians because they live in a … [Read more…]
I almost do not want to write about this subject. Many times, I have come close to giving up on any attempt to communicate this message. I am not even sure that I completely understand all of the implications that arise because of my conclusions. However, it is an important message to understand in the … [Read more…]
There are two ways of looking at the universe. One way is to claim that energy is eternal. If this is the case, then an intelligent designer is not a necessary cause for human existence. Another way of looking at the natural world is that an intelligent creator is the source of all energy, and … [Read more…]
I had breakfast with George Vandeman, the famed Adventist evangelist from the It is Written television broadcast, and we talked about the Book of Revelation and the Mark of the Beast while we ate our morning pancakes at a Northern New England Camp Meeting many years ago. We both agreed that the Mark of the … [Read more…]
PAUSE. Reflect on what it means to be in the presence of ultimate power, wisdom, and source of life. PRAISE. Begin by thanking God for all of the blessings He has already bestowed. There is always something for which we can be grateful. POUR. Tell God what is on your mind and don’t hold back. … [Read more…]
Arthur White, grandson of Ellen G. White, related the following story about his grandmother’s influence at general conference session of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church during the later years of her life. The SDA church had grown to 750,000 members worldwide, and a small group of general conference leaders were reluctant to restructure the church … [Read more…]
God is real. He is as real as the air we breathe and the water we drink. The creator of the universe is as real as the heavens and earth that we observe in the natural world. The divine king of creation is as real as the printed page of divine revelation that reads, “In … [Read more…]
In my last article, The Investigative Judgment, I stated that it pays to have an open mind concerning the actual meaning of the 2300 days prophecy. I can see the value of the 2300 days prophecy when it comes to predicting the first advent of Jesus Christ, but the significance of the year 1844 … [Read more…]
Do Gospel Adventists believe in the investigative judgement? Do we believe that God judges both the righteous and wicked prior to the second coming of Jesus to decide their place in eternity? The answer to this question is yes. The problem has never been about whether there is an investigative judgement (IJ), but the real … [Read more…]
The Seventh-day Adventist church founded by James White, Ellen White, and Joseph Bates, started out as a progressive movement that resisted the biblical dogmatism of its day. The scholars in the church were consistently revising its biblical theology as new information was received through Bible study and prayer. It was with much reluctance that the … [Read more…]
Many people wonder how God speaks to me. How can I claim to speak the words of God unless I am able to discern the voice of God? It took me awhile to be able to explain how I am able to separate the word of God from my own inner voice. The simplest … [Read more…]
I am not convinced the judgment actually began in 1844, but that is most certainly the year God spoke to draw the world’s attention to this message. May I add, Christians are not judged by their own works in the judgment as a means to salvation. Christians are justified by the perfect works of Christ … [Read more…]
The authors of the Life Application Study Bible stated our galaxy spins at 490,000 miles per hour. Even at that speed, it still takes 200 million years to make one full rotation. If that does not overwhelm your senses, add one billion other galaxies into the equation. Cosmologists estimated the number of stars in the … [Read more…]
Christianity is not merely a matter of personal interpretation of bible doctrines. Christ commands that we know Him as opposed to false teachers. Christ warned us about being deceived, and Paul proclaimed that people believing in a false gospel were cursed. At the same time, we need only to understand the bare essentials of … [Read more…]
Betrand Russell, a famous Atheist in his day, wrote in his book “Why I am Not a Christian” that Jesus misled the disciples, because He told them that His second coming would happen within their generation. In response to the disciples asking about His second coming, after giving a few signs to look for Jesus … [Read more…]
The doctrine of justification by faith alone is what sparked the protestant reformation in 1517. On October 31, a Catholic priest named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of All Saints Church protesting the abuses of the Catholic Church regarding the sale of indulgences. The document was meant to start a local … [Read more…]
Jesus, the divine Son of God, proclaimed to the crowds during the Sermon on the Mount, “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink: nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life … [Read more…]
Martin Luther, the icon of the protestant reformation, said it best when he proclaimed the doctrine of Justification by faith to be articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesiae “the article of faith that decides whether the church is standing or falling” (Packer). The doctrine of Justification by faith is not only one out of many church … [Read more…]
The only thing that any minister of the gospel can do is share what we believe is the truth with honesty and conviction. We cannot convince anyone to change their mind unless those people see the need for change. The role of the Holy Spirit is to convict people of their need. Our job is … [Read more…]
What does it mean to be not “Under Law” but “Under Grace”? When the New Testament scriptures state we are not “Under Law” but “Under Grace” it means we are no longer subject to the penalty of the law and are not subject to its condemnation. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who … [Read more…]
“Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” Luke 6:26, NIV I fear many Christians are afraid to speak their minds about God’s word. They worry that other people will turn against them, or that they might offend someone who is opposed to the … [Read more…]
Christians have the assurance they are part of the family of God. Genuine faith rests in the promises of God’s word. Our human nature wants to question our salvation or doubt our fitness to enter into the heavenly kingdom. God wants us to trust that He has forgiven us and that we are part of … [Read more…]
“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14, NLT The BAD NEWS is that every human being is under a death penalty and we cannot save ourselves from this ultimate end. The gospel … [Read more…]
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and … [Read more…]
The Holy Scriptures tell a story in the book of John about Nicodemus, who was a high-level leader of the Jewish people and a member of a conservative sect of Judaism called the Pharisees. Nicodemus wanted a private meeting with Jesus to discuss the theological implications of the miracles He was performing, and to find … [Read more…]
“ One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12, NIV). One of the major hallmarks of Jesus’s earthly ministry was His personal prayer life. He understood His dependence on the Father for the power to live a perfect life. As a result, He … [Read more…]
Here is a quote from Ellen White for all the legalists who believe they must add works to the list of requirements for salvation: “He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility.” ~ Desire of Ages, P. 172 It might be tempting to turn … [Read more…]
How does anyone survive in this world full of sick and twisted human beings? Examples of man’s inhumanity to mankind are everywhere and include perverted torture, rape, slavery, and serial murder. Men and women possessed by evil demons are rampant and enjoy causing pain and suffering. Then there are people who drink and drive, and … [Read more…]
What is the central teaching of the Christian faith? The following verse is the thesis statement of the entire Bible and the single thread that runs through every doctrinal teaching of Holy Scripture: Acts 4:12, NIV: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by … [Read more…]
Why did Jesus leave the paradise of heaven to come to earth where He would be rejected and despised by human beings? Luke 19:10 gives us the answer to this mystery: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (NIV). From this verse we can learn (a) Jesus became a … [Read more…]
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17, KJV I have no doubt that end-time saints will receive a special blessing from God for keeping His commandments. This blessing … [Read more…]
I am not sure that I would understand the good news about Jesus if I didn’t understand the nature of what the law of God requires. It seems that God reveals His law to show us how far we have fallen into sin, and only then do we start asking the question: How is … [Read more…]
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job 13:15, KJV This verse of Holy Scripture is one of the oldest texts in the history of the world. It comes from the book of Job which many believe to be older than the biblical … [Read more…]
The simple truth of God’s word has a power all of its own to convince its listeners that it is divine revelation. The essentials of Christianity are easy to understand, and we must present them in a language that is crystal clear for those who are listening. The simple truths, once understood, are the keys … [Read more…]
If you are a Christian then you have a spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit is giving you to minister to His church. This gift has been given to you to help spread the message of eternal salvation in Jesus Christ around the world. You don’t have to wait to become a leader in your … [Read more…]
There are two major obstacles to genuine spirit-filled walk with Jesus Christ. The two theological terms that describe these obstacles are legalism and relativism. These are big words that describe the two ends of a spectrum. Legalism is putting conditions on salvation other than simple faith in Jesus. A legalist will tell you that salvation … [Read more…]
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16, NIV As I was growing up, I grew accustomed to Christians who focused primarily on the law of God and seemed to ignore the gospel. Now it is popular in many circles to focus only on the … [Read more…]
The world is changing around us and the way our parents did things will no longer work in today’s economic and political landscape. The corporations that used to be the economic engine of the United States have abandoned their core principles leaving many people unemployed. Wages are down and costs are high. This is not … [Read more…]
In my last post, I wrote about how the Bible teaches only God is immortal. But this has brought up the question about where people go when they die. Do people go straight to heaven or hell when they die, or do they wait until they are resurrected at the second coming? The experts have … [Read more…]
“God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” ~1 Timothy 6:15-16, NIV One of the reasons that Christians believe that God tortures people … [Read more…]
“Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,” ~ Psalm 94:12, ESV Over the past 40 years of my life, I have had some wonderful Bible teachers. I have sat at the feet of countless pastors and evangelists who poured their knowledge into me and taught … [Read more…]
There are many in the Christian churches who do not have a clear grasp of salvation in Jesus Christ. No one has taught them that salvation involves a past, present, and future reality. The Bible teaches that we have been saved, are being saved, and will be saved. This is what I call the golden … [Read more…]
As a body without blood is a lifeless corpse, a message without the blood of Christ at the center is doomed to fail. While intellect may be aroused with the logic of the scriptures, and emotions stirred by the holy love of God for sinful humanity, it is the preaching of the cross of Christ … [Read more…]
There are many popular theories floating around in the 21st century scientific community, and even a few more in modern theological seminaries. But I am here to tell you that Christians do not believe in a “Theory of Salvation”. There is nothing theoretical about Christ’s teaching on the gospel. If the Bible is the inspired … [Read more…]