By Bryan Threlkeld A Cry of Dereliction One of the most challenging statements in Scripture was uttered by our Lord Jesus Christ while hanging on the cross. It’s sometimes known as the Cry of Dereliction. I want to take us back to that Friday afternoon some 2000 years ago and talk about this. In Matt

By Ken Yates USOM. My guess is that these four letters mean absolutely nothing to anybody reading this magazine. But they mean a great deal to me, even though I don’t know what the letters stand for. USOM was the name of the very small military installation I lived on when I lived in Pusan,

By Bob Wilkin Yesterday I received a call from a pastor friend in Nebraska. Someone who attended his church took exception to him referring to believers as sinners. The man said, “Believers are saints, not sinners.” Evidently the man was coming from a Calvinist tradition. He thought that believers cannot stray very far or for

By Staff Q: I am a Christian who has struggled with three texts: the blasphemy against the Spirit texts, Hebrews 6, and Hebrews 10. Regarding the blasphemy verses, they seem to teach that a person could utter blasphemy against the Spirit, repent, and then the Lord would choose not to save him/her. I’m not sure

By Staff Judged According to Works? Q: In Rom 2:6-10, Paul tells us that God will “render to each one according to his deeds” and we will be sent to “eternal life” or “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish” based upon those deeds. How, then, can you teach that salvation is by faith apart from

By Zane C Hodges with Robert N. Wilkin {This is Chapter 9 from the new book Tough Texts: Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works?} Bob Wilkin (BW): To understand what Jesus is talking about in this passage, it is crucial to recall the context of the Olivet Discourse and to review its parabolic structure. In

By Zane Hodges {This is Chapter 10 from the new book Spiritual Lessons from the Life of David} How starkly does the attitude of Jonathan towards David contrast with the attitude now seen in King Saul. Whenever God is at work, as He clearly was with David, Satan is also at work to oppose Him.

By Shawn Lazar {This is Chapter 3 from the new book Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation} My college roommate had a talent for card tricks. It infuriated me. He had this one trick called The Slapstick. First, he’d shuffle a deck of cards and ask me to pick one without showing

By Bill Fiess For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10). I believe that the city which Abraham waited for in Heb 11:10 is Jerusalem/the New Jerusalem (in the Millennium and on the new earth, respectively). A key to seeing this is that the author of

By Zane C. Hodges {This is Chapter 3 from the new book First Peter: The Salvation of the Soul} The transforming work of God by which our “souls” are transformed and prepared for glory will touch every area of our earthly experience. The first such area, and the core area of all Christian experience, is