Grace in Focus – November/December 2015
World Missions and John 3:16
By Jeff Ropp I firmly believe that every disciple of Jesus Christ should be concerned about world missions (Matt 28:18-20). When I speak of world missions I am referring to the sending of authorized believers to people of other faiths to make disciples of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 gives reasons why we should be involved
The Range of Inerrancy: Correction and Clarifications
In the May/June issue of Grace in Focus Magazine I reviewed a book by Dr. Craig Blomberg, Can We Still Believe the Bible? After the article appeared, I was very sorry to learn that I had misrepresented Blomberg. I made it seem that he personally held to the interpretations of particular passages that he merely
The Building Block of Virtue
We are living in a world that is becoming increasingly notorious for its moral decadence. As a culture we have become “de-moralized” in the most literal sense of that word. The English historian and philosopher Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) said that we are the first generation of man to try to build a society without a
Thanksgiving…With Tears
“For we do not grieve as those without hope” (1 Thess 4:13). Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, not just for turkey dinners and a day off work, but because it is an annual reminder — often overlooked but ever-present— that we have much to be thankful for. The one we are thankful to, of course,
An Incorruptible Crown (1 Corinthians 9:14-27)
By H. A. Ironside1 The Divine Competition In 1 Cor 9:24 Paul has been speaking of service, of his own call to preach the gospel, and of the importance of faithfully fulfilling his ministry. Then he uses the striking illustration of these closing verses: Know ye not that they which run in a race run
Have You Heard a Confusing Gospel?
Did you understand the gospel the first time you heard it? I sure didn’t. I was in church sporadically for at least five years before it ever clicked for me. I don’t know why I didn’t understand it right away. Was it because I wasn’t spiritually ready to hear it? Was it because no one
Why the Emphasis on “Father” in John’s Gospel?
The first member of the Trinity is referred to as the Father throughout the New Testament. However, while we might expect the usages to be fairly uniform from book to book, they are not. There are less than ten uses in most of the books of the New Testament. Luke and 1 John have over
When the Holy Spirit Came (Acts 2:1-21)
God’s Harvest Program The three central feasts of Judaism, at which every male was commanded by the Old Testament to gather, have symbolic, typological significance: Passover speaks of redemption (the Cross). Pentecost is connected with harvest (the Church). Tabernacles anticipates full blessing (the Kingdom). Leviticus 23:17 and Num 28:26 connect Pentecost with harvest and first-fruits.
Words of Life in John 6
In John 6:26ff, the Lord has an extended conversation with a large crowd of Jews. Some of the things Jesus says are easy to understand. He says that it is the will of the Father that all who believe in Him may have eternal life and that Jesus will raise the believer up on the
My Testimony
By Gary Edmonson Without going into too much detail, I’ll just briefly outline my experience in all this. I grew up with almost no knowledge of Jesus Christ and never once attended any church until I was 17 years old, at which time I attended an evangelistic meeting where I was basically manipulated into walking
The Battlefield
Throughout history there have been many wars and many different battlefields. For example, World War II was fought across forests, deserts, oceans, and jungles. While the battlefields were different, the enemy was the same. Over the course of the church’s history there have been many different contested issues (battlefields). Today, there is an attack upon