In general, Gnosticism was the belief that matter itself is evil and spirit is good, the body being a prison of the soul. Philosophers who tried to combine this belief system with Christianity insisted that Jesus could not have had a human body (since bodies are evil) and therefore could not have been crucified.
The people of Athens were known to be quite religious, worshipping a host of nature gods. They even had set up an altar “to the unknown god.” Paul pounced on this point of contact to declare unto them the God they didn’t know.
April 22, 2009 - 10:19 pm
Tags: Billy Graham, catholicism, CBN, Colson, cults, false prophets, persecution, religion, saints, TBN
Posted in Cults, Occults and False Religions, Killing Sacred Cows | 6 comments
The evangelical church today is being seduced as never in its history. It faces a danger so grave that, although we have discussed this problem before, it must be addressed again with new insight and vigor. If evangelicals succumb to the seduction, as they increasingly are doing, then their gospel witness will be submerged in [...]
“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” (Ephesians 2:14)
This middle wall of partition is a figure with important symbolic applications. The only specific Old Testament reference to a partition is to the wall shielding the Holy Place in the Temple of God as built by Solomon.
“So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.” (1 Kings 6:21)
This gold-covered wall separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, where God met annually with the high priest at the Ark of the Covenant. Apparently the opening through the partition was covered with a thick veil, preventing others from entering or even seeing the Ark inside. But that veil was rent, and soon the wall itself torn down, when Christ died and rose again, forever opening the way to God for all who would come in faith through Him (Hebrews 10:19-20).
February 25, 2009 - 6:03 pm
Tags: angry, bible, Christianity, Ephesians, father, fool, gifts, God, heart, hike4fathers, Jesus Christ, Lord, psalms, saints, speech, thanks, william cody bateman, witness
Posted in Ba-manna-bread | No comments
In the Book of Ephesians are included several guidelines for the Christian’s speech–how we should talk and what we should talk about. These are not easy rules to follow, but are necessary if we would please our Savior and be effective in our Christian lives and witness.
As our text indicates, vulgar talk, idle chatter, and coarse jesting should “not be once named among you, as becometh saints” (5:3). “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (4:29).
The same applies to bitter, angry, malicious speech. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” (4:31). And certainly our communications should be true and trustworthy. “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” (4:25).
February 25, 2009 - 6:03 pm
Tags: bible, Christianity, gifts, God, hike4fathers, hiker, Jesus Christ, law, letter, Lord, religion, repentance, sacrifice, Son, Technorati Tags: mercy, truth
Posted in Ba-manna-bread | No comments
“But go ye and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).
The Lord Jesus called all who would be His disciples to “learn of me” (or “from me,” Matthew 11:29), and our text verse contains the first use of “learn” in the New Testament, thus indicating a basic item we must learn when we become Christians.
This verse is at the heart of Paul’s beautiful exposition of the growth, one by one, of the great body of believers who will eventually comprise “the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23). Here the figure of a great building is used, “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).
Upon this strong foundation the building is erected, with each stone being selected and prepared by God for its own specific place in the beautiful edifice. The stones, of course, are individual believers. These “lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5), and like the beautiful temple of Solomon, where “the glory of the Lord filled the house” (2 Chronicles 7:1), these “also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).
January 17, 2009 - 8:53 am
Tags: brigade, commander, darkness, father, infantry, kingdom, lamp, light, Lord, saints, Son, thanks
Posted in Ba-manna-bread | No comments
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:12-13)
By His grace, we have been snatched from Satan’s darkness and been placed in the kingdom of light. However, we still live in a dark world hostile to the light. We are therefore soldiers of light, but as with any army, we are not to act independently, but instead “as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3), we must follow the orders of our commander and act in accordance with established guidelines.
The Supreme Commander in this battle of light versus darkness is none other than God the Father, for “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1).
January 9, 2009 - 12:02 pm
Tags: bible, blood, body, calvary, churchlife, cross, God, Gospel, Hebrews, hike4fathers, Jesus Christ, jews, tradition, yeshua
Posted in Killing Sacred Cows | 5 comments
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
An often misapplied verse concerns the teaching of “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together – .”
I have observed often over the years, the coercion of faithful brethren into “attending church” every Sunday and Wednesday by the exhortation of this one verse. Even more incredibly, is the practice of rewarding “Certificates of Attendance” to those who showed their “faithfulness” to the local church by keeping attendance each holy day throughout the year.
Is this what Paul meant as he addressed his fellow brethren – the newly reborn Jewish followers of Jesus Christ? Let’s take a closer look.
Chapter ten of Hebrews sheds incredible light upon one relying on their personal faithful “works of righteousness” verses reliance upon the faithful “works of righteousness” of Jesus Christ.
January 8, 2009 - 6:25 am
Tags: bible, forgiveness, good, grace, greek, hebrew, judgement, life, Lord, mercy, saints, testament, thanks, william cody bateman
Posted in Hell or Heaven | No comments
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 136:1
God’s “mercy” is a monumental theme in Scripture.
This word, “mercy”, appears some 341 times in the Bible. Variations of this word in both Hebrew and Greek appear a total of 454 times and are also translated by “kindness,” “lovingkindness,” “goodness,” “favor,” “compassion,” and “pity.”
Of the 66 books of the Bible, only 16 do not use one of the words for mercy. Even though “mercy” is an important concept, it is somewhat difficult to prescribe a definition for it, especially since “grace” is occasionally coupled with it.
There are three references to the blood of Abel in the Bible, with each instance indicating that the shedding of Abel’s blood by his brother Cain was a type of the shed blood of Christ. In fact, the very first reference to blood in the Bible (thus, by the “law of first mention,” a reference of foundational significance) is God’s accusation to Abel’s murderer: 
