A Credible Lifestyle
Nov 30
At times we tend to think of John the Baptist as a wild man, one who would have been either an offense or a laughingstock to those he was trying to reach, but in reality quite the opposite was true. He was greatly respected and believed; some even wondered if he should have been worshiped as “that prophet” (i.e., the Messiah), or revered as Elijah (John 1:21).
Where Did Denominations Come From?
Mar 12
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” I Corinthians 12:13 “Where did denominations come from?” This question is often asked of me by the person who has wearied of going from one “church” to the next, trying to find a place they might finally “fit in with.” My heart goes out to Christians who have wandered from building to building trying to find true fellowship that is described to intimately in the Book of Acts and the Epistle letters. A Baptist preacher from Massachusetts once told me, “The reason for denominations is because God desires ‘walls of separation’ in order to keep bad doctrine from creeping in.” Unfortunately, this “teacher” was and still is, promoting an exclusivity or “closed fellowship” mentality – doctrines strongly rebuked by the teaching of our Apostles. Is this scriptural? No.
What “Separation of Church and State” meant to the author of it – President Thomas Jefferson
Feb 25
"Jefferson viewed the "wall" as limiting the federal government from "intermeddling" in church government, as explained in his letter to Samuel Miller, Jan. 23, 1808: I consider the government of the United States as interdicted [prohibited] by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the states the powers not delegated to the United States [10th Amendment]."
“The Baptist Standard” doesn’t speak for me…
Feb 19
"A scorner seeks wisdom, and finds it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understands." Proverbs 14:6 The two photographs on a Baptist Standard editor’s piece on fundamentalism are of rioting Shi’ite Muslims and a smiling Ken Ham (AiG president) next to a dinosaur at the Creation Museum. We’ll let you guess how the author, Marv Knox, feels about creationists. In a shoddy attempt at crowding out journalism with invective, Marv Knox, editor of the newsmagazine that bills itself as representing Texas Baptists, takes a look at what “fundamentalists of every faith share”: resistance to modernity. (So much for the traditional definition of a fundamentalist as referring to someone who sticks to the Word of God.)
Do not be drunk with wine
Feb 18
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). Two factors need to be identified with this verse: First, the immediately preceding context confines the primary application to behavior, just as the immediately following context relates the "filled" behavior to the fellowship of believers. Secondly, the imagery stresses control of the behavior by the Holy Spirit (contrasting filled with drunken behavior).
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