Discipleship

James, the brother of Jesus, was raised in Nazareth along with Jesus Christ as his eldest half-brother. Growing up, James personally witnessed Jesus increasing in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man. He saw how his older half-brother obediently and respectfully submitted Himself to Mary and Joseph on a daily basis. James had seen the unchangeable perfections of our Lord on public display in Galilee.

The Colossae church was plagued by Gnostic false teachers who belittled the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and denied His eternal sonship. They asserted the preeminence of human reason above divine revelation, and claimed that they had a secret key to knowledge, hence their name “Gnostics.” In minimizing Christ and promoting themselves, these false teachers had the audacity to deny that Jesus was fully divine. Some said that His deity came upon Him only at His baptism. Others took the other extreme and denied the full humanity of Christ, asserting that He was merely an apparition, without a genuine body of flesh.

Not only did John assert that Jesus is the self-existent Maker of all things, he asserted in Hebraic contrasting form (the literary device of saying the same thing the opposite way) that nothing can exist without Him! No other reality exists in all the universe that can have any being apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, the first Cause.

What makes the difference between these seemingly contradictory texts? Why would Paul turn from saying that there is none that doeth good and then give such a high commendation of goodness in the lives of the Roman believers? The difference is the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Goodness is included in the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in both Galatians 5:22 and Ephesians 5:9.

One of the greatest displays of God’s omnipotence in all of history was the incarnation of the Son of God. Colossians 2:9 makes a profound statement: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” This means that all attributes of the Godhead were manifested in the Son.

Because God is a Spiritual Being and true worship is spiritual worship, it should not surprise us at all that the Bible, the Word of God to man, is a spiritual book. It cannot be comprehended or appreciated by natural man apart from the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.

God’s spiritual nature was emphasized over and over by the prophets. Men of God, such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, earnestly sought to turn the attention of God’s people away from the outward requirements of religion and to the spiritual nature of true worship that God delighted to see.

God expressly defines Himself as holy. When God called Israel to make a distinction between clean and unclean and to set themselves apart from the world, He based this command upon the divine attribute of holiness.

On October 6, 1918, World War I—the greatest and most devastating war that the world had as yet known—was only a month away from the cessation of hostilities. But on that day, a baby was born in Dallas, Texas. That baby, Henry Madison Morris, was destined to grow up and serve as a soldier in a much greater spiritual battle, a battle that spans every age and every generation and which later would be referred to as the “long war against God.”

When we mature, our values should mature with us. We should no longer value things over people, profit over principle, and time over eternity. We should not waste our time worrying about things that do not matter or working overtime for things we will sell at next year’s garage sale.

The ninth commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). As noted previously, this commandment is about far more than a prohibition against lying. It not only calls us to cease from lying, but the commandment calls us to a positive affirmation of walking in the light, speaking the truth, and presenting a Godly testimony to a skeptical world.

The truth is not merely what we speak; it is also what we live. Those around us are able to see our hypocrisy very clearly when the way we live does not match the way we speak. The words testimony and witness both come from the same word in the original languages of the Bible. In reflecting upon the ninth commandment—“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour”—we must realize that a man’s testimony and a man’s witness should be one and the same thing, not a “false witness” but a living testimony of the truth.

Are you looking for a small group study that is packed with Biblical depth, grounded in theological accuracy, and suitable for a real-life group? Look no further!

Friendships are some of the most powerful influences in life, because friends greatly impact a person’s development and decisions. Scripture instructs us with these words: “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20).

True friendship requires humility and a willingness to listen, hear, and speak openly, without fear of rejection or deception. Yet, as the proverb says, a true friend’s words may hurt because they may be words of rebuke, correction, or instruction. When this happens, our response indicates something about us, and it influences the future destiny of the friendship.

Messages from the Big Sandy April Family Conference are now available to be viewed at embassymedia.com!

In a dark day of murder, intrigue, and violence, one faithful priest of God emerged as a heroic defender of life.

Each one of us can fulfill five basic roles throughout our lives. We can also help others fulfill these roles in their lives. These life roles include being a mature person, a skilled provider, a loving marriage partner, a wise parent, and an effective proclaimer.

In the Old Testament, the word fool is actually a translation of five different Hebrew words that reflect subtle differences in types of fools. Sadly, the English translation makes it more difficult to identify the characteristics of five types of fools, but with a careful search of Scripture these differences can be distinguished.

Over the course of this month, we have been examining the third commandment and the importance of not taking the Lord’s name in vain. In the Law, we studied what is specifically forbidden by this commandment. In the Prophets, we examined practical ways that we can exalt the name of the Lord in daily life. In the Gospels, we looked at the Lord’s Prayer and the example of Jesus in honoring the name of His Heavenly Father. In the New Testament epistles, we traced the value of the name of Jesus Christ—the name which is above every name. We have derived from all these passages this statement of application that every Christian man can live by:  I am to revere God’s name and character in my words, actions, and attitudes, living in holiness because His name is holy. In this final week of March, we are going to look at the opening exhortation of the psalmist in Psalm 103: “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (verse 1). Just as the third commandment warns of the danger of taking the name of the Lord in vain, this psalm encourages us to […]