Cut & Paste, Part 5

The third topic I would like to address involves the very name of God; or more accurately, how that name is pronounced. This particular topic seemed too trivial to be pursued with all seriousness, but there seem to be sects within Christendom who want to make a divisive issue about the name of both Yahweh and Jesus, some going so far as to say that if you are not saying their names correctly you are following false gods and are deceived.

Cut & Paste, Part 4

Peter likewise describes physical baptism as a symbol (antitype, NKJV) and that the act itself does not save, 1st Peter 3:21. He explains that the act of removing the filth of the flesh avails nothing; but rather the answer of a good conscience in God’s sight that consents to be baptized, as is our Lord’s first command for new believers, Matthew 28:19.

Cut & Paste, Part 3

A second doctrine commonly taught by many Christian sects and accepted as the norm is strongly linked to works salvation: baptismal regeneration. I have posted numerous Scriptural arguments against this doctrine but will go on here to demonstrate how error begets error; in other words, if you begin with a wrong premise (salvation is by works and not solely grace) then you reach wrong conclusions (water baptism effects new life, even in infants.)

Cut & Paste, Part 2

But James writes that faith without works is dead, and that a man is justified by his works and not merely by faith. Taken from James chapter 2 and taken out of context, this does appear to be a valid argument for works salvation and is a favorite passage for Catholic apologists. But the key to understanding James chapter 2 comes with James 2:18: “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” The emphasis here is on men seeing whether or not our faith is valid and producing spiritual fruit as Jesus promised it would. It is justification in the sight of men; not in the sight of God.

Cut & Paste, Part 1

Where do Biblical exegetes go so wrong in dividing God’s word? This is a serious question that has haunted godly men and women through the centuries, and one that no commentator of Scripture can rightly escape, since everyone one of us is at some point guilty of error. There are innumerable doctrinal errors the writer can bring into Scripture through ignorance, bias, misinformation, poor study, lack of prayer, preconceived ideas, etc.

Connecting the Dots

Have you ever played Connect the Dots? The game is simple. A picture is defined by a series of so many dots, numbered 1 through however many are needed to complete the picture in question. What the person playing the game must do is use a pencil or pen to draw a line from 1 to 2, then from 2 to 3, and so on. Upon connecting the final line segment the picture is complete and you can see what the dots portray.

An Issue of Contention

I do not normally give room for debate on my blog, but I felt that this issue should be openly addressed and given a full and fair audience with my Christian readership. The topic in question is the issue of what the function of women in the church and the world is, according to the Bible. This was a debate hed between a gentleman who owns the blog "El Shaddai Reigns." While both he and I agree that women are not meant to lead the church or the home our view quickly branched off from one another at this point and we began a lively but unfruitful debate about the matter. One of the reasons I have, after consideration, chosen to air this on my blog is due to the fact that for reasons of his own choosing Alex has refrained from printing my comments so a reader could only see what he was saying to me. I shall post the article that began the debate and then preface each remark so the reader may know who is speaking. I will not otherwise alter any commentary between Alex and myself. Judge for yourselves what the truth of the matter is. I apologize for the length. God bless.