wordofgod: March 2024

Sunday, March 31, 2024

10 Important Things to Consider When Choosing a Church to Attend

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The following guide is designed to help churchgoers with discernment as to whether they are attending church for the right reasons, and to help with discernment in choosing a faithful church to attend.

PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS

1. Sentimentalism should never overrule truth.

When it comes to church life, people are easily given to sentimentalism rather than to the truth. There may be a variety of reasons for this: sentimental attachment to a building, longstanding family representation in a particular church, pride in a certain denomination, etc. Doctrinal integrity often takes a back seat to these kinds of sentimental attractions. In these scenarios, people can easily honor their traditions more than the Lord.

2. The church should not be a product for consumption.

People approach a prospective church like consumers: What kind of programs does the church offer? What is the facility like? Does the pastor make me feel comfortable? How did the people make me feel? What people like and what they actually need are often radically different things. The church is established by Christ as a place to help the needy in their struggle against sin to receive mercy and the forgiveness of sins through the message of the gospel.

3. Your children should not determine the choice of a church.

We live in a day of the cult of the child. The home today is built around children in all ages of development with a neglect of proper discipline. This has devastating effects upon church life. Undiscerning parents are prone to listen to their child’s wants rather than to actively nurture their children by leading them in what they need. As peer pressure grows, a youth may complain that sermons are too long, the service is boring, or the views are too restrictive, and undiscerning parents often honor their young people more than the Lord as they base their church attendance on what the young person likes.

This has resulted in the practice of children’s church and youth centers, along with other practices that remove children/youth from the worship service. The consequences of this are devastating upon church life. We are raising an entire generation of children/young people who are not being trained to listen to sermons or worship the Lord together with God’s people. The long term fruits of this show in increased antipathy to anything formal or organized when it comes to worship, and an unwillingness to attend church. This is a prevalent reason as to why scores of young adults no longer attend Christian worship.

4. Style preference should not be neutral.

Often people base church attendance on stylistic preference, often with regard to music. The Bible never presents worship as a matter of personal taste or style. Self-imposed worship is greatly condemned in the Bible (see Col. 2), Christians, therefore, should give great care that worship conforms to God’s Word. Our music must conform to his truth, our liturgies should be filled with his Word, and the sermons should be delivered in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Personal stylistic preferences don’t make worship true or powerful.

5. The message should be believed, not the man followed.

The average churchgoer, when searching for a church today, is primarily concerned with the likability of the pastor. Is he down to earth? Does he share personal stories from his own personal experience? Is he just a fun-loving guy who can relate, who connects with the youth? The pastor can easily pander to the desire for likability and manipulate that aspect of his personality that he knows will attract people. The church then becomes built around him rather than Christ. Likability is not a qualification for the pastor.

Beware of the cult of personality. If you are following a man, you are set up for a great fall. God sends pastors with a specific calling, to deliver a specific message. People are certainly called to love their pastor, encourage him, pray for him, but, ultimately, they should recognize the voice of Jesus speaking to them through the faithful proclamation of the gospel. Follow Jesus and his Word, not the messenger.

CHURCH MOTIVATIONS

6. The preaching of the Word should be central.

Is the service centered on the Word? Is the Word being read, preached, prayed, and sung? Or is the Word being manipulated by the pastor to pander to the felt needs of the people? If the preaching of the Word is not central, since it is the primary means of grace, you can be sure God is not present in that voice or worship service.

7. The sermon should be Christ-centered.

When Paul said, “Woe is me if I do not preach Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 9:16), he was expressing that at the heart of all Christian preaching is the goal of making known the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This message is God’s chosen power to save people. Many people want sermons on relationships, finances, sex, etc., things of this nature. Appropriate biblical applications should always be made from preaching the Bible. There is, however, one meta-narrative that has the purpose of unveiling the glories of Jesus Christ through every genre of Scripture. Proper Christian preaching should create a hunger in the people to see the glories of Jesus Christ throughout his revelation to us. Every churchgoer should ask this question: Could the sermon you’re hearing be preached in a Jewish synagogue? If so, it’s not a Christian sermon.

8. Worship should not be built on entertainment.

People have six days to be entertained, but the seventh day is a day of rest from worldly amusements and a time to seriously worship the risen Christ. If the church one is attending is theater-driven, tickling people’s ears with what they want to hear while using the world’s methods in an attempt toward relevancy, then the worship of the Lord is compromised with worldliness. Every Sunday churchgoers should shake off the worldly desire to be entertained and enter the holy gathering of the saints with the desire to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth in the beauty of Christ’s holiness.

9. Sacraments should be faithfully exercised.

God has given us two visible words in baptism and the Lord’s supper. These are signs and seals of his grace to us. Are these being honored in your church? Are they being faithfully administered and not cheapened by making common what is holy (i.e., baptisms outside of corporate worship in parking lots and swimming pools for whosoever feels moved, etc.), completely disconnected from the body of Christ? Are the sacraments treated as a means for your personal renewal to the Lord. or as a means of God’s grace in providing visible word to sign and seal his promises to us?

10. The church should love you enough to discipline you.

The church does not exist to affirm people living in sin. It is not love to allow someone to continue in blatant sin without correction. In fact, churches that open their doors to people running from other churches because of sin are bringing down God’s anger on the whole congregation. A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6). We are commanded, in love, to exercise church discipline on those who have strayed in doctrine or in life.

Most likely, people have no idea what church discipline is today because the practice is assumed to be unloving and vindictive. Should a sheep, however, run away from Christ into a life of unrepentant sin, the love of God should be demonstrated by the church’s willingness to “leave the ninety-nine” and go after the wandering sheep through loving discipline.

This article is adapted from “The Church Attendance Challenge: How to Choose a Church” at agradio.org.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

10 Facts about Jesus’ Resurrection You Need to Know

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

1. If Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, then Christianity isn’t true.

The apostle Paul states the following in his first letter to the Corinthians:

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. (1 Cor. 15:14-15)

2. The gospel writers included embarrassing facts about the apostles.

The fact that the gospels include embarrassing accounts of the apostles, such as the fact that Peter denied Jesus three times and all the apostles abandoned Jesus when he was arrested, points to their authenticity. It is unlikely that people would fabricate an account that places themselves in a poor light (Matt. 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42).

3. The marble tablet known as the Nazareth Inscription points to Rome’s concerns about the upheaval caused by Jesus’ resurrection in the first century.

While we don't know exactly when and where the tablet was discovered, it became part of a private collection in France in 1878 and has resided in the National Library of France, (Bibliothèque nationale, Paris) since 1925. According to Wikipedia,

The Nazareth Inscription or Nazareth decree is a marble tablet inscribed in Greek with an edict from an unnamed Caesar ordering capital punishment for anyone caught disturbing graves or tombs. It is dated on the basis of epigraphy to the first half of the 1st century AD. Its provenance is unknown, but a French collector acquired the stone from Nazareth. It is now in the collections of the Louvre.

The upheaval in the Roman Empire caused by the rapid growth of the Christian religion could well have been the underlying cause of this Roman edict that forbid grave-robbing.

4. Women were the first witnesses to see Jesus after his resurrection.

The testimony of women was not accepted in court in the first century in Israel. If someone were to fabricate an account of Jesus appearing to people after his death, the choice of women being the first to see him would be a very odd choice and serve only to reduce the credibility of the story (Matt. 28:1-10; Luke 23:55-24:11; Mark 16:1-11; John 20:11-18).

5. Every one of the twelve apostles died a martyr’s death except for John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and hung himself.

While people have been known to die for a lie because they believed it to be true, it is almost impossible to find someone who would die for a lie with the full knowledge that it was false. It is highly unlikely that the disciples would have given their lives for a claim they had themselves fabricated.

6. Written testimony of Jesus’ resurrection dates back to within approximately 20 years of the event.

According to New Testament scholars D. A. Carson and Douglas Moo in their book An Introduction to the New Testament, historical evidence indicates that the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in which he writes about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was written sometime during the early to mid 50s.[1] The fact that Paul wrote about Jesus’ resurrection and that many people (over 500) saw Jesus alive after his crucifixion and burial so close to the actual event is strong testimony to the accuracy of Paul's words:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. (1 Cor. 15:3-6)

There were most certainly people living in the Roman Empire during the 50s who were around at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion (which most likely occurred between AD 30-33), and they could have challenged Paul’s claim about the resurrection if it were untrue.

7. It is highly unlikely the Roman guards would have slept through the theft of Jesus’ body.

Falling asleep while on post was punishable by death for Roman guards, and they took their job extremely seriously. Additionally, the tomb was covered by a large stone, and the possibility of the disciples being able to move the stone in order to steal Jesus' body without detection by the Roman soldiers is far-fetched, to say the least (see Matt. 27:62-28:15; Mark 16:1-6; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-10).

8. The remarkable transformation of the disciples is testimony to the resurrection of Jesus.

According to apologetics scholar Douglas Groothuis in his well-researched book Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith:

These men went from dejected, dispirited and grieving followers of a crucified rabbi to apostles, those who had beheld the Christ and who, on that basis, preached him as the Lord of life and the Judge of history….The actual resurrection of Jesus is the best explanation for the disciples’ transformation from cowardice, despair and confusion to confident proclamation and the willingness to suffer persecution, hardship and even martyrdom for the sake of Jesus and his gospel.[2]

9. Jesus was buried in a known tomb.

Groothuis also cites the work of William Lane Craig (Knowing the Truth About the Resurrection) regarding the fact that it would have been far easier for the disciples to falsely claim Jesus was resurrected if he had been buried in an unknown tomb.[3] The exact location of Jesus’ burial is stated in three of the gospels (Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 14:42-47; John 19:38-42).

10. The respected Jewish historian Josephus acknowledged the historicity of Jesus and his execution at the hands of Pontius Pilate.

Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews (circa AD 93–94) includes two passages about Jesus. The Testimonium Flavianum (Book 18, Ch. 3, 3) specifically mentions Jesus’ execution and resurrection:

About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.

While this passage has been disputed as being entirely original to Josephus, specifically in regard to Jesus’ resurrection, a broad consensus of scholars acknowledges that it contains “an authentic nucleus with a reference to the execution of Jesus by Pilate.”

The resurrection of Jesus is the only plausible explanation for the rapid growth of Christianity in the first three centuries AD.

Benjamin B. Phillips references historian Rodney Stark’s findings of the growth of Christianity in the ante-Nicene period (from the end of the apostolic age to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) in which the church grew by forty percent per decade:

In less than 300 years, Christianity went from being a minority Jewish sect, to being a large enough target to warrant persecution, to being the largest single religion in the Empire, to being a sufficiently large percentage of the population (especially in cities) to prompt the emperor Constantine to adopt it as the primary tool for unifying the Empire.[4]

From the evidence we find in the Bible, the extra-biblical sources written so close in time to the events of the four Gospels, and the rapid growth of the Christian faith after the resurrection, Christians can proclaim with confidence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God who was born in the flesh, was crucified, and was resurrected from the dead, and he is the firstfruits of all who belong to him.

This article was originally published on Beautiful Christian Life on March 28, 2018.

[4] Benjamin B. Phillips, “The Attraction of Beauty in an Ugly World: On the Relationship of Discipling and Evangelism,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 50, no. 2 (Spring 2008): 180; see Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), esp. 73-94).

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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Resurrection Hope: Leaving Our Regrets at the Cross

Andrei Mironov, *Peace be upon you! The Appearance of Christ to the Apostles*; image from Wikimedia Commons.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Loss is always difficult, and never more so than when it comes to the death of someone we hold dear in our hearts. If only we could see the person one more time and give him or her a big hug while speaking the tender words of love in our hearts that can no longer be expressed. If that were possible, we would probably never want to let go out of fear that our precious family member, friend, or lover would leave us once more.

Jesus came to take away our regrets.

The disciples likely felt this way after Jesus' crucifixion and death. Many "if only"s must have run through their minds and hearts: Did Jesus really know how much they loved him, how much they regretted their unfaithfulness to him, and how much they wanted him back in their lives?

Thankfully, the disciples didn't have to wonder such things for long because Jesus was raised from the grave on the third day and appeared to them shortly thereafter in the room where they been huddling in fear and unspeakable grief:

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!" (Luke 24:26)

Jesus' appearance gave the disciples hope not only in that moment but also for eternity! Jesus' resurrection brought an end to the disciples' grief and regrets, and that same resurrection brings an end to our despair even today.

We can bring all our regrets to Jesus right now.

Are you a believer who regrets things in your past that you should have done, as well as things you did that you shouldn’t have done? Take courage, for Christ Jesus did everything he was supposed to do and he didn't do anything he wasn't supposed to do, so that your grief and regrets would come to an end. He always obeyed God in all things, and Jesus’ perfect obedience is counted to you through faith in him alone by God's grace alone.

Jesus also paid for every single one of every believer’s sins with his perfect once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. Through faith in Jesus Christ, your debts are paid in full and you are free in him. You are declared righteous in God's sight, you have already been given new life in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and one day you will also have a resurrected physical body like Jesus has—and that body will never be able to sin:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor. 15:20-23)

Only in Christ will we find peace, both now and forever.

You don't need to live a life of regrets. Instead take all your sin and failures to the cross of Jesus Christ and trust in him alone for your salvation. Leave all your regrets in the arms of your loving Savior, and rest is his freely given and complete forgiveness. Just as the apostles did, rejoice in your sure resurrection hope in Jesus, who is now seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and always strive to obey him in thanksgiving for all he has done on your behalf, for he loves you with an everlasting love. Take heart that your Lord will come again to bring you and all his saints into eternal glory with him. "Peace to you!"

This article is adapted from “Resurrection Hope: Leaving Your Regrets at the Cross” from BCL’s March 2021 monthly newsletter.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

“Woman, Why Are You Weeping?” The Redemptive and Personal Reality of the Resurrection

Annibale Carracci (1560–1609), *Holy Women at Christ’s Tomb*; image from Wikimedia Commons; .

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Meditating on the resurrection has always been an encouragement to me. Whether looking at Old Testament shadows of the resurrection (Dan. 12:2) or Paul’s extensive teaching on the resurrection (1 Cor. 15), the Bible puts significant weight on the resurrection of Jesus. While each of the four gospels is unique in its own way, I have always loved the way John tells of the resurrection in his gospel account.

Prior to the resurrection of Jesus, you can bet a lot of hopes and desires were based upon Jesus as the Messiah. But his death made the disciples question everything (Luke 24:17-21). Imagine all the sorrow and confusion as their Messiah’s body laid lifeless in a borrowed tomb. Three years of life spent with one who could heal the sick, quiet the sea, and raise the dead, and now, the self-proclaimed Messiah laid lifeless in the dark; the hopes of the disciples dying with him.

The resurrection of Jesus is both a redemptive and personal reality.

In John 20 Mary Magdalene wanders to the tomb early in the morning. I imagine she is more satisfied being in the presence of the dead Messiah, who loved her and restored her dignity, than she would be in the presence of all those who still saw her as a prostitute. As she walks near to the tomb that dark morning, a shocking sight confronts all her notions of normal. The stone that had been rolled in front of the tomb is removed (20:1). She immediately runs and tells the disciples, they run back to the tomb with her, and then the disciples run back home. Probably in the midst of confusion, an awakening of hope, and a desire to spread the news, the disciples are ecstatic. John notes in verse 11, however, that Mary stays at the tomb. What follows is a beautiful uncovering of the personal and redemptive reality of the resurrection of Jesus.

After a short discussion with two angels (more on that another time), Mary believes that someone has stolen Jesus' body. She has not yet come to grasp what that rolled away stone means. The next thing that we learn from John is an invitation into some of the most beautiful words ever heard, especially for Mary. The same Jesus who loved her while she was still a prostitute, the Jesus who forgave her because of his great love (Luke 7:36-50), decides to say his first resurrected words to Mary.

Jesus knows Mary and he loves her.

As Mary is still looking at the tomb, not realizing the depth of what is happening, Jesus speaks from behind her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" The next part of verse 15 tells us that she had mistaken him to be a gardener who moved Jesus’ body (more about this in a moment) away from the tomb. Now, with her turned around, Jesus' resurrected words move from general to specific. He says, "Mary" (John 20:15). Just, "Mary." I don't mean just in a limited sense but in the specific. His attention and his one word are so specific. All her fears, all her lost hope, and all her confusion are completely dealt with through the most wonderful word she may have ever heard, and the beauty lies not in her name but in the one who is saying it to her.

This has always been one of my favorite scenes in the gospels because it's so personal. Jesus knows Mary and he loves her. I've always imagined that any hope she had prior to his death, any hope that was lost, was increased a hundredfold when he looked into her eyes and said, "Mary." After she hears the resurrected voice of Jesus, she then runs back and proclaims that she saw the Lord (John 20:18). Not only was Mary the first to hear and see the resurrected King, I think she would have understood years later that John was also telling something special to his audience in this story involving her.

Jesus, the Gardener of the new creation, knows his own.

It is no mistake that John adds the detail of Mary thinking that Jesus was the gardener. John's gospel is structured around garden imagery. This would have been apparent to the first century Jew, but it is a bit harder for us to see. You see, John opens his gospel not at the birth of Jesus but at the beginning of the world when God placed the first humans in a garden (John 1:1). Later in John 19:41, we are told that Jesus was crucified in a garden with a "new tomb." This is new creation imagery that is meant to tip the reader off that something new is happening in the garden with a new tomb. The climax is found in John 20 when the person Mary believed to be a gardener is Jesus himself, who is in fact the Gardener of the new creation. You see, his resurrection from the dead caused this new creation to sprout forth, and the mind-boggling thing is that we will follow in his steps.

This is what Paul means in his long teaching on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. In verses 22-23 he writes,

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

The first Adam was a gardener who did not protect the garden and was kicked out. Jesus is the new creation Gardener who lays down his life and bursts forth from the dead as the Vine of life (John 15). He is the firstfruits of the harvest that promises all in him will rise with him. The first gardener brought death, the second gave life. And like he did with Mary, Jesus will one day call by name into his eternal presence everyone who believes in him. It will be the sweetest of sounds. Right now, all believers have this new life (2 Cor. 5:17), and one day we will experience new life in its fullness (1 John 3:1-2). This Gardener knows you, loves you, and is caring for you until that great day. Rejoice in the resurrection.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Hell to Pay: What Truly Happened to Jesus on the Cross?

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Eighteen years ago, I heard a sermon on Matthew 27:46—Jesus' cry of dereliction on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” At one point, the minister who was preaching this message said, “Jesus wasn't really forsaken; he just felt forsaken by his Father in his soul.” I remember sensing anger welling up within me at those words. I thought to myself, “That's a denial of the Gospel. If Jesus wasn't really forsaken, then I have no grounds to believe that I will never be forsaken.”

Sadly, I have subsequently come to discover that there are quite a number of Protestant theologians who have shied away from asserting that Jesus was really and truly forsaken by his Father when he hung on the cross. Nevertheless, I want to explain what we lose if Jesus wasn't, in fact, forsaken by God when he stood in our place.

What truly happened to Jesus on the cross?

Thomas Brooks, the seventeenth century English Puritan theologian, explained why we must never downplay what truly happened to Christ on the cross. He insisted,

The more we ascribe to Christ's suffering, the less remains of ours; the more painfully that he suffered, the more fully are we redeemed; the greater his sorrow was, the greater our solace; his dissolution is our consolation, his cross our comfort; his annoy our endless joy; his distress in soul our release, his calamity our comfort; his misery our mercy, his adversity our felicity, his hell our heaven.[1]

Brooks then proceeded to explain exactly what happened to Jesus at Calvary, when he said,

Christ did actually undergo and suffer the wrath of God, and the fearful effects thereof, in the punishments threatened in the law. As he became a debtor, and was so accounted, even so he became payment thereof; he was made a sacrifice for sin, and bare to the full all that ever divine justice did or could require, even the uttermost extent of the curse of the law of God. He must thus undergo the curse, because he had taken upon him our sin. The justice of the most high God, revealed in the law, looks upon the Lord Jesus as a sinner, because he hath undertaken for us, and seizes upon him accordingly, pouring down on his head the whole curse, and all those dreadful punishments which are threatened in it against sin.[2]

Jesus experienced “an objective God-forsakenness” at Calvary.

Herman Bavinck, in his Reformed Dogmatics, stated the importance of understanding that Jesus did not merely undergo the feeling of forsakenness on the cross. Rather, Jesus experienced “an objective God-forsakenness” at Calvary. He insisted,

In the cry of Jesus we are dealing not with a subjective but with an objective God-forsakenness: He did not feel alone but had in fact been forsaken by God. His feeling was not an illusion, not based on a false view of his situation, but corresponded with reality.[3]

Charles Spurgeon explained that “hell consists in the hiding of God's face from sinners” and that God hid his face from Christ in the moment of his forsakenness on the cross:

Christ in that hour took all our sins, past, present, and to come, and was punished for them all there and then, that we might never be punished, because he suffered in our stead. Do you see, then, how it was that God the Father bruised him? Unless he had so done the agonies of Christ could not have been an equivalent for our sufferings; for hell consists in the hiding of God's face from sinners, and if God had not hidden his face from Christ, Christ could not—I see not how he could—have endured any suffering that could have been accepted as an equivalent for the woes and agonies of his people.[4]

Jesus underwent “a separation from the face of the Father” on the cross.

Likewise, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his commentary on Romans 8:32, asserted that Jesus underwent “a separation from the face of the Father” on the cross. He wrote,

[God] has made His Son the sacrifice; it is a substitutionary offering for your sins and mine. That was why He was there in the Garden sweating drops of blood, because He knew what it involved - it involved a separation from the face of the father. And that is why He cried out on the Cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

While the above citations ought to contain sufficiently convincing theological arguments, we still have to answer several objections to the truth that Jesus endured the infinite and eternal wrath of God on the cross.

Some have insisted that Jesus didn't truly endure hell on the cross, because his human nature didn't experience complete annihilation. Others have rejected the teaching that Jesus experienced the equivalent of hell on the cross because his sufferings were temporary rather than eternal in their endurance. The answer to both of these objections is, of course, found in the mystery of the union of the two natures of Christ.

The infinite wrath of God was poured out on the finite human nature of Jesus, while the infinite divine nature of Jesus was upholding his person.

Westminster Larger Catechism 38 asks the question, “Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God?” The members of the Assembly gave the following answer:

It was requisite that the mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God, and the power of death; give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession; and to satisfy God's justice, procure his favor, purchase a peculiar people, give his Spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation. (WLC 38)

Here, both objections are answered. First, the divine nature of the Son of God sustained and kept the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God while he was the object of the infinite wrath of God. The infinite wrath of God was poured out on the finite human nature of Jesus, while the infinite divine nature of Jesus was upholding his person.

Second, the infinite and eternal divine nature of the Son “gave worth and efficacy to his sufferings...to satisfy God's justice.” It was not the amount of time that Jesus endured the infinite and eternal wrath of God when he hung on the cross, but the fact that an infinite and eternal being was giving worth to his human soul as Jesus bore the wrath of God in his body on the tree.

Praise God that there was hell to pay for Jesus.

If Jesus wasn't truly forsaken—if he didn't really endure the equivalent of eternal punishment on the cross—then substitutionary atonement is a legal fiction. If Jesus didn’t really suffer the pains of hell on the cross, then the infinite and eternal wrath of God is not truly propitiated. If Jesus didn't become the object of the righteous indignation of God in our place, then we are still the objects of the eternal wrath of God. If Jesus wasn't truly condemned on the cross, then we are not truly justified before God. If Jesus did not objectively suffer the equivalent of hell in his body and soul, then there will be hell for us to pay. Praise God that there was hell to pay for Jesus when “in my place, condemned he stood….Hallelujah! What a Savior!”[5]

Sunday, March 24, 2024

12 Reasons Why Jesus Meant It When He Said, “It Is Finished”

Photo by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Christians should never think their works contribute to their justification or salvation in any way. Thankfully, here are twelve reasons why Jesus meant it when he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

1. Jesus—being true God and true human—was the perfect, once for all sacrifice for sin.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:24-26)

2. Only Jesus kept the law fully—he was the true Son of Israel who loved God and his neighbor perfectly.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

3. There is nothing we can add to Jesus’ finished work on our behalf.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:27)

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)

"So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" (Luke 17:10)

4. Salvation is God’s gift to us—and so is our faith.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. (Romans 5:15)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

5. We could not keep the law perfectly because of our sin.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

6. Any necessary works of ours would nullify the grace of God.

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6)

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 2:21)

7. It is Jesus’ obedience that saves us, not our own.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11)

8. Jesus paid our debts in full.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

9. All believers stand justified before God in Jesus Christ alone.

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. (Romans 4:5)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

10. Believers are free from condemnation forever.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

11. Our fruit is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, not our own faithfulness.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies….For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:23, 29)

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18)

12. God has promised to justify—and glorify—every person he has predestined and called.

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Thursday, March 21, 2024

7 Things You Need to Know about the Silence of Jesus

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"So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer" (Luke 23:9).

Ecclesiastes tells us that there is time to speak and a time to keep silent. And this makes sense enough, but the issue is, when is the fitting time? When is it better to speak? And when is it necessary to stay quiet? This is the art of wisdom.

Yet, as a society, we have pretty unanimously voted in favor of speaking. Our world, filled with technology and social media, never stops speaking, be it with words, pictures, or videos. Background music follows us everywhere. There is pressure to yelp every restaurant, photo every meal, and post every opinion that passes between your ears.

This obsession with speaking has crowded out any positive value of silence. Yet, our Lord masters the art of the silence for us, so that we might speak better for him and so that our words may be conformed to his words.

In the gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial, we read that Pontius Pilate tried to acquit the innocent one. Yet, Pilate didn’t have the courage to do the right thing. He wasn’t going to risk his life for Jesus, so Pilate threw him to the wolves, granting the demands of the violent gang. Pilate set free a murderer and rioter, and Jesus was handed over to the will of the riotous crowd.

And with this, it appears that the many words of the crowd have won. Jesus didn’t even defend himself (Luke 23:9). In his quietness, we hear no eloquence, no powerful reproaches, no clear condemnation of wickedness. The loud speaking of the people appeared to have defeated the silence of Jesus; yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are seven things you need to know about the silence of Jesus.

1. The silence of Jesus before Pilate makes us think back to what he said previously.

And they remembered his words. (Luke 24:8)

2. The silence of Jesus makes us remember how he prophesied that the Son of Man must suffer and die for our salvation.

And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9:21-22)

3. The silence of Jesus recalls to our minds God’s Word of Isaiah 53:7—that the Messiah had to be a silent lamb.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth. (Isa. 53:7)

4. The silence of Jesus reminds us that silent suffering was necessary for Jesus. We are taught that sometimes being quiet takes more strength than talking.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Isa. 53:10)

5. The silence of Jesus instructs us that sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:...

a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. (Eccles. 3:1, 7)

6. The silence of Christ leading to his crucifixion is the power of God for our forgiveness, justification, and redemption.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)

7. The silence of Christ was his Word triumphing for you. Jesus was speechless here to prepare himself for the silence of the grave that would then give way to the words of the Resurrection.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Because Jesus said not a word in order to fulfill God’s Word, by faith you are taken from death to life, from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ. Thus, in faith, we come to realize that Jesus muzzling himself was his powerful love to make you his own.

Indeed, Jesus was not silenced forever by the evil crowd; he rose to speak again the healing and hopeful words of resurrection.

It is now our turn to speak.

Jesus rose to make us those who speak about his resurrection. In fact, in the narrow sense here, we are told not to imitate our Lord. Back in Luke 21, Christ told us that when we are dragged before rulers for his name not to worry about what to say, for the Spirit will teach us what to say.

The Spirit will give us the words to speak for Christ. Thus, before our accusers, we testify about Christ. Before the noisy hostilities of the world, we gather on the Lord’s Day to sing and speak that Christ is the Son of God at the right hand. One of our highest privileges is that we get to speak well of our Lord and we can sing forth his praises.

And even if the world silences us with death, we have the sure confidence that the silence of Christ is more powerful than all the rhetoric of the world. Thus, let us root our faith and confidence in the Word of Christ that never fails and the silence of Christ unto death that won for us the resurrection.

And with Christ on our side, may we never be ashamed to speak for our Lord, to testify that he is both Lord and Christ. And may we sing boldly the name of Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, every Lord’s Day, until we join the heavenly choir to offer up to God both our words and our silence for his eternal glory.

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The Unfolding Word: The Story of the Bible from Creation to New Creation by Zach Keele

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

The Ten Commandments — Exodus 20:1-17

Aron de Chaves, *Moses and Aaron with the 10 Commandments 1674*; image from Wikimedia Commons.

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What do the Ten Commandments listed in the book of Exodus mean for Christians today?

The Ten Commandments are a summary of God’s law that he gave to the people of Israel from Mount Sinai.

The Ten Commandments are divided into two parts, the first teaching us how to live in relation to God (1-4) and the second teaching us the duties we owe our neighbor (5-10):

And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exod. 20:1-17)

The Ten Commandments encompass more than is listed in them.

It is important to remember that each one of the Ten Commandments encompasses more than what is specified. For example, as the Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 104 states, the commandment to honor our parents also encompasses honoring all those in authority over us, including employers, church leaders, and government officials. The commandment not to bear false witness also encompasses not gossiping or slandering someone.

Furthermore, Jesus makes the point in Matthew 5:27-28 that it’s not just our actions that can break God’s commandments but also the thoughts of our hearts:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

The Ten Commandments teach us God’s holy standards.

Jesus was born in the flesh to do for us what we could not do for ourselves because of man’s fall in the garden of Eden. Because of our inherited sin nature, none of us can keep God’s commandments fully; only Jesus, the God-man, perfectly kept and fulfilled the law of God.

As God’s children all Christians have the duty to strive to obey their heavenly Father in all things, although they will do so imperfectly in this life. The Ten Commandments teach us God’s holy standards and guide Christians in living to the glory of God in this world. Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15), and obeying God is both a great joy and a great privilege for every follower of Christ.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Faith or Repentance—Which Comes First?

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The faith that is unto salvation is a penitent faith and the repentance that is unto life is a believing repentance. — John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, p. 119.

Repentance is a critical teaching of the Word of God. We are called to proclaim it in the name of Christ Jesus everywhere (Luke 24:47). Yet a question arises: must people repent of their sins and show a changed behavior, that is a changed life, before God grants justifying faith—faith that is the instrument by which God reconciles a sinful person to himself? Or does repentance follow faith? Which comes first—faith or repentance? And how do we know?

How should we define repentance and faith?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism has a helpful, biblically-based definition of repentance:

Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?

A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

The Heidelberg Catechism gives a good biblical definition of true faith:

Question 21. What is true faith?

Answer: True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his word, but also an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits.

Repentance is turning from sin to obedience. Internally, it is a hatred of sin and a motivation to live in gratitude and love by obeying God’s commands. Externally it is changed conduct. Saving faith is a gift of God in our hearts leading us to trust him alone for our forgiveness, righteousness, and salvation, only because of what Christ has done for us.

So, which comes first—faith or repentance? The answer is faith precedes repentance; it is a fruit of saving faith—not the other way around. A person is reconciled to God (justified) by faith alone, not by faith plus works. Yet, faith without repentance is not saving faith. Let me explain by considering what the Bible teaches.

The Bible contains various passages regarding the need for repentance.

The book of Acts records examples of the apostolic call to repent, believe, and be baptized; the call goes out in various combinations and order. In Acts 2:38,

Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Here Peter implies that repentance comes first, while in Acts 11:21 belief precedes repentance:

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (See also Acts 8:13, 10:43, 11:17, 13:39, 16:31.)

Yet, in Acts 8:12 belief (faith) comes first with no mention of repentance:

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

The Bible teaches that repentance flows from faith.

In Romans and other Pauline epistles, repentance is a fruit of God’s grace rather than its cause. For example, we find in Romans 2:4:

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Paul also makes clear at 2 Timothy 2:24 that it is God who grants repentance:

God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. (See also Acts 11:18.)

We are justified by faith alone.

Scripture clearly addresses repentance, but not in Romans 3-8, Ephesians 1-2, and Galatians 2-5, where Paul writes about saving faith and justification. Our justification—an act of God where he declares us righteous—is all about faith (Rom. 5:1; Gal. 3:8-14, for example).

Justification is an act of God who counts (declares) a person righteous, only because of what Christ Jesus has done (Rom. 4:21-5:1). Our works, or even our repentance, do not cause God to justify us; God justifies a person by grace alone because of Christ alone through faith alone—our faith is God’s gift (Eph. 2:8-9).

Now, what about James 2:24? Some object to justification by faith alone. For help on understanding this passage, please consider reading: “Works in the Book of James—‘Fruits and Evidences of a True and Lively Faith.’”

True faith is grounded in Christ’s work alone, not in anything we do. Yet, let me be clear: there is no pardon of sins without repentance (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30). Repentance proceeds from faith; it does not precede faith. The cause of our pardon is Christ through faith. If repentance preceded faith, then our work of repentance would seem to be part of the ground for God to pardon us, which Scripture doesn’t teach.

Repentance is a fruit of faith.

Finally, consider the following Bible passages:

But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Rom. 14:23)

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Gal. 5:6)

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb. 11:6)

Turning from sin to obedience proceeds from faith. All said, both faith and repentance are critically necessary in salvation. As theologian Louis Berkhof aptly summarizes,

Moreover, true repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith, while, on the other hand, wherever there is true faith, there is also real repentance. The two are but different aspects of the same turning,—a turning away from sin in the direction of God. (Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 1996 ed., p. 487)

Repentance is not the cause of our pardon, but it is a necessary fruit which flows from faith. There is no pardon without it. Therefore, trusting God for your salvation, repent of your sins and with gratitude love your Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and others as yourself. Rest assured that you will bear fruit in Christ as God’s dear child (John 15:8).

This article was originally published on April 11, 2019.

Sunday, March 31, 2024

PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS

1. Sentimentalism should never overrule truth.

2. The church should not be a product for consumption.

3. Your children should not determine the choice of a church.

4. Style preference should not be neutral.

5. The message should be believed, not the man followed.

CHURCH MOTIVATIONS

6. The preaching of the Word should be central.

7. The sermon should be Christ-centered.

8. Worship should not be built on entertainment.

9. Sacraments should be faithfully exercised.

10. The church should love you enough to discipline you.

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

1. If Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, then Christianity isn’t true.

2. The gospel writers included embarrassing facts about the apostles.

3. The marble tablet known as the Nazareth Inscription points to Rome’s concerns about the upheaval caused by Jesus’ resurrection in the first century.

4. Women were the first witnesses to see Jesus after his resurrection.

5. Every one of the twelve apostles died a martyr’s death except for John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and hung himself.

6. Written testimony of Jesus’ resurrection dates back to within approximately 20 years of the event.

7. It is highly unlikely the Roman guards would have slept through the theft of Jesus’ body.

8. The remarkable transformation of the disciples is testimony to the resurrection of Jesus.

9. Jesus was buried in a known tomb.

10. The respected Jewish historian Josephus acknowledged the historicity of Jesus and his execution at the hands of Pontius Pilate.

The resurrection of Jesus is the only plausible explanation for the rapid growth of Christianity in the first three centuries AD.

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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Jesus came to take away our regrets.

We can bring all our regrets to Jesus right now.

Only in Christ will we find peace, both now and forever.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The resurrection of Jesus is both a redemptive and personal reality.

Jesus knows Mary and he loves her.

Jesus, the Gardener of the new creation, knows his own.

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Monday, March 25, 2024

What truly happened to Jesus on the cross?

Jesus experienced “an objective God-forsakenness” at Calvary.

Jesus underwent “a separation from the face of the Father” on the cross.

The infinite wrath of God was poured out on the finite human nature of Jesus, while the infinite divine nature of Jesus was upholding his person.

Praise God that there was hell to pay for Jesus.

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Sunday, March 24, 2024

1. Jesus—being true God and true human—was the perfect, once for all sacrifice for sin.

2. Only Jesus kept the law fully—he was the true Son of Israel who loved God and his neighbor perfectly.

3. There is nothing we can add to Jesus’ finished work on our behalf.

4. Salvation is God’s gift to us—and so is our faith.

5. We could not keep the law perfectly because of our sin.

6. Any necessary works of ours would nullify the grace of God.

7. It is Jesus’ obedience that saves us, not our own.

8. Jesus paid our debts in full.

9. All believers stand justified before God in Jesus Christ alone.

10. Believers are free from condemnation forever.

11. Our fruit is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, not our own faithfulness.

12. God has promised to justify—and glorify—every person he has predestined and called.

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Thursday, March 21, 2024

Here are seven things you need to know about the silence of Jesus.

It is now our turn to speak.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

The Ten Commandments are a summary of God’s law that he gave to the people of Israel from Mount Sinai.

The Ten Commandments encompass more than is listed in them.

The Ten Commandments teach us God’s holy standards.

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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

How should we define repentance and faith?

The Bible contains various passages regarding the need for repentance.

The Bible teaches that repentance flows from faith.

We are justified by faith alone.