Steadfast in Unity
We live in a changing, decaying, unraveling world. A general increase in lawlessness and crime, government regulations, high taxes, poor education, and a…
We live in a changing, decaying, unraveling world. A general increase in lawlessness and crime, government regulations, high taxes, poor education, and a…
The writers of Scripture often used the word walk to describe the Christian’s conduct or manner of life. The apostle Paul instructed Christians to…
Professional athletes devote their lives to the pursuit of a prize. They focus all their efforts on reaching their goals, putting aside all distractions…
Contending for the faith is not easy. It’s an unpopular, perilous, thankless job. It is more pleasant to be an appeaser than an opposer…
Life is full of warnings. The Internet, TV, and billboards bombard us regularly with warnings, telling us what to think, believe, and do…
The apostle Paul personally discipled several committed men who partnered with him in spreading the gospel. Most of them came to salvation in Christ during…
Many godly men and women in the Bible serve as examples for us of how to live for Christ. They trusted God’s…
In Philippians 2:3–4, Paul admonished Christians to live in spiritual unity with one another. Nothing was to be done within the church through selfish ambition…
The 6th-century BC Greek storyteller Aesop, whose oral tales compose the famous Aesop’s Fables, has been credited with the origin of the…
An old martyr once told his executioners, “You take a life from me that I cannot keep and bestow a life upon me that I cannot lose…”
If anyone had a reason to ask, “Why me?” it was the apostle Paul. No one who followed Christ suffered more for the gospel than he did…
Several years ago, we received a Thanksgiving Day card titled “Blessed and Grateful.” The sender wrote, “We hope your celebration of God’s blessings is…
Christian leaders often create ministry strategies, only to discover God’s will is different…
Place yourself in the apostle Paul’s sandals: You are in a dungeon awaiting execution, knowing your fellow workers face great persecution from Roman officials…
If we had written the apostle Paul’s last words, we might have chosen to conclude his final epistle with a testimony to his victorious, faithful ministry…
Are you prepared to die? The last words a person utters or writes when death is imminent are usually of great importance…
Knowing his life would soon end, the apostle Paul fixed his attention on completing his letter to young Timothy, his protégé and son in the faith…
The apostle Paul was martyred during the rule of Roman Emperor Nero, an evil, diabolical man whose vicious cruelty…
In many of his epistles, the apostle Paul warned churches that in the last days, charlatans will emerge teaching erroneous, deceptive doctrines that cause…
People who serve Satan may not realize what they are doing. But if they distort, oppose, twist, or deny the true gospel…
What is the church? Many people think of it solely as a building—sometimes a great and majestic cathedral and sometimes an unadorned, small, simple structure…
Confronting false teaching is not easy, particularly for a young minister. But it is necessary, as the apostle Paul explained to his protégé Timothy…
The Christian life is not a sprint to the finish line. It’s a marathon. It requires faithful endurance from beginning to end; and to live it, we must draw on…
A concert violinist once was asked, “How did you become such a skilled violinist?” The musician replied, “By planned neglect. I planned to neglect everything that was…”
Eighty percent of the people around the world today being persecuted for their faith are Christians. Many live under the constant threat of violence…
Timothy was a young leader in the Ephesian church when the apostle Paul wrote the epistle of 2 Timothy to encourage his “son” in the faith…
Memory is a wonderful gift from God. Some people say the human mind can store as many as 600 memories a second…
The final words of someone facing death usually hold great significance…
A church is like a family. All members need love, and sometimes someone needs discipline. This fact was especially…
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often called the prince of preachers, had much to say about his prayer life…
False teaching had shaken the Thessalonians’ faith. It had persuaded them they were living in the Day of the Lord…
It’s encouraging to know that before the Antichrist even appears on the world scene, his ultimate demise and destiny in the Lake of Fire are certain. When Christ returns to Earth, He will destroy this man of sin…
While establishing the church in Thessalonica, the apostle Paul personally instructed believers concerning future prophecy…
It’s easy to become discouraged and misled by false reports. That’s why it is so important to be able to discern between truth and error…
The apostle Paul made a practice of visiting churches he had planted and providing pastoral care and counsel. But sometimes opposition to him and his ministry made the task impossible…
One of the apostle Paul’s earliest ministries was in the city of Thessalonica. Because his heart was to “the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16), he preached the gospel first in the…
Paul’s concluding words in this epistle are extremely important. He revisited prominent themes of prayer, sanctification, the Lord’s faithfulness, spiritual commitment, and preparedness for the Rapture of the church…
The apostle Paul often addressed the church as a family. He called members brothers and sisters and encouraged them to love one another. To function properly, a church—like a family—must have structure, order, respect for its members…
“At the Rapture,” wrote Bible scholar John F. Walvoord, “Christians will see their loved ones who died and preceded them to heaven. It will also end their earthly problems, and they will be forever with the Lord.”1 For these reasons, the Rapture has been a…
1 Thessalonians 5:1–3: In 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, we saw that Christians (both dead and living) will be raptured to be with Christ when He appears to receive His church. But what about those left behind?…
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18: When Paul established the Thessalonian church, he taught believers there about Jesus Christ’s imminent return. They were told, “wait for His Son from heaven…
1 Thessalonians 4:9–12: How to live a life that pleases God is the overriding theme of the first 12 verses of 1 Thessalonians 4. Verses 1–8 speak about sexual purity, and verses 9–12 provide practical instruction on how to maintain right relationships with…
1 Thessalonians 4:1–8: Some people find it difficult to live for Christ. But God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us, and we need to learn how to yield our lives to His control. In the final two chapters of 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul…
1 Thessalonians 3:6–13: Greatly relieved by Timothy’s encouraging report that the young Thessalonian church was not wavering in its faith despite persecution, the apostle Paul penned this letter to the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 3:1–5: Birthing is not easy. That’s why it’s called labor. Paul felt personally responsible for the Thessalonian church, which he had birthed through his ministry. He cared for the babes in Christ there with the gentle love…
1 Thessalonians 2:13–20: The testimony of a new believer in Christ causes other believers to rejoice. Imagine how overjoyed the apostle Paul was to learn of the Thessalonians’ steadfast faith despite their persecution. He rejoiced over them and longed to see them again.
1 Thessalonians 2:7–12The church is a family. People enter it by being born into it spiritually. And, as in a family, all members have responsibilities; and their commitment to and love for one another are necessary to create…
1 Thessalonians 2:1–6: The apostle Paul’s abrupt departure from Thessalonica brought accusations that he was a religious charlatan preaching for financial gain and personal honor. If the accusations went unanswered, they…
1 Thessalonians 1:9–10: When the Thessalonians received Jesus Christ as their Savior, they experienced a thrilling transformation. They were completely delivered from the darkness and depravity of paganism and anxiously…
1 Thessalonians 1:5–8: The apostle Paul did not preach on the power of positive thinking to the Thessalonians. He did not use skillful oratory, philosophical arguments, clever expressions, or…
1 Thessalonians 1:2–4: When kindness is shown to someone, the usual response is to say thank you. No New Testament writer other than Paul expressed thankfulness to his fellow Christians…
1 Thessalonians 1:1: First Thessalonians is a key book for every Christian, whether a new believer or seasoned saint. The theme is the coming of the Lord, and each chapter builds on an aspect of the believer’s life…
Acts 17:1–10: One of the apostle Paul’s most important ministries took place in Thessalonica. His letters to believers there show how he established churches early in his ministry, met with opposition…
3 John 5–14: Third John focuses on three men, two of whom—Gaius and Diotrephes—were church leaders. Gaius was a committed servant, full of love and truth, and given to hospitality…
3 John 1–4: Churches are like families: full of members with differing personalities, dispositions, and temperaments. Some members are friendly, loving, truthful, generous, and hospitable…
2 John 5–13: All Christians should obey biblical truth and manifest love, as taught by Jesus Christ. The “elect lady and her children,” whom the apostle John mentioned in his second epistle, lived observably according to these commandments…
2 John 1:1–4: A major problem in the first-century church was the proliferation of false teachers. Under the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John…
1 John 5:13–21: Some Christians lack assurance that they are truly born again. Certainty about one’s salvation comes through knowing what God’s Word teaches. The apostle John’s major focus…
1 John 5:1–12: The apostle John used the word overcomer more than any New Testament writer when speaking of the Christian’s victorious life in Christ (1 Jn. 5:4–5)…
1 John 4:7–21: If one thing is glaringly missing in the life of many Christians today, it is the expression of Christian love. Throughout the First Epistle of John, the apostle John emphasized…
1 John 4:1–6: First-century believers were often inundated with heretical doctrine from people whom the Bible identifies as false teachers and false prophets. At that time…
1 John 3:11–24: In 1 John 3:10, the apostle John declared, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” These strong words…
1 John 3:4–10: The First Epistle of John teaches that people who are truly born again are children of God and will practice righteousness (2:29), keeping themselves pure from sin…
1 John 3:1–3: God’s redemptive program began with His love for fallen humanity. Those who have been “born of Him” (1 Jn. 2:29) by faith in Jesus Christ manifest this…
1 John 2:18–29: At the inception of his epistle, the apostle John declared, “God is light” (1 Jn. 1:5). He said people who walk in God’s light abide in fellowship with Him.
1 John 2:12–17: In this section, John assured his readers of his confidence in their salvation (vv. 12–14); and he instructed them to guard against loving the world and becoming part of its…
1 John 2:3–11: It is easy for someone to say, “I know God”; but what does that really mean? First John 2:3–11 provides three tests or evidences of what it means to know God and be in…
1 John 2:1–2: God is light (1 Jn. 1:5). Light defines and describes God’s true nature and symbolizes His purity, character, and glory. To have true fellowship with God, Christians must…
1 John 1:5–10: Fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ is the message the apostle John proclaims throughout this epistle. For believers to have fellowship with God, they…
1 John 1:1–4: Before the apostle John wrote 1 John, he had already lived through the inception, expansion, and persecution of the first-century church…
In most Bible-believing churches, a Sunday morning service seems filled with a spirit of joy and harmony. Visitors are welcomed warmly and invited to please come back…
Hebrews 13:18–25: The final eight verses of Hebrews 13 conclude the Epistle to the Hebrews. In them, the author exhorted Jewish believers one last time through a…
Chapter 13 of Hebrews contains the book’s final admonishment. Whereas verses 1–6 provide practical and personal exhortation on how believers should live in Christ, verses 7–17 focus more on theological…
To this point, the book of Hebrews has stressed the superiority of Christ, while exhorting believers not to leave the church because of persecution but to go on to Christian…
In a fifth and final warning to Jewish believers in Christ, the book of Hebrews contrasts the experience of God’s people at Mount Sinai as they received the Mosaic Covenant…
Tribulation and suffering befall all true Christians sometime in their lives. The believers addressed in the book of Hebrews were no exception. Persecution had…
The book of Hebrews was written to provide evidence of Jesus Christ’s divinity, confirm that the Mosaic Law had been both fulfilled and abrogated in Christ, and exhort Jewish believers…
Hebrews 11:32–40: The beginning of Hebrews 11 describes faith. Then it systematically illustrates it in the lives of those who lived before the patriarchal period until Israel crossed the Jordan River…
After 400 years in Egyptian captivity, the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land. The Lord commanded Moses to send one representative from each of the 12 tribes to search…
Moses was a gifted leader whom God used to bring about His plan for Israel and the world. He was blessed with good looks, intelligence, opportunities, eloquence, and leadership ability (Ex. 2:2; Acts 7:20, 22).
Now the book of Hebrews moves from the faith of men before the flood to the faith of men in the patriarchal period. The author uses Abraham’s faith to illustrate…
n Hebrews 11 a gallery of portraits is paraded before us, painted by the hand of God. Each portrait presents the unique faith of individuals who performed great exploits. These men and women…
The author of Hebrews revealed in chapter 10 that salvation is established on the bedrock of Christ’s sacrifice and not through the Levitical system. Christ’s death for sin and His abiding priesthood…
This section of the book of Hebrews comes on the heels of a strong warning in 10:25 that believers not abandon assembling together, as some were doing. In fact, Christians in every generation…
To this point, the book of Hebrews has been doctrinal in nature. Using comparison, the author has shown Christ’s superiority over angels, Moses, and the Levitical priesthood. He has also shown…
Hebrews 10 culminates the central exposition on Christ’s eternal priesthood. In his closing argument, the author contrasted the imperfect, insufficient, and ineffective Levitical sacrificial system with Christ’s once-for-all, perfect, and sufficient…
Under the Levitical system, animal blood could only cover sin, never remove it. However, Christ’s blood was sufficient and efficacious to redeem mankind and remove sin. The remaining verses of Hebrews 9…
Hebrews 9 begins with a description of the earthly Tabernacle and its ministry through the Levitical priesthood under the first (Mosaic) covenant. Both the Tabernacle and its services were temporary…
Christ’s high priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood because it is based on a New Covenant and operates in a heavenly sanctuary. When referring to the heavenly sanctuary, the author…
Hebrews 8 begins with the author summing up the first seven chapters about Christ’s priesthood: “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High…
Many first-century Hebrew Christians struggled to understand the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Growing up under the Levitical system of animal sacrifices, they had centered their faith in the Aaronic priesthood…
First-century Jewish believers faced some perplexing questions concerning Christ’s high priestly ministry. Why wasn’t He called a priest while here on Earth? How could He be a legitimate high priest and how…
In the previous eight verses of this chapter, the author encouraged new believers to leave Judaism and press on toward maturity in Christ. Failure to do so, he warned, would disastrously…
Hebrews 6:1-8: Maturing in Christ is a process; it doesn’t happen overnight. Unfortunately, some people never get there. They regress rather than progress. Hebrews 6 warns believers in Jesus to forsake practices…
Hebrews 5:1–14: The tribes of Israel revered the Aaronic high priest. With the exception of Moses, he enjoyed greater access to and fellowship with God than any other Israelite. Although God bestowed…
Hebrews 4:4–16: The importance of what you are about to study on the high priesthood of Jesus Christ cannot be overstated. Christ’s high priesthood is mentioned briefly in Hebrews 2:17 and 3:1; but the subject…
Hebrews 4:1–13: Chapter 3 of Hebrews presents two types of rest: that of entering Canaan (the rest offered to Israel) and that which comes from a life of faith in Christ. All the Israelites 20 and older…
Hebrews 3:1–19: Moses is a dominant figure in Israel’s history. Of all the Old Testament leaders, there is none greater. He is described as “the man of God” and “the servant of the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Dt. 33:1; 34:5).
Hebrews 2:1–18: In the midst of showing Christ’s superiority to angels, the author of Hebrews paused to apply what he had presented previously. He then warned and exhorted Jewish believers in Jesus—the recipients of this letter…
Hebrews 1:4–14: No chapter in the Bible presents such a full picture of the deity of Jesus Christ as Hebrews 1. After completing His earthly ministry, Christ was restored to the dignity and glory He possessed in eternity past…