LET THE BIBLE SPEAK.

AudioEvangelism.com Heavenly Wisdom Is... presented by Stephen R. Bradd After James finished talking about the false wisdom of this world, he described what true wisdom is all about in eight points in 3:17. 1. HEAVENLY WISDOM IS PURE. If a person isn't pure, he is polluted or defiled. Such a one isn't godly and he certainly doesn't have wisdom from God. Christians are pure as long as they love the Lord and are faithful to Him. Yes, we still transgress, but the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin as long as we continue to walk in the light (I John 1:7-9). We must seek purity of heart and life if we are to be truly wise. 2. HEAVENLY WISDOM IS PEACEABLE. Worldly wisdom creates strife, but divine wisdom produces peace. Heavenly wisdom causes one to have a loving heart and a peaceful disposition that leads to harmonious relationships. If we are peaceful, then we will not stir up needless controversy. We will set aside divisive and boastful attitudes. 3. HEAVENLY WIS

ARE YOU READY FOR THE DAY OF JUDGMENT ? Ivie Powell         It should be a very sobering thought to realize that each of us will one day stand before Christ to be judged! Some 2,000 years ago Christ ascended to heaven. “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).         When the return of Christ occurs, every person on earth will instantly know. Truly the return of our Lord will be a spectacular event! According to the Bible, His coming will be:         VISIBLE! “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because

Praying in the Name of Jesus The most common phrase we hear at the end of a prayer is, "In the name of Jesus. Amen." While God's word teaches us to offer our petitions to the Father in the name of the Son, it is obvious that many people fail to realize what it really means. Do we understand what we are saying when we close our prayers with this phrase? The Bible gives further insight into this much misunderstood concept. What does it mean to pray "in the name of Jesus"? It means our prayer is powered by the authority of Jesus. Christians have the awesome privilege of approaching the throne of God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). But without the authority of our Lord we would be unable to do so. Upon healing the lame man, Peter and John were asked, "By what authority, or by what name have you done this?" They responded, "By the name of Jesus Christ…this man stands before you whole? (Acts 4:7-10). The apostles were saying that the healing of the lame man

Elder Shortage By J.F. Dancer, Jr. I read a lot today about a great "preacher shortage" among churches. There may be such. But there is another "shortage" that in my mind brings more danger to men's souls and that hinders the growth of the Lord's people even more. This is a shortage of men qualified to do the work of elders! Many congregations are existing (and have existed for upwards to 50 years) without men qualified to serve as elders. The Bible teaches there should be a plurality of elders in each congregation. Now, I know that a congregation can exist scripturally for a time without elders. I also know that when it does it is working under a handicap and is not as God wants it to be. What is being done to alleviate this "shortage"? Some congregations are disregarding the Bible and installing men who do not even come close to the qualifications given in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Men have been appointed without any children and with

Women and the Bible Brent Gallagher There is no question that women have made tremendous strides in the past 100 years as far as achieving certain rights which previously they have been denied. This article’s purpose is not to examine these achievements or to look at both the positive and sometimes negative consequences of such achievements. Instead, this article is focusing on what the New Testament teaches about women and how some are attacking the very teachings of the Bible related to women. A common theme in today’s religious world is that the Bible’s view of women is outdated and not fit for today’s culture. The Episcopalian bishop, John Spong, on page 117 of his book Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality says, “There is no doubt about the fact that the Bible is biased against women… Both the religious and ethical directives of the Bible were formulated out of a patriarchal understanding of life, with the interests of men being primary. Are we willing to return to th

INVESTIGATE THE CHURCH OF CHRIST By Ezekiel Akinyemi. The church of Christ is composed of those who are being saved. It is not a denomination. When a person hears the gospel of Christ, believes it with all sincerity, soberly repents of his sins, confesses Christ as the Son of God and is baptized (immersed in water) by the authority of Christ, God forgives that person all his past sins and seals him with the Holy Spirit. Such is the person considered in the Bible as being saved and added to the Lord's church, the body of Christ. And such is the person rightly called a Christian. Please, confirm all these things in Acts 2:36-47; 1 Cor. 12:13 and Acts 11:26. God wants you to investigate the church of Christ, the church for which Jesus shed His blood and died. Satan, the deceiver of man from the beginning has created several and various counterfeit churches many of which seem to look in some aspects to be the church of Christ. In denominationalism, Satan has tried to portray the kin

Skip to content Search  Menu Home Articles Video About Us Shop My Account Donate 4 bad arguments for defending creationism (and what we should use instead) September 19, 2017  by  Jack Wilkie By Jack Wilkie As belief in a literal, six day creationism is mocked more and more all the time, many of us often have opportunities to defend what we believe. However, having the right core beliefs and the right intentions doesn’t mean we always have the right proofs. In fact, arguing with the wrong proofs can actually hurt our case. A true belief can’t be built on a foundation of false proofs. So, let’s look at four common arguments used, why they shouldn’t be used, and what we can use instead. Evolution is just a theory. The scientific definition of “theory” is much different than the one used in daily conversation. Evolution isn’t referred to as a theory in the same way I might claim I have a theory about who keeps borrowing my phone charger without replacing it.  Dictionary.com  de

DEALING WITH FALSE TEACHERS by Mike Benson QUESTION: How should we treat people who teach and promote false doctrine in the church? Shouldn't we love them even when their teaching has a few rough edges? ANSWER: The Bible certainly teaches that we should love all people. However, loving people and condoning false teaching is not the same thing. According to the New Testament of Christ, we should: 1. Stop their mouths. Paul wrote, "Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers ... whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake" (Titus 1:9-11). 2. Mark and avoid them. "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lo

Learning to Serve Like Jesus By Brian MItchell      The following are the words of a beautiful song from our song book entitled “Heart of a Servant.” It reads, “Give me the heart of a servant, tender and faithful and true. Fill me with love, then use me, o Lord, so that the world can see you.” As you think about yourself, especially in light of your relationship with God through His Son; who are you? How would you describe yourself?       What descriptive terms for the children of God are you most comfortable with? Do you think of yourself as a disciple, a saint, or a Christian? What about the term Servant? One day a woman was interviewing a prospective butler and asked him, “Are you trained to serve guests?” The prospective butler replied “Yes, ma’am, I have been trained to serve guests both ways.” The woman looked puzzled and asked, “What do you mean, both ways?” The prospective butler replied, “I’ve been trained to serve them so they’ll come again, or so they’ll stay away. You

Heaven Holds My God The Pages of Inspiration have much to say concerning the glorious subjects of God and heaven. In fact, the Bible begins by making us aware that God created the heavens (Gen. 1:1, 8). We also learn that God dwells in the heavens (1 Kings 8:30). Though God created the heavens and dwells therein, the heavens cannot fully contain Him (1 Kings 8:27). Heaven is the throne of God (Isa. 66:1; Matt. 5:34; Heb. 8:1). Thus, God rules from heaven (Matt. 5:16, 45; 6:1, 9), and is the God of heaven (Rev. 11:13; 16:11). Regarding the subject of heaven, we learn from the Scriptures that there are three heavens (2 Cor. 12:2). The first heaven is what we call the sky (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven is what we call space (Job 26:7). The third heaven is what the Bible calls paradise (2 Cor. 12:2-4). From the Scriptures we may safely infer that God inhabits the third heaven, which is in eternity (Isa. 57:15). This is where the throne of God is located (Acts 7:49; Rev. 4.1-3). God inhab

God Hates Divorce By G. E. Watkins From the beginning God established the home as foundation and assistance to everything He wanted to accomplish on earth. He intended that a man and woman would join together for life. Man, however, because of the hardness of his heart began to betray the wife of his youth and take other wives (Matthew 19:8). When a man does this he breaks his promise to his bride, fails in his leadership in his home, does irreparable harm to his children and slaps the face of God who authorized and sealed the marriage in the first place. It is no overstatement to say that God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). Man will say that he deserves to be happy and if he doesn’t love his wife any more that he ought to be able to divorce her and find a woman he can be happy with. Why would God hate that action if a man’s happiness is on the line? The man that would divorce his wife, looking to his own happiness, is arrogant and selfish. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD i

HOW DOES A PERSON GET INTO THE CHRIST? According to the Bible, all have sinned and stand in need of the Lord’s salvation. However, God’s wonderful message is that sinners can be freely justified by His grace "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Where is redemption found? In the Christ. This truth is also stated in Ephesians 1:7, where it is written, "In whom [Jesus, rdc] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." By the grace of God, the forgiveness of sins is available somewhere. Where? In the Son of God. In Ephesians 1:3 it is further stated that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in the Christ. It is obvious that "in the Christ" is truly the place to be if we want to be saved and enjoy the spiritual blessings that come from Jehovah. But how does a person get into the Christ? It is necessary to believe in Jesus as the Son of God (John

“Just” Coming To Church Often we hear this phrase in the form of a statement about those who are not members of the Lord’s church. We hear: “If we can just get them coming to church.” It is a statement that has always bothered me. I realize such a statement is made without thought. First of all, it is a misleading statement. It lends it’s emphasis to an understanding that “just coming to worship or Bible classes” is the same as “coming into the church.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Just coming to worship services is not the same as coming into the Lord’s church. There is a way to “come into [the]church.” Luke recorded: “...the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). The way to be added to the “church” is through the gospel plan of salvation. The last act of that plan is baptism. Baptism remits sin, washes away sin, saves the sinner; but, it is also part of becoming a member of the body of Christ, the church: “For by one Spirit are we all bapt

Saints Greg Weston Who is a saint? This term is not used regularly among the people of God today. It is a good word, for it reflects those who are holy and pure. The word emphasized a person who is set apart for the service of God. A saint is a Christian. It is not a title or name, but a description. Even a quick look in the concordance will remind us of the many times the inspired writers used this term of God’s people. Consider these few examples. "To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 1:7). "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours" (1 Cor 1:2). "But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among t

Differences in Bible Miracles and Modern Miracles by Hiram Hutto While Jesus was on earth he made some very startling claims. He claimed to be divine, and the Jews so understood him (John 5:18; 10:33). He claimed to be the Son of God (John 10:35-37). He claimed to be the Messiah (John 4:25-26) and the Savior of the world (John 14:6). But anyone could make these claims. We were on a call-in radio program where a man would occasionally call denying that Jesus was the Messiah, and claiming instead that he was the Messiah. However, Jesus did more than simply claim to be the things noted, he proved that claim by the miracles he performed. Let's consider these. Power over nature. He stilled a storm (Matthew 8:26-27). Power over material things. He fed 5,000 men with a few loaves and fishes (Luke 9:10-17). Power over all manner of diseases (Matthew 8:16). Power over the spirit world (Matthew 8:16). Power over life and death (John 11:14-44). These are not merely powers, but ones pe

Facts About Faith Healing by Rick Duggin Members of the Faith Assembly, an Indiana-based religious sect, have lost as many as eighty-eight members to treatable illnesses or injuries because they believe that going to a doctor is wrong. A federal and state study concluded that the morality rate for their newborns is three times higher than the statewide rate, and the rate of maternal deaths is one hundred times higher. A Mr. Freeman who started this sect claimed that he would never die, that he would live till the Second Coming. He was buried in December, 1984, and yet the sect continues to exist. No Bible believer will deny that healing is divine or that we should pray for the sick. The question is: Does God heal miraculously today? A miracle is an act above the laws of nature; something which nature could not do in its ordinary course of operation. Our society has so perverted this word that anything from a narrow escape to a successful telethon is called a miracle. Even in the fi

God is Speaking to TB Joshua and Pastor Chris, etc Eric Obeng Asante. One person claims that God revealed to her in a dream what she was to do with her life. A man says that God spoke to him, openly, telling him what he was to do religiously. Yet another sees signs in the clouds telling what God wants him to do. Another says that God speaks to him "in a still, small voice." Still another man claims that God speaks directly to the heart of each individual to reveal God's Will to him. Many modern day religions have begun because some religious leader claims God has spoken to him and has revealed what he and others are to do to please God. So, which one if right? Or, are any of them right? If God speaks to man, how does He do it? Let's find out, as we look in His Word. Solomon, inspired of God, wrote about his search for the meaning of life. After looking at all of his riches, his accomplishments, entertainment he had, and all his possessions, Solomon wrote: "So

WAS THE SABBATH A DIVINE REQUIREMENT FROM THE TIME OF CREATION? BY WAYNE JACKSON “Does Genesis 2:2-3 establish the fact that the ‘Sabbath’ was ‘sanctified’ as a ‘holy day’ from the time of creation onward?” Here is the text that is the focus of this question. “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.” Thus, in the Genesis record, in connection with earth’s first week, Moses recounts that God rested (i.e., ceased from his creation activity) on the seventh day. Further, it is said that the Lord blessed and sanctified (hallowed; made holy) the seventh day in commemoration of the cessation of his activity.The text does not specify, however, precisely when the sabbath was “hallowed”; and to read such into the sacred record, especially in view of evidence to the contrar

A BRIEF STUDY OF THE WORD “KINGDOM” BY WAYNE JACKSON The word “kingdom” is a prominent feature of the New Testament. The Greek term is basileia, found 162 times in the New Testament. As with most words, kingdom can be used in a variety of senses, depending upon the context. Let me provide a common example. If someone says: “I am proud of my bridge,” is he speaking of the passageway over the small stream that runs in front of his house or is he referring to a helpful addition to his teeth? Only the larger context will tell. Let us study some uses of kingdom in New Testament. Geographical Territory Occasionally, “kingdom” was used of a region that embraced a political territory. After her licentious dance, Herod Antipas promised the daughter of Herodius “half of his kingdom” (Mk. 6:23). As a tetrarch under the authority of Rome, Herod had no kingdom of his own. His offer was an inflated exaggeration that was an index to his inflamed passion! Authority Reign of God Among Men When

A PRAYER OF THE AFFLICTED: A STUDY OF PSALM 102 BY JASON JACKSON “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Proverbs 25:11, NASB). In the circumstance of tragedy, a simple statement spoken in sincerity, “I know how you feel,” are words that are like apples of gold in settings of silver. When you say, “I know how you feel,” to a friend recently diagnosed with a malignancy, being a recovering cancer patient yourself, those are words fitly spoken. Or when one mother puts her arms around another mother who has recently lost her child, having lost a child herself, and says “I know how you feel,” those are words fitly spoken. When a person is grievously suffering, and reads Psalm 102, he finds a sentiment that says, in part, “I know how you feel.” In the midst of raging technology, we can still identify with an inspired prayer dozens of centuries old. In fact, the psalm puts into words and pictures feelings that many have experienced, yet have