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"Coming to [Christ] as to a living stone" (1 Pet. 2:4). Jesus Christ is the source of every spiritual privilege. Often Christians speak of salvation as "coming to Christ." That's an accurate, biblical description, for Jesus Himself said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28); "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35); "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). Those are metaphors for salvation. Coming...

"Coming to Him as to a living stone . . . you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. . . . You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. . . . You are the people of God. . . . You have received mercy" (1 Pet. 2:4-10). You have enormous privileges in Christ. A university student once confessed to a pastor, "I've come to the conclusion that I don't believe in God." "I see," the pastor replied. "Please tell me...

"In the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:25-26). True faith willingly makes whatever sacrifices God requires. It's understandable that James would use Abraham as an illustration of living faith—especially to his predominately Jewish readers. Rahab, however, is a different story. She was a Gentile, a prostitute, a liar, and lived in the pagan city of Jericho. How could such a person illustrate true faith? Rahab...

One of my former churches is beginning a series based on a book called "White Awake" by Daniel Hill. (https://www.ivpress.com/white-awake-ebook) The book is published by InterVarsity Press (IVP), a respected evangelical Christian publisher. A blurb at the site contains the following: Hill began a journey of understanding his own white identity. Today he is an active participant in addressing and confronting racial and systemic injustices. And in this compelling and timely book, he shows you the seven stages to expect on your own path to cultural awakening. It's crucial to understand both personal and social realities in the areas of...

As polls show President Donald Trump’s support slipping among white evangelicals, the campaign for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sees an opening for their candidate to pull away voters from the president’s most faithful voting bloc. “The battle for the soul of our nation deeply resonates with evangelicals,” John McCarthy, deputy national political director for the Biden Campaign, told David Brody, chief political analyst at the Christian Broadcasting Network, in a recent interview for Just the News. “They would be open to Joe Biden’s message as well.” Earlier this month, Robert P. Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion...

Israel has decided to remove the U.S.-based evangelical Christian station GOD TV from the Israeli cable television provider HOT due to claims that it was trying to evangelize Jews. Asher Biton, chairman of Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, said he told the station last Thursday that it has seven days to halt broadcasting. “The channel appeals to Jews with Christian content,” stated Biton, as reported by the Associated Press, claiming that the station’s “original request” was to be a “station targeting the Christian population.” The GOD TV station for Israel, known as Shelanu, has denied that it is in...

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:21-24). You are a friend of God if you love Him and obey His Word. Can you imagine life without friends—those...

"Someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.' You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?" (James 2:18-20). Even demonic faith is better than dead faith! In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of professing Christians who believe that there's no necessary relationship between what they believe and what they do. They say...

"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:14-17). Dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless. Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in...

"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? . . . You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:14, 24). True faith produces good works. Many false teachers claim that you can earn your own salvation by doing good works. Most Christians understand the heresy of that teaching, but some become confused when they read that "a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:24). That seems to conflict with Paul's teaching on...

"So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:12-13). Showing mercy is characteristic of a regenerate person. Divine judgment has never been a popular topic of conversation. Godly people throughout history have been ridiculed, persecuted, and even killed for proclaiming it. In their efforts to win the approval of men, false teachers question or deny it. But James 2:12-13 reminds us that judgment will come, so we'd better live accordingly. The basis for divine...

The great American theologian Jonathan Edwards has had a huge influence on Christians on both sides of the Atlantic. The works of the 18th century preacher continue to be widely read; the well-known US pastor John Piper and prominent UK minister Martyn Lloyd-Jones have been among those in recent decades shaped by his writing. Yet there is a darker side to Edwards which is not so well known: the fact that he owned slaves. Indeed, he did so throughout his life – and although he modified his views a little, he continued to support the idea of slavery. In the...

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)In my last article I related how I recently prayed an exasperated prayer to God, not really expecting an answer. I literally cried out “WHY?” because I was grieved and upset at the rapid deterioration of the USA and the West, spiritually, morally and otherwise. Almost immediately I had received a very clear answer in my soul, which consists of three passages of Scripture, Romans 1, Psalm 2, and Deuteronomy 28. Please consider the lesson taught in Deuteronomy chapter 28 with me, and it’s implications...

"If you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not commit murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:9-11). You sin when you fall short of God’s holy standard or go beyond the limits of His law. Many people attempt to justify their sinfulness by categorizing sins according to their...

"If . . . you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well" (James 2:8). Love is the only antidote for partiality. In Matthew 22:36 a lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest. Jesus answered, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets" (vv....

The Rev. Lenny Duncan, here in May 2019, at the Metropolitan New York Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ...The Rev. Lenny Duncan is a black preacher in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the nation's whitest Christian denominations. As nationwide protests have forced white Americans to talk about race, Duncan's longtime advocacy within the church has become all the more relevant. Formerly incarcerated and homeless, Duncan was attracted to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's welcoming message of grace. But he believes the denomination — and the broader mainline Christian community — have...

Tamarac’s vice mayor, who leads an evangelical North Lauderdale church as Pastor Fire when he’s off the dais, announced publicly he plans to add a yarmulke to his wardrobe … in a manner of speaking. Just after decrying Mayor Michelle Gomez’s use of identity politics to win an election, the pastor announced at the June 10 meeting that he’s undergoing a conversion to Judaism. “I am a Christian,” he said, during a fiery, freewheeling exchange between him and the mayor. “I am going through a conversion to join the Jewish community as we speak. And I am learning Hebrew.” The...

A few years ago I went to pray and cried out to the LORD an exasperated Prayer, “WHY?”. What I was referring to was the moral, spiritual and cultural disintegration of our Nation. It was one of those cries, to which I didn’t even expect an answer, I was just pouring my heart out before the LORD, in prayer and sorrow. But I did receive an answer, a very clear thought came to me which I am sure was of the Holy Spirit of God. It come in the form of three passages of Scripture… Psalm 2, Deuteronomy 28, and...

"Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?" (James 2:6-7). You can’t accomplish God’s purposes by siding with His enemies. Favoritism has a way of blinding its victims to reality. James wrote of Christians who were trying to impress a rich man so they could benefit from his wealth and social status (vv. 2-3). The rich man represented the enemies of Christ, yet they gave him preferential treatment anyway. The poor man represented those whom God chose to be rich in...

Pastor Tupirani da Hora Lores preaches at his church in Rio de Janeiro, June 2020. (Courtesy of Sinagoga Sem Fronteiras via JTA) A Brazilian pastor prayed to God to “destroy the Jews like vermin” and bring about a second Holocaust during a sermon in Rio de Janeiro. “Massacre the Jews, God, hit them with your sword, for they have left God, they have left the nations,” Pastor Tupirani da Hora Lores shouted at dozens of congregants earlier this month at his Geracao Jesus Cristo church, a recording of the event shows. His congregants are heard repeating his words passionately. Fronteiras...