Tag Archives: sin

Old Testament consequences in the New Testament times

While King Solomon stood before the people before the newly dedicated temple, he prayed for several scenarios in which they would need to pray before the temple of God’s presence. “When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because … Continue reading

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Overcoming Sin

Are you dealing with sin in your life? The angel told Joseph that he was to name the baby JESUS, “for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). So, are you dealing with sin? Are you increasingly … Continue reading

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After the Easter Story: Resurrection Power and the Christian

Edited contents taken from Living with the End in View, book 2, by Steve Husting http://www.lulu.com/shop/steve-husting/living-with-the-end-in-view-book-2/paperback/product-753096.html The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the defining aspect of the Christian faith. No other religion has this story of God … Continue reading

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Sin Perverts the Law

A scribe asked Jesus which was the greatest of all the commandments. Jesus answered that these two laws are the framework upon which all the OT laws hang: love God with all you are and love your neighbor as yourself. … Continue reading

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How can the Kingdom of God “suffer violence”?

In Matthew 11:12, we read an interesting aspect of the Kingdom of God: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. How is the kingdom … Continue reading

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Saved, but not yet delivered

In Romans chapter seven, Paul agonized over his inability to do the good he expected to do as a saved person. At the end he poses the heartbreaking question, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me?” This … Continue reading

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Dealing with a Deceitful Heart

God spoke to us through Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all else, and desperately wicked. How is this seen in our lives? Here is one example. When I am overwhelmed by worries and fears, then my heart … Continue reading

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Grace and Works Go Together

I fear we are limiting God’s grace in our lives. I’ve seen two different aspects of God’s grace testified to. We often emphasize salvation is by grace, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9). In this passage, grace is God being merciful and … Continue reading

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Called to Forgive

How important is it to forgive those who have wronged us? Jesus spelled it out for us by first telling us the horrible fate of those who offend us: Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no … Continue reading

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If we are saved by grace, then why would God judge us afterward?

“Why would God judged us if we are saved?” Throughout all the statements of judgment in the Scripture, especially in the gospels and epistles, God is stating that we are responsible for our actions after we are saved. All of … Continue reading

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Why is there suffering in the world?

Someone asked this question on suffering at Christianity Stack Exchange, a site where I answer questions now and then. One of the answers to this question (given by a resident of Cape Town, South Africa) was so comprehensive regarding suffering … Continue reading

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Our “silly little sins”

I recently answered a question sent to me from gotquestions.org. This person, who is quoted below, thought her sins were silly little sins and she wondered why she was unable to get over them and stop repeating them. My reply … Continue reading

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What part of life is religious?

How much of life is religious, and how much is not? How much has to do with God, and how much does not? Is “church time” the religious part, and outside church, life is not? A response of Jesus addressed … Continue reading

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Why should we read the Old Testament?

Is the Old Testament (OT) of any value nowadays? Many people say that we no longer have to follow all those laws and rules anymore, so why bother reading it at all? I’ve read through the OT many times along … Continue reading

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How do we Fight the Devil?

The Bible tells us how to address the one “who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9) in several revealing passages in the New Testament. In none of them are we told to attack him directly. Rather, we remove the means … Continue reading

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Through the sciences we have gained much knowledge about how the world works, so why do we need a god?

This kind of question is usually asked of those in the sciences who are personally pursuing knowledge. If they write a book, they’ll usually write about ancient man’s inability to explain the forces of nature, and so they invented a … Continue reading

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If I do many good works, will I go to heaven?

Think about what the question implies. It assumes that because of doing many good works, we’ve put God on the spot; the Creator of the universe is in our debt! We’re saying that He owes us heaven because of all … Continue reading

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Is it fair for good people to end up in Hell just because they didn’t receive the salvation of Jesus?

Of course it is fair. Heaven is God’s home. If a person arrived at your doorstep saying they’re a good person, would you let him in to live with you as long as he wanted? Of course not! If you … Continue reading

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Why does the Bible tell us to reckon ourselves as dead?

Here is the full passage from Romans 6:10-13: For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed … Continue reading

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A Tale of Two Resurrections

When Paul made an argument for his faith in Acts 24:10-21, he affirmed his belief  that both the just and the unjust will be resurrected (24:15). What is the resurrection of the just and the unjust? When we encounter a … Continue reading

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How do I deal with out-of-control sexual urges?

You deal with sexual desires the same way as with any other feelings, whether of envy, hatred, avarice, pride, and so on. The foundational teaching is Romans 6. There, we learn that when Jesus was buried, He took our “old … Continue reading

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Was the mark of Cain God’s curse on him?

Here is the passage in question. As we see, Cain kills his brother, God confronts him with it, then the mark is applied: And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the … Continue reading

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If the punishment for sin is eternal punishment, then how could Jesus’ 3 days in the grave be enough?

Some question whether Christ suffered enough for our sins. After all, He was on the cross for only a few hours, and less than four days in Hell. So how could that be punishment enough for the sins of the … Continue reading

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What is so special about the cross?

Christians highly value the cross because it means that our sins were borne by Jesus on the cross. The cross was an instrument of Roman torture to administer the death penalty. The criminal was nailed to a beam with his … Continue reading

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If there is free will, how can God be in control?

Your will is not as free as you suppose. Your upbringing, culture, personality, conscience, friends and acquaintances, role models, and the media have shaped you in many ways. For instance, if you are shy, your decisions at a party would … Continue reading

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Forgiving All

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