There are many places in the world today where it is dangerous to be a Christian. But how did Paul respond to danger? There were instances, like when Paul was in Ephesus, where he had to flee for his life. But in this story his response was different.
In Acts 18 we get introduced to a man named Apollos. He was a well educated man and he knew about Jesus, but his information was incomplete. Fortunately for him, there were people listening to his message and willing to share more about Jesus.
I was recently in Asia and there were several instances when I saw people bringing sacrifices and incense to lay before their idols. When I saw that I could not help but think of Paul in Athens as he looked on the idols of that city.
To say that the Bible is inerrant is to say that there are no errors or mistakes in the Bible. The doctrine of inerrancy is inseparable from the doctrine of inspiration. It’s quite simple actually. If God told Moses to write something down and God is the author, then there can be no mistake because God is perfect.
In John 16:8-9 Jesus spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit and he said, “when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.” So even before someone has the indwelling of the Spirit, the Spirit is already working in their life. The first thing the Spirit does is convict someone of their sin.
As people in the New Testament (prior to the ministry of Jesus) came to John the Baptist they heard his message of repentance and participated in baptism. This single immersion into the water represented their repentance from their old life and their desire to follow after God. John, speaking of Jesus said in Matthew 3:11, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
In Romans 8:9 Paul writes, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” Therefore anyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit of God within them. How then do we belong to Christ?
As Jesus continued teaching the disciples to pray In Matthew 6:12 he said, "and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Forgiveness is central to the Gospel. Jesus died for us so that we could be forgiven. It is fascinating that Jesus doesn't just tell people to simply ask for forgiveness and move on. He implies here that we must first show forgiveness to others.
You may have never thought about this, but when you talk to someone you usually change the way you talk and what you talk about depending on who they are. For example, when I talk to my doctor, I focus on talking about my health and I speak very directly. When I talk to my best friend, I talk very casually and we usually catch up on the latest movies.
The resurrection of Jesus is not simply a spiritual metaphor but a physical reality and moment in history. The evidence for this is clear. First, there is an empty tomb (Lk 24:2). The tomb was guarded so that one one could steal the body (Mt 27:66). Jesus was clearly dead before being sealed inside (Jn 19:33-34).
There are many things that give significance to the death of Christ. Here are seven important aspects to his death. First, Jesus’ death was prophesied. The very first prophecy in the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15. God says to the Serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
It is clear that Jesus is God (Jn 1:1). The question that must be addressed is whether or not there is a hierarchy within the Trinity. Is Jesus co-equal with the Father and the Spirit? As mentioned previously in another section, all three persons of the Trinity are God, and as such are worthy of worship and praise.
Because Jesus is God, the same attributes of perfection, holiness and impeccability also apply to him. We can also see his sinlessness clearly laid out in the scriptures. First, we have no examples of Jesus sinning. Rather, we have examples of Jesus resisting temptation altogether (Mt 4:1–11, Mk 1:12–13, Lk 4:1–13).
It is seemingly impossible for finite beings to wrap their minds around a infinite God. In fact everything we know about God is limited and only a fraction of his immense being. All that we know about God is what God himself has chosen to reveal to us. Without God revealing himself to us we would not know him at all. He is incomprehensible. God has made himself knowable in part through general revelation as we look at his creation and he has made himself known more fully though special revelation as we read his word.
