The lack of critical thinking skills among the general public is what keeps many businesses, governments, political parties, and churches afloat. One of the less rational arguments on the planet is the one behind the so-called pro-choice movement. Pro-choice is the euphemism used for the pro-abortion movement. In this article, I want to expose the ludicrousness of the pro-choice position, show why abortion should be considered murder, and explain from the Bible what Christians should and should not do in response to the pro-abortion movement.
Monthly Archives: February 2017
Q. Will the wicked really suffer eternal punishment in hell? It seems to me that the Bible may teach that they are merely executed.
A. The belief that the wicked will be executed after the resurrection is called annihilationism. Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the followers of Herbert W. Armstrong all believe this doctrine. A number of other theologians in more mainstream churches have also promoted annihilationism, or at least believed it to be a legitimate possibility based on their understanding of Scripture. Perhaps the most well known of these was the Anglican evangelical, John Stott. I believed a form of this teaching for many years when I was in the Worldwide Church of God. I no longer believe it to be the correct understanding, and I will try to briefly explain why.
How the Need for Repentance is Compatible with Grace–God as the Conquering King
Many of us are familiar with such passages as Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” And it is most certainly true that our salvation is entirely gracious. God gives it to us as a free gift. We cannot earn it; God never owes it to us.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God
There is an aspect to the Gospel that is not often mentioned in evangelism or even in scholarly discussions of the Gospel. But I don’t want to let it go unmentioned. It is an aspect that, for the most part, is now either overlooked completely or is completely distorted. What I have in mind is the “kingdom” facet of the Gospel.
Things Jesus Said He Was
This is not necessarily an exhaustive list. It consists of direct statements in which Jesus said “I am….” Interestingly, all of these are in the writings of John. I have also included a few other places where Jesus implied He was something. This list does not include things that others said of Jesus (such as being the Word, the Lamb, and the Rock) that, while certainly true of Him, He did not immediately and expressly confirm.
Can Man Become God?
The Bible teaches that our relationship to God is one of sons born to their Father (see “The Sons of God“). This fact raises the question of whether the ultimate human potential is to be God. Does our being sons of God mean that we are (or are to be) members of the Godhead on a footing with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? After all, the Bible indicates that we are brethren of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:12-17), and Jesus is God. Are we also to be God?
Q. Why does James say, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only”? (James 2:24). This seems to directly contradict Paul’s teaching that we are justified by faith.
A. In James 2:21, James says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” But Paul, in Romans 4:1-5 says,
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
