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Continue reading →: Jude – Part 1 of 2 (Are you a slave? Can you know if another is saved?)
OVERVIEW OF JUDE Jude is a short book written by Jude, the half brother of Jesus Christ, to Christians. Jude had intended to write to these believers about the salvation they shared, but instead felt compelled to warn them about false teachers who were causing divisions among them. To address…
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Continue reading →: James – Part 2 of 2 (Are you saved by faith or faith and good deeds?)
To be saved, does a person have to perform good deeds, or do good works, in addition to having faith? Or, is faith alone sufficient? The answer to this has divided Catholics and Protestants on the subject of salvation. Can I solve the 2,000 year old question to set one…
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Continue reading →: James – Part 1 of 2 (How good do you have to be to become a Christian?)
OVERVIEW OF BOOK Although James was writing primarily to Christians, the recipients certainly weren’t acting like Christians. They said sinful things, expressed anger, showed personal favoritism, displayed selfish ambition and worldliness. They were jealous and quarreled. It was hard to tell the Christians from non-Christians. What was James’ advice for these spiritually…
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Continue reading →: 2 Peter – Part 3 of 3 (Do you need to repent to be saved? Can you lose your salvation?)
In this blog I’ll address the last two questions on salvation from 2 Peter. What does repentance have to do with salvation? 2 Peter contains only one verse on repentance, but from this verse we can see that repentance is related to salvation. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not…
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Continue reading →: 2 Peter – Part 2 of 3 (Can you lose your salvation?)
In my last blog (2 Peter – Part 1 of 3) I answered the first two of five questions about salvation: Where does faith come from? And, once you become a Christian, does this mean “you made it” and can therefore act any way you want to? In this blog,…
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Continue reading →: 2 Peter – Part 1 of 3 (Where does faith come from? Can you act any way you want?)
OVERVIEW OF 2 PETER When I read this short book of three chapters written by Peter to Christians, four words came to mind: grow, inform, remind and warn. Of these, the one that stood out the most was GROW. According to Peter, there is no such thing as a lazy…
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Continue reading →: 1 Peter – Part 3 of 3 (persecution, witnessing, baptism)
Should Christians expect to be persecuted for their faith? The Christians that Peter wrote to were experiencing persecution for being a Christian. This can be seen in the following verses. 1 Peter 4:12-16 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as…
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Continue reading →: 1 Peter – Part 2 of 3 (How to be born again and live as a Christian)
In my last blog post, I addressed the question of what role a person has in one’s salvation. In this blog, I will use 1 Peter to answer the questions of how is a person born again, and how should a Christian live. How is a person born again? I…
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Continue reading →: 1 Peter – Part 1 of 3 (Salvation: God’s role vs. yours, and eternal security)
How is a person born again? How are Christians to behave in this world? If you are a Christian, can you expect to be persecuted for your faith? What is eternal security, and can you have it? These and other important questions on salvation are answered in 1 Peter. Overview of…
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Continue reading →: Philemon (Should you share your faith? Is salvation a process or one-time event)
OVERVIEW OF PHILEMON In this short book of one chapter, Paul asks Philemon, a wealthy Christian businessman, to forgive Onesimus and accept him back not merely as a slave, but as a brother in the Lord. This book is an example of forgiveness. SALVATION VERSES The book of Philemon answers…