Apostles are appearing everywhere in modern American churches and around the globe, particularly in Africa and Latin America. What are apostles? What are they supposed to do? Do churches today misapply the title, or are they correct?
Prophets are proliferating today, so this topic needs its own post. Who are they? Do they understand prophecy before they exercise it? Do they need to be a part of a local church, or can they become independent? What happens when their prophecies fail? How do we judge the prophets and their prophecies?
There is a lot of confusion about the interrelations of these two God-ordained entities. Can we get clarity?
This gigantic movement continues unhindered. What is it? How does the church reply? The post unabashedly has a definite point of view. As we move along, I ask questions and challenge Postmodernism.
I taught world religions at various community colleges for a number of years, and here are some of the lessons I learned, boiled down. These religions reflect people’s search for God in their fallen state. What did they discover?
This post will defend the West, but please realize that the West is not identical with the church and the church is not identical with the West. However, Christianity built the West or at least provided the environment for it to be built. We need to preserve our high quality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Confusion has dominated the Western world in regards to Israel. Today antisemitism has spread around rapidly like an evil virus. So what does the Bible say about Israel in the OT and the land of Israel today and the church?
This post launches a new section of Theology 101. Start here. What did Jesus and the apostolic community really believe about the Second Coming, according to the New Testament? Did they believe in a pre-tribulation rapture and then a Second Coming? Or did all of them have a simple and streamlined and consistent and unified view of the end?
Normally I would not include a detailed exegesis (close reading) or discussion of the Olivet Discourse in Theology 101: the Basics. But maybe I can bring clarity to a complex issue, if not for popular Bible prophecy teachers, then maybe for a new generation of leaders. All by God’s grace and will.
There are five main views on the millennium (thousand-year reign of Christ), in relation to the “rapture” and the great tribulation. Then let’s examine the Second Coming. We also very briefly look into dispensationalism.
Final judgment will come after the Second Coming. Then what? Continue reading
Out of his great love for people, God in his mercy is forewarning everyone, whether the redeemed or unredeemed, that this judgment SHALL happen, based on their good or bad deeds and good or bad words. The Scriptures are unambiguous about it. How do we prepare for it? God offers solutions before we all face it.
When children have saving faith, the issue of where they go after they die disappears. They go to heaven. Instead, we are talking about infants and older children whose saving faith is unclear or nonexistent. What will happen to them?
God is loving and merciful, but how far do those attributes go at final judgment? Let’s explore this complex issue.
Let’s say that final judgment is over. What happens to the unredeemed? Can we know for sure?
What will happen to your kind and generous but unredeemed grandmother after she is judged? Will she burn in hell-fires in eternal conscious torment bobbing up and down in the lake of fire next to Hitler, Stalin, and Mao? Terminalists or conditionalists or annihilationists (all three terms mean the same doctrine) and universalists say no. There are better Scriptural options, they say. I offer my opinion at the very end.
This is the last post in the Eschatology section of Theology 101. The book of the Revelation reverses Genesis. This doctrine is glorious.
To spot a counterfeit bill. experts are first trained to see the true one. When we learn the basics of theology, we can detect false doctrines. So the whole purpose of the long series is to help God’s Son’s church live in truth and avoid falsehoods and walk in love.
This post is for your convenience.
Bible Study series: Acts 12:6-19. He went to Mary’s house and knocked, and the servant girl Rhoda answered the door. She told those in the house praying for Peter that he was outside, but they did not believe her.
Bible Study series: John 12:37-43 Many did not believe, but some rulers did, but they did not confess in public because they were afraid of the Pharisees and kicked out of the synagogue.
Bible Study series: Luke 9:1-6. He loves people and wants to reach them with his disciples. He was also training them to go out into all the world (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).
Bible Study series: Mark 10:32-34. Jesus understood his ultimate mission. He was ready.
Bible Study series: Matthew 12:1-8. Did they really break the Sabbath or just the traditions built around it, functioning like a wall to protect it?
Bible Study series: Acts 12:1-5. God did not intervene for James, but he did for Peter. Pray according to God’s will and intervention to be done.
Bible Study series: John 12:20-36. Jesus proclaimed his death on the cross, and when he is lifted up, he will draw all men (even Gentiles) to himself, including those Greeks who sought an audience with him.
Bible Study series: Luke 8:40-56. Two females needed help. The daughter needed to be raised from the dead.
Bible Study series: Mark 10:17-31. What will Jesus say to the rich man? Did his love for wealth hold him back?
Bible Study series: Matthew 11:28-30. These are the three most beloved verses in all the Bible, so I approach them with humility and even fear and trembling. Wonderful.
Bible Study series: Acts 11:27-30. A famine is predicted.
Bible Study series: John 12:12-19.It was a triumphal entry on his way to death, which he had already predicted.
Bible Study series: Luke 8:26-39. Demonic oppression is real. Don’t look for it but don’t deny it, either.
Bible Study series: Mark 10:13-16. We should also bless children, especially those in our own household. Don ‘t mistreat them.
Bible Study series: Matthew 11:25-27. Jesus reveals his Father to those who are hungry. He is still doing this revelation ministry today, from his throne in heaven.
Bible Study series: Acts 11:19-26. They were first called Christians there. Barnabas is reintroduced. He is a good man, full of the Spirit.
Bible Study series: John 12:9-11. Many Jews believed in Jesus now because of the resurrection of Lazarus. The establishment had to eliminate him.
Bible Study series: Luke 8:22-25. The disciples were trying to figure him out.
Bible Study series: Mark 10:1-12. God himself set up marriage. We trifle with it to our own hurt.
Bible Study series: Matthew 11:20-24. If you reject Jesus, you put your soul in peril. The same goes for entire towns.
Bible Study series: Acts 11:1-18. Peter returned to Jerusalem and had to answer for his visit with Gentiles.
Bible Study series: John 12:1-8. She was moved to be in Jesus’s presence. And she was preparing him for burial.
Bible Study series: Luke 8:19-21. The natural reading is that these are his full brothers, not step-brothers.
Bible Study series: Mark 9:42-50. Keep your life scandal free. Then be salt for the kingdom community and the world.
Bible Study series: Matthew 11:1-19. John was in prison. He has room for doubt. Jesus reassured him.
Let’s look into this interesting biblical topic.
This post is about communicable attributes of God. He shares them with us More specifically, this post explores the character of God in these attributes.
Bible Study series: Acts 10:44-48. This scene continues on the fourth one. Everyone needs their own Pentecost.
Bible Study series: John 11:45-57. Jesus left Jerusalem for a while.
Bible Study series: Mark 9:38-41: Be for Jesus, not against him. Then help his disciples. You won’t lose your reward.
Bible Study series: Matthew 10:40-42. Missionaries deserve the utmost respect.
Bible Study series: Acts 10:30-43. This is the fourth scene in the major kingdom change. It is always best to keep the gospel Christ-centered.
Bible Study series: John 11:38-44. This is the culmination of the story.
Bible Study series: Luke 8:9-15. Are you hungry enough to dig into God’s word to mine its truths? Will you stay with your faith or walk away? Will you let Satan steal the word from your heart? Your soul is at stake.
Bible Study series: Mark 9:33-37. Take the low road before God. Be a servant. Become like little children. Don’t lord it over people.
Bible Study series: Matthew 10:34-39. It’s time to count the cost, in Jewish and Muslim families.
Bible Study series: Acts 10:17-29. This is the third scene in the kingdom change on who is acceptable to God. Peter is summoned to a divine appointment. You too can hear the voice of the Spirit.
Bible Study series. John 11:28-37. Jesus was preparing to raise Lazarus from the dead. Would his two sisters believe it?
Bible Study series: Luke 8:4-8. Where is your heart when you hear the gospel? Soft? Ready? Hardened? Anxious? Vulnerable to Satan?
Bible Study series. Mark 9:30-32. He understood his mission, tough though it was.
Bible Study series: Matthew 10:26-33. You have to get the right perspective. People can harm the body but do nothing to the soul.
It is rooted in Scripture and therefore very valuable today. It is also easy to understand.
It is mostly about the Lord’s Second Coming, but it also has other nuances that clarify the definition. What do two Greek lexicons say about it? A nontechnical article.
Bible Study series: Acts 10:9-16. This is the second scene in the biggest shift of God’s dealings with people.
Bible Study series: John 11:17-27. Jesus teaches before he performs his miracle. Are we listening? Or do we only love the miracles?
Bible Study series: Luke 8:1-3. Women were important for the earliest Jesus Movement before his resurrection, and afterwards.
Bible Study series: Mark 9:14-29. Demonization is real. Be free of it.
Bible Study series: Matthew 10:16-25. Get ready. You will be misunderstood and even persecuted when you preach the gospel in a hostile religious environment.
Bible Study series: Acts 10:1-8. This is the opening scene of a global change on who can be saved. It is an amazing story we are about to read.
Bible Study series: John 11:1-16. Why did Jesus delay when Lazarus was sick? Then he died. Is it too late now?
Bible Study series: Luke 7:36-50. Jesus set her free from her past.
Bible Study series: Mark 9:1-13. Jesus reveals more of the glory of the kingdom in himself.
Bible Study series: Matthew 10:1-15. The apostles will eventually go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matt. 28:18-20)
Bible Study series: Acts 9:36-43. Peter prayed first to hear from the Spirit. He then spoke to her and a miracle happened.
Bible Study series: John 10:40-42. He went to the region beyond the Jordan River (eastward). And many people believed in him because of the signs.
Bible Study series: Luke 7:24-35. John was a great prophet, but the least in the kingdom was greater than he. He was a transitional figure.
Bible Study series: Mark 8:34-38. These verses may be the most important ones for our discipleship. We must kill our sins and vices and selfish ambition and foolishness and stubbornness (etc.).
Bible Study series: Matthew 9:27-31. The two men cried out for mercy. Jesus asked them what they wanted. They had to say it. This took place near the Lake of Galilee, up north.
The doctrine of the Trinity is essential to the Christian faith. Through the trinitarian God, we have redemption, a relationship with the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit living in us. Also, the Scriptures affirm the doctrine. Therefore the church can never dispense with it. It is too wonderful and necessary.
Bible Study series: Acts 9:32-35. Peter performed this wonderful miracle on his preaching tour.
Bible Study series: John 10:31-39. Jews (the establishment) wanted to stone him for his proclamation that he close to his Father.
Bible Study series: Luke 7:18-23. Signs and wonders were proof that Jesus was the Messiah. They prove this truth even today.
Bible Study series: Mark 8:31-33. Peter had just declared that Jesus is the Messiah. Then he speaks for Satan and his cause.
Bible Study series: Matthew 9:18-26. Two females in need, and he helps both of them. Wonderful.
The statement is the original and is available at other websites. I copy it into my website, in case external links go dead. I briefly offer my opinion at the very end.
Did Matthew get things wrong (23:35)? There is a mystery here to be solved.
Bible Study series: Acts 9:31. This one of six summary verses. The church prospers.
My story is told briefly and selectively. (A post office box is at the end of this post, if you wish to contribute to this teaching ministry.)
Welcome to the website! (A post office box is at the end of this post, if you wish to contribute to this teaching ministry.)
Bible Study series: John 10:22-30. This is a clear text that supports the Son’s deity.
Some corners of the church treat the Bible disrespectfully. It is no longer authoritative, so church leaders allow relationships that are unbiblical, like same-sex marriage. They themselves have become the ultimate authority, not God’s word. This is wrong.
Bible Study series: Luke 7:11-17. This shows that Jesus is the Messiah, true, but it also demonstrates that he loves people who hurt.
Bible Study series: Mark 8:27-30. This is his confession of faith.
Bible Study series: Matthew 9:14-17. God is doing a new thing.
Here is a Bible study on the Spirit in the Old Testament. I added up the totals, and I was surprised by what I learned.
He is the Anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah. Let’s find out how the Spirit worked in his life and ministry. Continue reading
Bible Study series: Acts 9:26-30. He will soon return to his hometown. Sometimes retreat is the best option when things don’t go your way. Wait for God’s timing.
Bible Study series: John 10:7-21. Will we submit to him like sheep and follow him?
Bible Study series: Luke 7:1-10. He had greater faith than anyone among God’s people. He amazed Jesus.
Bible Study series: Mark 8:22-26. We can learn from this healing, when we pray for the sick.
He is the founder of the channel The Remnant Radio. He produced a thirty-eight minute video about testing prophecy. In this post an outline and commentary are provided for your convenience. Then I offer my brief critique.
Bible Study series: Matthew 9:9-13 Jesus associated with tax collectors. Why not call one of them, under the Father’s guidance?
The Spirit is mentioned most often in Acts and the Epistles. Let’s discover together how the Spirit works in your life and in the church as a whole, biblically speaking.
This post continues the Spirit’s activity in the life of Christians, as revealed in the epistles.
Bible Study series: Acts 9:17-25. Jesus revealed many things to Saul, before he preached. He did not speak from the hip.
Bible Study series: John 10:1-6. Those who will become his sheep are listening and will walk through the door.
Bible Study series: Luke 6:46-49. Build your house on the rock (Jesus’s teaching).
Bible Study series: Mark 8:14-21. False teaching nowadays is everywhere.
Bible Study series: Matthew 9:1-8. Jesus can forgive sins.
This is a minute-by-minute summary of highlights of the conversation between four people: Heather Schott, Les Cody, Jaco Booyens, and Dr. Brown, at Mercy Culture Church. I did the difficult chore of listening to them so you don’t have to slog through 3:27:06. You can read this summary faster than listening to the video.
Bible Study series: Acts 9:10-16. We have to obey God even when we don’t understand it.
Bible Study series: John 9:35-41. Jesus uses the opening the blind eye to teach about spiritual blindness.
Bible Study series: Luke 6:43-45. We must look for character in those who minister among us. Character over gifting.
Bible Study series: Mark 8:11-13. Jesus does not grant their demand. He moved on.
Bible Study series: Matthew 8:28-34. Jesus traveled out of his way to set them free.
Just how does one get saved, anyway?
In a new report, the eyewitness testimony is massive and for me decisive. Awful things happened under his leadership.
Bible Study series: Acts 9:1-9. God arrested Saul while he is on his mission to arrest Jewish believers in Jesus.
Bible Study series: John 9:13-34. The ex-blind man got the better of them. I once was blind, but now I see!
Bible Study series: Luke 6:37-42. Just be aware that your judgment on others could turn back over on you.
Bible Study series: Mark 8:1-10. God can work a miracle with a few resources.
Bible Study series: Matthew 8:23-27. It’s time to trust, when Jesus is with you.
Bible Study series. Acts 8:26-40. This was a divine appointment, set up by the Spirit and an angel.
Bible Study series: John 9:1-12. This was a great sign.
Bible Study series. Luke 6:27-36. In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus issues a summons or call to radical discipleship. Have you done anything radical or countercultural, like giving money to your church, when your accountant says not to? Do you know someone who has given all for Jesus, to the point of martyrdom? What is your story?
Bible Study series. Mark 7:31-37. The crowds were amazed. But Jesus worked the miracle to help the man, not to amaze the crowds.
Bible Study series. Matthew 8:18-22. Enthusiasm is great, but can you count the cost?
Bible Study series. Acts 8:14-25. Peter and John need to validate Philip’s ministry in Samaria.
Bible study series: John 8:48-59. Jesus proclaims his deity, by the Father’s permission, who glorifies his Son.
Bible Study series. Luke 6:20-26. Jesus begins the Sermon on the Plain. He is teaching his disciples, his kingdom citizens. Get ready for blessings and some tough times and trials.
Bible Study series: Mark 7:24-30. Jesus lifts her faith by putting her off at first, just to bring out the faith he saw in her.
Bible Study series: Matthew 8:14-17. Another summary about Jesus’s healing ministry. Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4. He carried our diseases.
Bible Study series: Acts 8:5-13. Philip was not an apostle, yet he worked miracles. The gospel of Christ plus signs and wonders are a powerful means of salvation.
Bible Study series: John 8:37-47. Jesus did not hold back.
Bible Study series: Luke 6:17-19. This is a good summary of Jesus’s ministry.
Bible Study series: Mark 7:1-23. The word of God is central. Traditions take a back seat.
Bible Study series: Matthew 8:5-13. The centurion’s faith shocked him.
Bible Study series: Acts 8:1b-4. There was a general persecution ,and Saul also persecutes them. Everywhere the Christians went, they preached the gospel. Only the apostles remained in Jerusalem.
Bible Study series: John 8:31-36. Jesus and his gospel is the truth. Know them and you will be free.
Bible Study series: Luke 6:12-16. Jesus was a man of prayer.
Bible Study series: Mark 6:53-56. This is his ministry of putting bad things right. The kingdom of God has come.
Bible Study series: Matthew 8:1-4. Jesus healed everyne needing healing and who approached him.
Bible Study series: Acts 7:57-8:1a. Criticizing the temple was a serious offense. He paid with his life. He was the first recorded martyr. (8:1a is divided up like that to fit the flow of the narrative from here to the next chapter.)
Bible Study series: John 8:21-30. He knew who sent him and spoke what he heard his Father say. Then the Son speaks it to the world.
Bible Study series: Luke 6:6-11. Jesus broke down the wall which religious leaders had built around the Torah (first five books of the Bible).
Bible Study series: Mark 6:45-52. Do not fear! Jesus miraculously comes to save you.
Bible Study series: Matthew 7:24-29. Will you obey his words or hear them and then do as you please?
Bible Study series: Acts 7:54-56. Now the “empire” (Sanhedrin) strikes back.
Bible Study series: John 8:12-20. Jesus = the Light = the Truth
Bible Study series: Luke 6:1-5. He owns it.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 