Love in Action

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After Jesus Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, we’re told that his law will go forth from Zion to all the nations (Isaiah 2:2-3). God’s law will become the law of every nation on earth. What is the foundation of that law?

On an occasion during his ministry Jesus was involved in a discussion with some of the religious leaders among the Jews: “Then one of them [a Pharisee], a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matthew 22:35-40).

The very foundation of God’s law, it’s vital essence, the motivating principle which permeates it, is the principle of divine love. Those who are in the first resurrection will be teaching to all nations that law, founded on the principle of divine love (Isaiah 2:3-4; Matthew 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 20:4-6). It’s essential that we master the concept of divine love, not only intellectually, but in its application as well. Continue reading →

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The Foundation of Godly Faith

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According to Scripture faith is essential to salvation. Without faith it’s impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Those who have genuinely repented and had their sins remitted are no longer under the death penalty brought about by their sins (Acts 2:38; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:10). So such are saved from the second death, but under the condition that they continue to walk in the true faith (Colossians 1:21-23; Hebrews 10:26-27). Once converted we must continue to overcome, or as Jesus warns we may have our names blotted out of the book of life (Revelation 3:5).

It’s a matter of life and death then that we understand the proper foundation for saving faith. What is the foundation of your faith? Is your faith based on what you’ve always heard or been taught? Is your faith in your own powers of reasoning and rationalization? Is it based on popular opinion, or what others in your circle of influence believe? Is your faith in some personality? Is it in an organization? Continue reading →

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Lazarus and the Rich Man

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Many are puzzled or confused by the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Does this parable prove that some “go to heaven” and others “go to hell” when they die? That is, a hell where people are conscious and are tortured forever? Let’s review the story and see what the Scriptures tell us it really means. Continue reading →

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The Truth About Hell

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Millions have been taught that God sends the wicked to an “ever-burning hell,” to be tortured for eternity. Yet, the Bible tells us that God is just and merciful. What is the truth about hell? Continue reading →

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A Nation At Risk

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As I write I’m spending a few days with my youngest son, who just finished college.

He’s extremely blessed to have been granted a job offer upon finishing his degree program, as many college graduates are having a difficult time finding any employment, much less employment in their fields of interest and at salaries they might have expected as graduates.

We’re in Northern Arizona, hiking some of the many trails in the area. Thursday afternoon and night, it snowed about seven inches where we are. But on Friday we managed to find a snow covered trail we could hike up a mountain, and view other majestic peaks in the distance, across a snow covered landscape of Ponderosa Pine forest.

Like many others his age, or any age, my son wants to explore and sample the good things of life. Trying new restaurants, new varieties of foods and beverages, and in general experience life to the full. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it’s done in the proper balance. Though we’re separated by a generation, I haven’t lost many of the interests we share in common.

As we were traveling across the country, I couldn’t help but think of the incredible blessings we in the U.S.A. have been granted as our heritage. We saw huge stores of grain piled high on the ground at a number of grain elevators we passed on the road (cf. “Bumper Grain Harvest Overwhelms Ships, Trains,” December 9, 2013, Reuters.com; “Finally, Kansas wheat is a cash crop again,” theolathenews.com, July 12, 2013). Continue reading →

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