Did Jesus Break the Sabbath?

It’s been asserted that Jesus broke the Sabbath, and hence we are free to disregard it as well. But did Jesus break the Sabbath?

The basis for the idea that Jesus broke the Sabbath is the accusations made by Jesus’ enemies among the Pharisees and scribes. Because Jesus performed miracles of healing on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused him of breaking the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2, John 9:14-16). John records a healing that Jesus performed at one of the festivals in Jerusalem. Because of this the Jews sought to kill him. John records that in a confrontation following the healing Jesus said to his enemies, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Then it says, “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:17-18). Hence the argument is made that Jesus worked on the Sabbath and broke the Sabbath, leaving Christians free to do so. Continue reading

What Is the Holy Spirit?

One of the important questions that we must face in order to understand God’s nature, and our own nature, is, “What is the Holy Spirit?”

In answering this question let’s first ask, what is spirit? In any good dictionary you’ll find several distinct but related definitions. And it’s important to understand that in the Bible, too, you’ll find the word “spirit” used in different senses. Continue reading

Why Did God Become Flesh?

Have you ever stopped to think why God – an eternal Being who existed before time began (as we count time) – would become flesh and blood? Does that not seem a bit peculiar, when you think about it, that the very Creator, the Being whose power sustains the entire vast Universe, would be changed into a mere human, infinitely weaker and limited by comparison? Continue reading

May Christians Eat Food Offered to Idols?

Surely Christians in our modern age need not be concerned with the question of eating or not eating food sacrificed to idols. Or should they? While seeking to obey God’s word, may Christians eat food offered to idols? Does the New Testament really teach what some have supposed about this question? Continue reading

Principles of De-Leavening

By sunset this past Monday, April 14th, 2014 Christians who observe the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread had removed all leavening and leavened food from their homes. For them, the Passover pictures the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins (blood on the doorposts; Exodus 12:13, 1 Corinthians 5:7), and the Days of Unleavened Bread picture our coming out of sin (Egypt) and walking a new way of life on the path toward the Kingdom of God (the Promised Land) Exodus 12:15, 19.

This is a good time to go over some of the basic principles of de-leavening. Continue reading