How many times have new converts received sound instruction in Christian living, only to have the instructions nullified by the example of older members? A Canadian brother recently told me of his first trip south after his conversion. Struggling to overcome his tobacco habit — because he had been taught that he ought to do so — he watched with delight as the men of the “down south” congregation went out between Bible study and worship to enjoy their cigarettes. “O boy!” was his immediate reaction, “It’s allowed!” The same happens in other areas of teaching. “Attend every service,” new conver ..read more

Many people believe the Lord approves of almost every church. They say every church has some good in it. The Bible teaches something completely different. It says Jesus approves of only ONE church — His (Matt. 16:18)! The Bible says that Jesus’ church is His body (Eph. 1:22-23). It further states that men are reconciled to God “in one body” (Eph. 2:16). Too, “There is one body” (Eph. 4:4). Just as surely as there is one Spirit, one Lord, and one God the Father, there is one body (Eph. 4:4-6). There are not two Spirits, five Lords, or a thousand Fathers. Likewise, there are not hundreds or thou ..read more

In The Dallas Morning News, July 30, 1998 (p. 28A), there was a story about cat killings in Allen, Texas. The headline read “Allen cat killings called worst in decade; clues sought.” The article told of the recent mutilations of several cats and how awful that was. It told how the board members of the Dallas-based SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and an Allen resident pledged $7,500 as a reward for the arrest and conviction of the one(s) responsible. Also, it told of the fact that Allen police were investigating (with intentions of arresting someone). DOES ANYONE ELSE SE ..read more

The King James Version renders 1 Peter 3:21: “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resur­rection of Jesus Christ.” The translation of the Greek word eperotema as “answer” has been declared by the vast majority of translations and lexicons to be inaccu­rate. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says it “is not … an answer. It was used by the Greeks in a legal sense, as a demand or appeal.” Brother L.A. Mott, Jr. in his book Baptism in the Scheme of Rede ..read more

I published a video a couple of weeks ago and someone on YouTube commented and said, “Denominationalism is indeed not God’s plan for his church. But neither are independent Bible churches like this one [the Loop 287 Church of Christ]. Both history and the Bible show that Christ established one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church led by the successors of the apostles.” Christ did only establish one true church (Matthew 16:18). However, denominations are an abomination to God because He never intended for them to exist. They are creations of man, not existing until 1,500 years after Christ died ..read more

John 5 records the details of a Sabbath healing. Jesus was in Jerusalem and passed a pool called Bethesda which was believed to have healing power for the first person who stepped into it after there was a bubbling in its waters (John 5:3-4, KJV). He saw a man there and just as he knew Nathaniel had been under a fig tree (John 1:48), and that the Samaritan woman had five husbands but was then living with a man who wasn’t her husband (John 4:17), He knew this man had his infirmity for many years. After a brief conversation with him, Jesus said, “Arise, take up thy bed and walk” (John 5:8) — and ..read more

Paul faced constant criticism about his work among churches. Some of his detractors would travel to cities such as Corinth and speak extensively about all that Paul was doing wrong. At times, people in the churches were enticed to believe the slanderous criticisms against the apostle. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:20, “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” This was a reminder that the test of a Christian was not the persuasiveness of his words, but the spiritual power of his life. Paul candidly acknowledged that some did not find him eloquent in speech (2 Corinthians 10:10). Yet ..read more

“And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:61-62). When we become a Christian and we begin our new life as followers of Jesus, we must realize that there is no turning back. This man that Jesus is speaking to in Luke 9 wanted to follow Jesus, but he wanted to go first and bid those who were at his house farewell. Jesus showed him that if he wished to follow Him, he was to leave it all behind. This would ..read more

One of the complaints against Christianity lodged by skeptics is that “Jesus didn’t even write a book.” It is true that Jesus did not personally write a book for inclusion in the New Testament. The only time we know of Him writing anything, is when He wrote on the ground — and we don’t even know the words (Jn. 8:6, 8). So, what about the criticism? First, believers know Jesus was intimately involved in writing the New Testament. He told the apostles He would send the Holy Spirit to remind them of all things He said (Jn. 14:26). He also said He would send the Holy Spirit to guide them into all ..read more

It has been said that “The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of inhumanity.” That statement is the lesson Jesus taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Have you ever felt as though no one seemed to care? Have you ever been sick, and no one ever called to see how you were feeling? Have you ever been down and lonely, and hardly anyone ever glanced in your direction? Have you ever been discouraged to the point of missing the services of the church, and no one called to tell you they had been missing y ..read more