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Justification (and peace and acceptance) by faith – audio sermon
The Bible teaches that Christians are “justified by faith” just as was the first Jewish patriarch, Abraham. Before the law of Moses was written, God declared Abraham righteous for his faith (and resultant obedience) and made a promise of acceptance and blessings to him in which Christians under the New Covenant enter into by faith as well. The Christian life is to be a delicate balance of conditions of heart. Martin Luther once offered his doctor’s cap to whoever could reconcile seemingly contradicting passages from the Epistle of James and Paul’s Romans epistle. James seemed to say “works” were required, and Paul seemed to say they were not required. This…
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The church, God’s eternal will for His people, and Acts chapter 3 – audio
Here we pick up our study of the Book of Acts in chapter three, but with an overview of the all-important second chapter. As covered last week, this is when the Holy Spirit of God was poured out on Pentecost and the church took off in power. Many things pertaining to the church and the will of God are gone over in a relatively random discussion as the Spirit led. Lord bless you!
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When the Christian church first received its power – Acts 1&2 – audio
The Book of the Acts of the apostles recounts how the church of Jesus Christ grew from a handful of unsure disciples to the faith “that turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Written by the physician Luke, the account is invaluable. Here we get through the first couple of chapters with commentary and rabbit tangents as needed. Lord bless you!
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A litmus test of true Christianity – The Epistle of 1 John 1&2 – audio
Actually the entire epistle of First John is a litmus test of the Christian faith, and that was fully intentional. John the apostle was combatting Gnostic and Docetic false teachings and with a shepherd’s heart, he was spurred to pen the epistle for which innumerable others since his day can be eternally thankful. The epistle brings into sharp contrast truths about the Lord Jesus Christ and what He and the apostles expected of authentic disciples. In this study we go on the usual rabbit trails, as we otherwise go line by line through the first two chapters. Lord bless you!
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The fruit of Protestant doctrine vs. the original ‘Apostles’ doctrine’
While Christians are taught to base their beliefs on the Bible – and by extension Christ Himself – is this what is really happening? What foundation are you really building upon? Is it truly the foundation that Christ and His first apostles smiled upon, or something based on a host of subtle changes that makes for a completely different form of Christianity? Rather than the usual tact of making a strictly scriptural argument, let’s discuss the results of what we say we have today versus what they had in Century One.
