The church is glorious because Christ is its glorious Head, it wears the glorious names God gave it, it carries out God’s glorious work, and it moves toward a glorious destiny as the bride of the Lamb — and everything that divides or rebrands it dims…
The outline defines forgiveness this way: to hold one as though no offense had been given — in love, in sympathy, with full interest and goodwill, as though nothing had happened. That is a demanding standard, and most of us know it. The question is not…
The gospel preacher’s responsibility is not to the institution that employs him, the congregation that likes him, or the reputation he has built. It is to God who commissioned him, to the church whose truth he represents, and to the hearers who need what he has…
Nothing can hurt us if we receive it as God teaches. No one can do us real harm if we remain faithful to God. The six categories of life experience that most commonly cause damage — temptation, sickness, pleasure, sorrow, slander, and the general experiences of…
When Jesus said “I will build My church,” He spoke of a body still future — built on Himself, not on Peter — which He established at Pentecost; Peter merely used the keys by announcing the terms of entrance, and the church is entered as a…
Paul at Athens declared that the Godhead is not gold or silver or stone, or an image formed by the thought of man (Acts 17:29). The idol-worshipper makes a god that fits in his hand. The rationalist makes a god that fits in his system. Neither…
The outline grounds the sermon in I Tim. 5:21 — a text addressed to Timothy about judicial impartiality in church proceedings. He uses it to identify prejudice as the parallel sin to preaching a false gospel (Gal. 1:8-9). Both involve rejecting God’s power — the false…
The New Testament church has identifying marks — undenominational, congregationally governed, missionary, made up of converted and worshipping and united and pure members — and every member should know them well enough to help keep the church true to the pattern. A congregation drifts the way…
Christians are God’s fellow workers — not because God needs us, but because He has chosen to build His kingdom through human agents; this privilege carries both dignity and accountability, and the work is tested by fire. “For we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3:9)….
The word “Christian liberty” is used in two almost contradictory ways. One use invokes it as a shield against accountability — “I have liberty in Christ; don’t bind your traditions on me.” The other use names the profound freedom Christ actually purchased: freedom from the guilt…