Biblical Articles

Dominus iesus: the one church Gary W. Summers Although some newspapers paid little or no attention to the Vatican's recent document, Dominus Iesus (literally, "Lord Jesus"), a substantial amount of material was presented in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram? (hereafter...

Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."' Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--to subdue...

Everyone has probably heard the joke about the two men of questionable intelligence in the movie theater, watching a Western. The one leans over to the other and says, "I'll bet that cowboy rides under a tree in just a minute, hits his head on a low branch, and is...

Most people have probably seen the advertisements on television for a free copy of Power For Living. The reason for publishing the book is to motivate people to seek God, which certainly is needed in today's society. Unfortunately, the book stops short of teaching the...

[Editor's Note: The following was sent to us in the mail; it is well worth reading and thinking about, at any age.] She lives in a two-story house with basement near the railroad tracks. All she sees every day is the living room, dining room, kitchen, and the front...

The idea that man possesses a sinful nature does not come from the Bible, but from Augustine's and then Calvin's misinterpretation of the Scriptures. Of course, the obvious question to ask is, "If man has a sinful nature, how did he get it?" God created the universe,...

God saved Israel, but they perished in the wilderness. Christians can be saved from sin but lost eternally. These two statements are not only parallel; they are true. Ahithophel was David's trusted advisor--until he turned against him. Would anyone argue that he fell...

On Wednesday, June 28th, just days after banning student-led prayer at high school football games, the Supreme Court further disgraced itself by opening the door to infanticide in its 5-4 decision, which struck down a Nebraska law banning partial birth abortions--laws...

Most of us have known it for a long time, but some are still finding it out. Despite the pretense of objectivity, the news media are undeniably and demonstrably biased. Consider ABC's shameful presentation, Search for Jesus, that aired June 26th. Peter Jennings would...

It is increasingly apparent that many people have made up their own concepts of God. They have heard His name and perhaps have had a brief encounter with the Scriptures at some point in their lives, but they really have no comprehension of God's holiness or His sense...

At our current rate of development (departure from God), we will soon decide to kill all manner of people. Is it too farfetched to imagine the following letter written to an editor before two more decades roll past? Dear editor, As society has progressed and war has...

Jesus prayed on many occasions--before choosing His apostles, when giving thanks for the bread that represents His broken body and the fruit of the vine which represents His blood, in the garden of Gethsemane before facing the crucifixion, and even on the cross. All...

Satan diligently worked to get Israel cursed and destroyed by God so that Jesus would never enter the world. He achieved a partial destruction on several occasions (even a Babylonian captivity), but ultimately he failed. When the Word became flesh and entered into the...

Southern Baptists have done it again! Every year they manage to alienate someone in connection with their annual convention and foment a controversy in the religious community. The incredible thing is that they have brought all their current woes upon themselves just...

Has someone polluted the air with a toxin that induces insanity? Have terrorists poisoned our water supply with a chemical that causes people to advocate positions that contradict everything they have ever stood for? Within the past five years, some have adopted inane...

Most of us gave up a long time ago expecting to find any semblance of ACCURACY about the life of Christ when it comes through America's entertainment media. The recent CBS miniseries proved to be as errant as any ever produced. In fact, compared to it, the clay-mation...

Part 5 of Rubel's series of seven sermons is titled "A Cappella Music." By now the reader can probably guess what he will say--something to the effect of how beautiful a cappella music is, that we should never change it, but of course we can not judge those who use...

The third of Rubel Shelly's seven lessons in this series, "Adult Immersion," was delivered on June 20, 1999. It begins with a lengthy testimonial about Rubel baptizing a woman who had come to realize the destructive role that sin had played in her life. He read Romans...

[Editor's note: A few months ago a member from an area congregation recommended that I read and comment upon a series of seven sermons by Rubel Shelly. It has taken awhile, but following is our review of those messages.] The first of the seven sermons in Rubel...

In the past few months we have sent some letters to editors on various subjects. The one reprinted below was published in The Dallas Morning News. Editor, Regarding Jim Borgman's January 2nd editorial cartoon: he undoubtedly thought he was very clever in the cartoon...

Circular reasoning has become commonplace in this postmodern world. Since logic and rational thinking have been dismissed, one can now get away with the most obvious of blunders. An episode of Happy Days illustrates well the mechanics of circular reasoning. Fonzie...

The subtitle to this 1999 Lubbock lectureship book refers to Jesus as The Author and Finisher of Our Faith. This volume is edited by Tommy Hicks, who also edited the first book in this series of lectures in 1998: The Faith Once for All Delivered. Some of the chapters...

The state of Indiana has passed legislation which will permit schools to display the then commandments as a historical document (it takes effect later this year). We ought to be grateful that truth and absolutes are being allowed in our public schools-even if they are...

Fellowshipping Bill Banowsky The following excerpt is from an article, "Liberal Elements Join Forces in Denton," written by Dub McClish in The Edifier (September 10, 1987). "Singing Oaks is about to begin a $1,000,000 building program, a major portion of which will be...

Fellowship is one of the great blessings of being a Christian. When one is baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), that person is added to the body of Christ (Acts 2:47), which is the church of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). God intended for brethren...

Mark Tooley explains a great deal in the opening paragraph of his article, "And Malice to All: Episcopal Bishop's Parting Shots," which appeared in Insight (March 13, 2000): He is America's most media-savvy bishop, and he finally retired. John Shelby Spong of the...

Three days after the column on abortion appeared, a poem was re-published, which calls for the right to die. We can agree with the part of the column that allows a person to sign a form saying that he or she does not desire for "heroic measures" to be used upon them....

On March 9, Abby, the advice columnist, published a letter from a reader who claimed to be a 70-year-old Republican woman, who styled herself "Pro-Choice." She offers a couple of "testimonials" about the horrors of life when abortion was not available and then chirps...

David Hester, who wrote the excellent 1994 book, Among The Scholars, recently wrote an article entitled "This is Unity?" which appeared in the March 5th Seibles Road bulletin (Montgomery, Alabama). The article concerns a newspaper story about the Twickenham Church of...

Roman Catholicism may be one of the most important lectureship books published by brethren in recent years. Not only is the subject matter of vital interest in today's world, but it drew a great deal of attention in Spring, Texas the last few days of February. A...