Abraham's Faith - Works required under the Law of Moses
Volume 4, Number 9Abraham’s Faith:Comments and feedback including divergent opinions are appreciated and today’s study is based on an observation from a reader regarding the last Faith Study (Vol. 4, No. 8). He wrote in part: “... Paul states in Romans 4 that justification is by faith - as evidenced in how God dealt with Abraham, the father of faith. I don't think salvation from the penalty of sin was ever by faith and works. Salvation from the unbelieving nation's condemnation required baptism and repentance.” I wrote back asking where in the study he is referring and he answered: “In the... Continue reading →
Stephen & The Son of Man in Heaven
Volume 4, Number 8Faith: Communications with Heaven - The Apostle Paul - Part 3:We’ve been studying instances in the New Testament when individuals received direct communications from the Lord Jesus Christ and today we consider the Apostle Paul’s experience. He was formerly a Pharisee named Saul and it’s clear it was not on his own initiative that he came to believe in The Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. That is, he was not convicted of his sin and saw his need for a Savior on his own or by attending a church service or because another person shared the gospel with him.... Continue reading →
The Lord's communications to Paul - the Gospel of Grace
Volume 4, Number 7Faith: Communications with Heaven re. “The Son of Man” - Part 2: Our last Study listed 23 instances in the New Testament (NT) where people had communication, either directly or by vision or dream with either angels or The Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. All were Jews, confirming what Paul wrote in Romans 3:1 & 2 that Jews have many advantages but most importantly because they were entrusted with the utterances of God. This is noteworthy when we note that many false prophets since NT times have been Gentiles. Our last study covered Jesus Christ’s heavenly persona revealed to 3... Continue reading →
Man's communication with Heaven - real and phony
Volume 4, Number 6Faith: Communicating with Heaven - Part 1: The ancients who had no faith in God built a Tower called Babel to reach the heavens to show their independence from God and make themselves a name. They were united in effort because everyone spoke the same language, so to end their folly God gave them different languages, thus they scattered throughout the earth, Genesis 11:1 - 19. It’s taken a long time to overcome the language-communication problem but finally, over the last 100 years or so, mankind has been able to communicate instantly around the globe. And in the last 50... Continue reading →
Stephen - the point of change from Kingdom to Grace Gospel
Volume 4, Number 5Faith in the Book of Acts - Stephen - Acts 6 & 7:Many only think of Stephen as one of seven deacons who distributed aid to poorer members in the “early church,” and who happened to be the first martyr. However, he was much more. His martyrdom actually changed the course of history in regards to God’s dealing with mankind. First, the “church” of which Stephen was a part needs to be identified for what it was, because it was not the same as The Church, The Body of Christ that exists today. The Greek word “ekklesia” (G1577) is found... Continue reading →
The Holy Spirit's work - Kingdom vs Grace
Volume 4, Number 4Faith in the Book of Acts - The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Faith & Power:The word “faith” is found 3 times in the sixth chapter of Acts. In two verses, Acts 6:5 & 8, we learn that Stephen was full of faith, power and the Holy Ghost. (Note: in the King James Version, the Greek word “pneuma,” is found 385 times in the New Testament [NT] and is usually translated “Spirit.” However, it is translated “Ghost” 89 times when used with the word “Holy,” as in “Holy Ghost.”) Acts 6:7 reports a great number of priests were obedient... Continue reading →
The Holy Spirit's Work in Stephen & others
Volume 4, Number 3Faith in the Book of Acts:Our last study compared the Jewish Pentecostal Church in Jerusalem that came into existence shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven (approx. 29 AD) to the church, the Body of Christ as revealed to the Apostle Paul in about 37 AD and thereafter. Today, we’ll consider the history of the Holy Spirit’s work and gifts leading up to and bestowed upon the Pentecostal church. Our study of faith brings us to this subject found in the sixth chapter of Acts where one of the Holy Spirit’s gifts is faith, the other two being wisdom and power.... Continue reading →
The Pentecostal Church vis a vis The Body of Christ
Volume 4, Number 2Faith in Acts: The Pentecostal Church vis a vis The Church, The Body of Christ:Before continuing our examination of “faith” in Acts, a review of the make up and characteristics of the Pentecostal Church described in the first chapters of the book of Acts compared to The Church, the Body of Christ that exists today is in order. The foundation for that Pentecostal church is actually found in the book of Leviticus, which contains God’s instructions to Israel for seven feasts/ festivals to be celebrated every year. Each was significant both in regards to the Lord’s provision for Israel and... Continue reading →
Faith & related words in Acts
Volume 4, Number 1Faith in the Book of Acts:Having completed our study in the Gospels we move on to the book of Acts, studying the words regarding faith and believe that appear therein:1. The Greek word Pistis, usually, but not always translated “faith,” found 16 times in Acts (244 total in NT, Smith’s Greek-English Concordance # 4002.)2. The Greek Pistos, usually, but not always translated “faithful,” found 4 times in Acts (66 total in NT, Smith’s # 4003.)3. The Greek Pisteuo, unusually, but not always translated “believe,” found 39 times in Acts (248 total in the NT, Smith’s # 4000.)4. Oligopistos is always... Continue reading →
The Son of God - of David - of Man - Titles
Volume 3, Number 96The Word “Believe” in the Gospel of John - Part 22 - Final:The Titles - the Son of David, the Son of Man and the Son of God:Dateline: New Iberia, Louisiana:When the Word of God (the Second Person of the Trinity) came to earth, John 1:1, 2 & 14, He had many names/titles, i.e., Emmanuel, Jesus, Christ, the King of Israel, the King of the Jews, etc., each describing different aspects of His person, attributes and or mission. This study examines the significance of three (3) of His New Testament titles: The Son of David, The Son of Man and... Continue reading →