Obedience is another common characteristic of all Christians. Anyone who is striving to follow in the steps of Jesus will always desire to please God (John 8:29). True Christians have the same attitude depicted by the Psalmist in Psalm 119. Psalm 119:19-20 (ESV) 19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments […]
Are you living a life of holiness? If you are, it is proven by the fruit that you bear. We are not holy just because we think we are, or because others think we are. We are holy because of the manner of life that we live. To be holy means to live a life […]
Godly fear is an important characteristic of a Christian. It does not mean that we are terrified of God, but that we are filled with reverence for Him. The person who fears God is aware of His greatness and strength and lives accordingly. Sadly, this world lacks godly fear. Most people today have the Pharaoh […]
Christians are a committed group. Through the years, they have shown themselves to be devoted to Christ even to the point of death. While we do not live in an environment today, at least not in this country, where we are called upon to sacrifice our lives for the Lord, we should be willing to […]
No subject in the Bible is more important than faith. The Hebrews writer wrote, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith in God is one of the foundations of Christianity. […]
The work of the local church is threefold—evangelism, edification, and benevolence. Paul referred to these three works in Ephesians four. Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, The […]
Jesus said we must worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). To worship in spirit has to do with having the right attitude and focus whenever we worship God. We have to avoid just going through the motions when we worship. God wants our minds to be engaged in every act of worship that […]
Solomon wrote, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1). While Solomon has the home in mind, the application is certainly transferable to the church. The church is the Lord’s house (Isaiah 2:2; 1 Timothy 3:15). We saw last night that Jesus only built one church (Matthew […]
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus promised to build His church. The church is the “called out” of Christ. A person becomes a part of the “called out” when he or she obeys the gospel. In writing to the brethren at Thessalonica, Paul said, “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory […]
While Paul was a prisoner at Rome, he wrote a letter to the brethren at Philippi. The church at Philippi was one of his favorites. At one point, they were the only local church that helped him financially in his efforts to spread the gospel (Philippians 4:15). In writing to them, he used terms of […]