Building on the Foundation

  From his own day to ours, the apostle Paul has been a lightning rod of controversy. Many folks wrongly claim that Paul taught against God’s law. Even some of those who rightfully uphold God’s law accept this foolish notion and declare that Paul was a false teacher whose writings shouldn’t be in the Bible. Even during his own lifetime, some falsely accused Paul of breaking God’s law and teaching others to do likewise (Acts 21:20-24). Peter defended Paul from such accusations, observing that some of Paul’s writings are “hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:16). He then condemned “the error of unprincipled men” (2 Pet. 3:17; NASB). “Unprincipled” is Strong’s #G113, athesmos , which means “lawless.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon adds that it describes “one who breaks through the restraints of law and gratifies his lusts.” So it wasn’t Paul who rejected God’s law, but rather those who twi...

  When conversing with folks who insist that God’s law is abolished, especially the parts like keeping the Sabbath or abstaining from pork, you’ll often hear something like this: “That was just for the Jews. Nobody else had to keep those old laws.” In essence, they assert that God has different standards at different times for different people. That He invented special laws for the Israelites and never expected anyone else to follow them. They might also dismiss these as “Mosaic laws,” as if they were the product of Moses’ imagination and not Divine instruction! But the truth is, we find these laws in the Bible long before Moses, long before Israel reached Mt. Sinai, and long before Israel even became a nation! When God gave Moses and the Israelites His laws at Mt. Sinai, they weren’t new laws. They were the same laws He established at Creation for all humanity! Israel, and most of the rest of mankind, had simply forgotten them. Consider, for example, God’s prohibition against idol...

Every Pastor, I’m sure, is familiar with Christ’s instructions to Peter, and the chances are good that these instructions are the guiding creed that they follow. The instructions are as follows. John 21:15-17 CSB When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? " "Yes, Lord," he said to him, "you know that I love you." "Feed my lambs," he told him.  16 A second time he asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me? " "Yes, Lord," he said to him, "you know that I love you." "Shepherd my sheep," he told him.  17 He asked him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me? " Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, "Do you love me? " He said, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." "Feed my sheep," Jesus said.   These instructions should guide not only every pastor but every man ...

  In our Christian walk, sometimes it’s easy to get distracted. We get our priorities mixed up, lose focus, and take our eyes off the ball. Many things can distract us and distort our priorities — even good things. In Luke 10:38-42, we find an illustration of how even good things can become a distraction: 38 Now it happened as they went that He [Jesus] entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Is it bad to serve others? Is it wrong to show hospitality? Of course not! This...