Episodes
Tuesday Aug 11, 2015
HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN LIVE IN A NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD? (Romans 12:14-16)
Tuesday Aug 11, 2015
Tuesday Aug 11, 2015
Over the last several weeks, Paul has been discussing with us how the believer is to work together with his fellow believers. What is it that we are to be working together toward? The kingdom work of God, or the sharing of the light of the gospel with a dark world.
There are those that feel it would be nice to seclude themselves in a monastery and not have to deal with the secular world, but that is not why God has sent us on this journey. It is important to understand that, as believers, we are not working our way to get to heaven, we are working to go to our home in heaven. This earth is not our home, it is our workplace.
When I go to work in the morning, it is with anticipation that I will be able to come home when I have completed my work for the day. Returning home is not something I have to earn, it is something I already have. It is my place of rest. As believers, this earth is our workplace, and we come to it with the anticipation of being able to go to our home in heaven when we have completed the tasks that God has for us to do. I do not have to earn my place in heaven, for I already own that place. It is my place of rest when I am finished doing the kingdom work of God.
In order to accomplish that kingdom work of sharing the gospel message of Christ, I need to go to where the people are that need to hear that message. I need to relate with a lost world.
So Paul tells us that the laws of Christian life deal not only with the spiritual life of the Christian, but with his social life as well. As believers, we must sustain relationships in the world as well as in the church.
Listen to this podcast to learn that Paul has three things to say about our daily contacts with those outside of Christ. We are to show the unbeliever compassion and understanding, we are to take care with our attitude, and we are to live before men unimpeachable and exemplary lives.
Thursday Jul 16, 2015
HOW DOES GOD'S WILL CHANGE THE BELIEVER? (Romans 12:2)
Thursday Jul 16, 2015
Thursday Jul 16, 2015
What is God’s will for our lives, and how does that change us? Finding God’s will is accomplished by sacrificing our whole being to God as a living sacrifice. This means that we surrender our life to God. He is ours to command. He is the Master and we are the slave. We obey Him.
Jesus commanded that we are to be salt and light to a dark world. Salt is a preservative, an antibiotic, and a flavor enhancer. It is applied externally and it draws attention to something different. A believer is to be a preservative of the absolute truths about right and wrong that God has established. We are to stand up when the world decides to call that which is wrong, right, and that which is right, wrong.
The believer is also to be a light unto the world. One of the great facts about light is that darkness is simply the absence of light. No matter how deep the darkness, the simple candle will chase that darkness away. No amount of darkness can overpower the light of that candle. When there is light, darkness goes away. Light for the believer comes from within. Salt is external, and light is internal. Light emanates from the core of the believer. We are to be a light to a dark world. We are to show the world that there is an escape from the deep darkness of the world.
In order to be salt and light, the believer must be changed from what they were before. If we look and act like everyone else, then we are neither salt nor light. Yet, this change in who we are does not happen all at once for most of us. Most believers will spend a lifetime having their body, soul, and spirit conformed to the image of Christ. But the world needs to see this difference. It needs to see the light of God’s Word shining through us.
In order to accomplish this us we must consecrate our body so that the Holy Spirit, who has made it His temple, might have free access to all its members, and free control over all its activities. The believer who presents his body in this manner is changed.
Romans 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
KJV
Listen to this podcast to learn how a believer is not to be conformed to this world, but is to be changed morally and mentally to show the world that the will of God is truly good, acceptable, and perfect for each of us.
Monday Jan 27, 2014
HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN BEHAVE? (James 1:25-27)
Monday Jan 27, 2014
Monday Jan 27, 2014
How does a Christian behave?
Should the world be able to identify you as a Christian just by your behavior?
The Biblical view of a Christian is that of someone who has the love of Christ in their hearts and they express that love towards others. Christians, Christian churches, and Christian organizations have been meeting the needs of the hungry, the sick, and the lonely, for two thousand years and they have done so far more effectively than any government handout could.
It is true that as Christians we live lives that are different from others. There certainly are types of behavior that we will not participate in. But, we see that choice not as a restriction, but as freedom from the consequences that a life of alcoholism, drug abuse, greed, and sexual promiscuity and depravity, can bring to a person’s life.
We also see a life of service to God. God has commanded us to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the entire world. Our lives are likely the only Bible most people will ever read. What the world knows about salvation, eternity, the love of Christ for all people, and the power of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives comes from what they see in our behavior, our words, our actions, and our attitudes.
We see a life of duty to the call of God, to accomplish the work that God has given us to do.
We see a life that is free from the worry of what will happen tomorrow, because we know that God is control of all things, and He is in control of our lives.
Listen to this podcast to find out what the book of James says about how a Christian should behave.
Tuesday May 28, 2013
WHAT ABOUT HELL? (Mark 9:41-50)
Tuesday May 28, 2013
Tuesday May 28, 2013
Is hell really real?
The preacher says that it is. TV evangelists proclaim that hell is full of fire and brimstone. Is what they say true?
The scientist says that it is not. Professors state that there is no empirical evidence to prove... the existence of hell, or heaven, or even life after death. Is what they say true?
Somebody is right and somebody is wrong.
If the scientist is right, then life is short and the grave is all there is.
If the preacher is right, then eternity is a long time to spend burning in the fires of hell.
Listen to this podcast to see how Jesus Christ describes the reality of hell and what our roles are in preventing ourselves, and others, from spending eternity in hell.
Version: 20240320