Beware of false Teachers!

In the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24), Jesus taught the disciples about the end times.  After Jesus spoke prophetically about the destruction of the Temple, the disciples asked him two questions!  They asked Jesus, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3).  Jesus Himself taught about His return in this passage and what we must do in the period of waiting so that we may be ready to receive Him at His second coming.  Jesus has given two important commands for us to obey – do not be troubled and do not be deceived! (Matthew 24:4,6).

Jesus said we would hear about wars, rumors of wars, but the end i...

The Doctrine of Works!

The great reformer Martin Luther, who was the champion of the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, never felt good about the epistle of James. Martin Luther called it an "epistle full of straw" in the preface to his 1522 edition of the New Testament and put the book in the appendix. He preferred Paul's wording of the faith-works equation: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." (Rom. 3:28).  Men who claimed salvation through good works surrounded Luther.  It is no wonder he felt that James was contradicting the Gospel of Grace! But James was not rejecting Paul or the gospel of Grace.  James was saying that what we believe should reflect in how we live!  

Nothing is Impossible with God!

At one time or another, we have all met someone who has been on fire for the Lord in the twenties but have fallen away from the faith later on. Some of us may have a person like that in our family itself.   There may be many reasons behind such falling away from the faith.  Sometimes, the hypocrisy and failures in the lives of those who appear to be righteous shake their faith.  Sometimes the death of the near and dear shakes their faith. Sometimes personal sickness drives them away from the faith.  Whatever may be the cause of their disillusionment, the sad reality is that they cannot see a loving God behind everything.  And it is heart-breaking to see them alienated from God. 

Zeal for good works!

Today I saw a picture of Ms. Mamata Banerjee lighting a candle to a photograph of Mother Theresa.  The sari worn by Ms. Banerjee struck me.  It looked exactly like the sari worn by Mother Theresa!  The article said that the life of Mother Teresa inspired the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee.  Mother Teresa's life was one of simplicity, sacrifice, and service, and it had motivated Ms. Banerjee to devote her life to the people of West Bengal. What a testimony!  A person's life should inspire others to do good works, irrespective of where God had placed us!

The believers in Crete lacked leadership and were suffering as a result. Paul w...

The Heart of Paul!

By the time Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, Timothy had been ministering to the church at Ephesus for some years.  Timothy had been a faithful co-worker to Paul and "a true son in the faith" (1 Tim 1:2).  They shared a unique bond.  Paul wrote 2 Timothy from a dark and damp Roman prison cell, just before he died in AD 67. Paul understood that ministry would only become more difficult for Timothy with Nero in power and without Paul to encourage him. Sometime after this letter from Paul, Timothy was indeed imprisoned for his faith (Hebrews 13:23). Paul knew that Timothy's task as a Pastor of teaching sound doctrine and encouraging believers to live their lives well for the sake of Christ would of...

The Charter for Christian Living!

Paul has many lists of dos and don'ts for his readers - sins to be avoided and fruit of the Spirit to be desired. Paul advises not only Timothy but also every believer.  But what Paul writes to the churches of Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16- 22 is something like a charter for Christian living – "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil."   I believe if we can order our life this way, we will be saved from many heartaches!

We should a...

The Doctrine of Salvation

Salvation is through faith in Jesus alone, and it is free!  This is the message of the Bible.  By our works, we cannot obtain it.  Only the blood of Jesus can take away our sins and makes us worthy of Heaven!  Until Jesus saves us, we are trapped in our sins and separated from God.  But salvation does not just stop there.  Salvation has three phases: Justification, sanctification, and glorification!  When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are justified, that is, wholly forgiven of all sin and clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Thus we are saved from the penalty of sin.  When a believer dies, Jesus receives them.  This is glorification, a...

The Just shall live by his faith!

Habakkuk was heartbroken over Judah's sin and unfaithfulness to God. He was upset that the Lord had not done anything about it. When God said He was raising the Babylonians, Habakkuk was upset that God would use an even more wicked nation like Babylon to discipline Judah.  Habakkuk asked God how He can even see such a wicked nation since His "eyes are too pure to look on evil" (Hab 1:13). In this context, God replies to Habakkuk, saying trouble for Judah was indeed to come, "but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab 2:4). Even amid tremendous trials and catastrophic situations like the Babylonian invasion of Judah, God said the just shall live by faith.  This is not only an encouragement, but it is also an...

The Doctrine of Predestination

While I was praying for the salvation of our two sons, the verses that bothered me most were Romans 8: 29 and 30:  "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."  It appeared as though God had 'predestined' specific individuals to be saved, sanctified, and glorified while He hardened the hearts of some others just like He hardened the heart of the Pharaoh.  I was worried about what the Lord had predestined regarding my children's salvation.  I somehow wanted to unde...

Our Thoughts and Words…

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).  This is a well-known verse, and it is usually said as a prayer before a preacher begins his sermon. One day, suddenly, the truth of this verse struck me!  In this verse the Holy Spirit is not referring to the text (words) and content (thoughts) of the sermon but to every thought that crosses our mind and every word that crosses the lips!  When you read the same verse in the right context, we can understand what the Holy Spirit is trying to communicate to us!  

In this Psalm 19, David talks about the law of the Lor...