Martin Luther Worried That Buying Full Indulgences Served to Hinder Salvation What most raised the ire of the Church against Martin Luther and his ninety-five theses, however, was not his claim of salvation through Jesus alone or the pope having no power over purgatory, but his bold statement that full indulgences served to hinder salvation. […]
Jesus Died as the Ultimate Sacrifice So That We May Live The Old Testament of the Bible overflows with instructions about offering sacrifices to God and how his people but them into practice. One of those sacrifices served as an annual sacrifice for the sins of the people. The people had to repeat it each […]
Simon Peter and More In the last post, we talked about the disciple Simon, who Jesus named Peter. I only know of one person called Peter in the Bible, but there are several guys named Simon in the Bible. I would have never guessed there were this many guys named Simon in the Bible (in […]
When Jesus is executed, two criminals are executed with him, one on either side. While we don’t know what these two men did to deserve the death penalty, we can assume it must have been something really bad, such as murder or insurrection. Luke’s report of this event gives us a bit more detail than […]
Becoming a Christian Isn’t a Onetime Decision but a Lifetime of Daily Decisions to Follow Jesus A friend in high school followed Jesus, and her life exemplified that decision. But after a while she fell into an extreme interpretation of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. Then her life took a turn. She reasoned that […]
We Discover Parallels Between Deuteronomy and Jesus’s Death The book of Deuteronomy, which most people skip and the rest of us skim, does contain interesting passages for us to consider. In one short section, God addresses capital punishment. Though the idea of executing people for their offenses may offend our sensibilities, don’t dismiss this passage. […]
Emulate the Man Who Drove Merchants from the Temple and Denounced Hypocrisy When I blogged about the need for a male role model, I wondered if the life of Jesus might stand as an example for men to follow. Is he the perfect blend of godly power and God-intended masculinity? Indeed the character and actions […]
Regardless of what country you live in, there will be at least one political party, and usually many to choose from. People who read and follow the Bible often affiliate with a particular party in order to best align their politics with the Bible. What’s interesting is they can read the same book and reach […]