newtestamentchristianity

                                                                                                                                          Introduction: In the previous post, I explained that justification and predestination were historically seen as two distinct theological terms. I hope to elaborate more on this concept here. Likewise, I hope to continue showing verses used for eternal security by its advocates and my responses to them.  In general, any theological topic can be debated in multiple essays, if not volumes of books, or perhaps, even forever. I hope all that I write about here is simply an illumination of what I believe constitu...

                                                                                                                                    Introduction: In twenty-first-century America, especially in the south, it is common to see many American Evangelicals feel absolutely assured of their place in heaven because of a past event from which they claim that they have accepted Christ as their Savior. The danger though, is that this assurance is not rooted in scripture. It is a false gospel that many have chosen to believe in. Tragically, many of them will hold to this false assurance...and it will lead them down to the gates of hell for eternity.  Of course, many Chr...

                                                                                                Churches Included the Presence of Infants We live in a culture where many Evangelical Churches see nothing morally wrong with young people of opposite sexes having personal relationships with one another through youth groups, college groups, and ''mission trips.'' While professing to follow Christ, many, though certainly not all, of these programs have taught little of the Bible to young people. Tragically, they have installed worldly desires in many youths who share almost all of the same interests as their counterparts outside of the Christian communities.  How would the writers of the New Testament have seen the state of the modern church? What...

 For those who wish to hear my thoughts on this subject, I recommend that they read all of the prior posts on this blog concerning infant baptism, baptism of fire, and the first post concerning the gift of prophecy in the New Testament. Unless readers take the time to read the earlier posts, they will likely not follow my train of thought on these topics.  In general, prophecy had somewhat of a broad meaning in the New Testament. Certainly, not all Christian prophets, for example, were gifted with the power of writing infallible scripture. however, they universally testified to the unique power of the Holy Spirit within them.                                                                        Introduction:  So far, I have demonstrated that evangelism was intended for Christians outside of the...

                                                                     Introduction:  In my post on the Baptism of Fire, I explained that the Holy Spirit made a distinct baptism at Pentecost (Acts 2), from the one known to John the Baptist (Acts 3). Now, I wish to begin a series of posts on the relevance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Considering that the distinctive gifts given by the Spirit of God in the New Testament are several, it will take more than one post to discuss all of them. For now, I wish to simply demonstrate that the gift of prophecy did not cease with the apostles.                                            A Brief Overview of Prophecy in the Old Testament Throughout the Hebrew script...

                                                                       Introduction:  Somewhat related to my previous discussions on water baptism, many Pentecostal Christians affirm that after we convert to Christianity, we must still receive the Holy Spirit. The modern Pentecostal movement which originated in modern times (as did Evangelicalism for the record), seeks to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian's lives. Nevertheless, is this view Biblical?  While the modern Pentecostal movement largely originated only as late as the early twentieth century, elements of their beliefs have been shared by both the ancient Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Thus, the issue is not so much that the Pentecostal movement is a modern one, but rather if its teachings originated later i...

                                                                   Introduction  I have spent a great deal of time arguing from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the ancient fathers that infant baptism was not a later novelty in Christian history. I wish now, however, to discuss the mode of baptism as it existed in the first century.  Throughout history, Christians have disagreed about what mode of baptism that was practiced in the New Testament. Indeed, denominations generally practice baptism under one of ore more of the following forms: immersion, partial immersion, pouring, or sprinkling. I will be briefly discussing this topic in one post.                                              ...

                                                                                                                                      Introduction:  So far, I have attempted to prove both historically and theology that the earliest of Christians infant baptized. I believe that I have made a much stronger case for the Paedobaptist position than many of its advocates have on the web. In this final post, I will be discussing the historical roots of what we now call ''believers' baptism. Likewise, I will be appealing to history as evidence that infant baptism was widespread in the first several centuries.             ...