newtestamentchristianity

   Let me start off by quoting the last two paragraphs of my previous post on this subject:                  In Revelation 3:5, we are assured that those who ''overcome'' will not be blotted out of the book of Life. The passage, in my view, implies that some will be blotted out. For many Calvinists, the blotting was for no one who was ever saved. However, is this was scripture teaches?  As we refer back to Exodus 32:33, I believe that we will see a strong argument against the Calvinist case of eternal security. First of all, the passage is speaking in the context of God's chosen people, the Israelites, not a heathen land, which is important to keep in mind. Second, many of the Hebrews in this passage have turned their worship to another god than to the true One. Third, God actually has their names blotted out for so doing, which I strongly believe implies their loss of salvation. If these people were simply non-elect and they c...

                                                                                                                                               Introduction:  Before I return to the topic of whether or not a person can lose their salvation, I would like to write a brief post on scripture supporting the view that Baptism is more than a symbol. As I believe that baptism confers grace, this argument will also assist my view that infants should be baptized.  Previously, I defended the Biblicity of infant baptism based on scriptural arguments concerning circumcision, household baptisms, the Old Testament examples of baptism, and ...

                                                                                                                                          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...