1st Century Christianity in the 21st Century.

The United Nations created the modern nation of “Israel” in 1948 as a homeland for Jews displaced during World War II. Many English and American politicians supported this because their religious beliefs rested on the belief that a political nation of Israel MUST always exist, as God’s “eternally-chosen” people. The idea that the church could replace “national” Israel as the focus of God’s affection completely disrupts their theology! The bible’s image of a “Jew” is very different from the modern,…

What does the word “married” bring to mind? For most folks, it means “a man plus a woman, committed for life” (this agrees with Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:5, quoting Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”). The most significant part is what He then said in verse 6; “…what God has joined together, let not man separate.” This has been the basic…

As Paul challenged Timothy to be a faithful Christian “soldier” (2 Timothy 2:2-4), he mentioned a crucial attitude for Timothy to cultivate in that role – the desire to “please” our “Captain!” One of the first lessons a new recruit learns in boot camp is “who’s in charge” (and it’s NOT the new recruit!). Christians are described as “soldiers” because Jesus calls us to “ENLIST” in His “army!” It’s no accident that He is described as the “captain” of our…

“Disciple” is exclusively a new testament word, except for Isaiah 8:16. It appears more than 250 times. Even though Jesus didn’t actually use the word disciple when He called Peter and Andrew to “follow” Him (Matthew 4:18-20; Mark 1:17-18), their response is an excellent illustration of what it means. If we are going to be Christians like Peter and Andrew were, we too must be DISCIPLES of Jesus Christ! “What IS a ‘disciple’?” The Greek word means a “follower,” a…