The BIG Picture (Study)

OBS: ACTS, Searching for Grace  (Part 2) ACTS is a book of transition, but it's not just a change in program, but a significant change in the 'Good News', and how men would now come into right standing with God. Acts 9:22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is [the] very Christ [the Messiah] . 23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: Saul's integration into the Jewish Believers The highlighted scripture above (Acts 9:23) is a reference to the 3-years that Paul spend in Arabia, (Gal.1:17) . Luke (in this passage) does not give the reason for Saul going to Arabia and also does not have many details of what Saul actually experienced out there. It is Paul himself (in his epistles) that provides a few more det

Q-A: How to Live by the Liberty * of Love and Personal Conviction * (personal actions being directed by love or conviction) Do you really understand what it means to 'walk in the Spirit'? Is the concept of walking in the Spirit clear and meaningful, or is it vague and elusive? I'd like to write this short article to either confirm or clarify this topic for you. I trust it will bless you. One can draw from many of Paul's passages to learn about spiritual living, but Romans.14 is one of my favourites, and the chapter that really opened my eyes to what it means to walk in the Spirit . Let's look at some focused verses [with my own added commentary] from this chapter to bring you to a simple, yet clear understanding. For some context, please note that Paul is writing regarding eating meat offered to idols. This was a contentious issue in the early church because the church at Rome was made up of both Jew and Gentile converts

Q-A: Should Christians uphold the Sabbath? This question has been asked in the past, and as a spin-off from the content in this video regarding what 'Law' means in the Grace Dispensation , I thought I'd add it to the Q&A section of this site. In Exodus 20:8-11 , the bible defines the Sabbath law, that it was an absolutely required ordinance to keep. As a matter of fact, it carried the death penalty for anyone who broke this law. In Numbers 15:32-36 we encounter someone picking up sticks on the Sabbath and even this simple or mundane task incurred the fateful sentence. This law (as with all the other Mosaic laws) would remain in force throughout the Old Testament, into the Gospels, and even into Acts. It was only suspended after the Jerusalem Council Meeting in Acts 15 where Paul's grace gospel became the only valid gospel from that time on. Paul emphatically taught in Romans 6:14 that we are not under the law, but under grace, so this Sabbath law, as

What was the Gospel in Jesus' day? (Part.3) (Click here for Part 2 ) So then, what is the gospel for us today? Galatians 2:7 The clearest definition of the gospel for our day is found in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved , if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures , 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ( See also: Rom.4:25; 1 Thes.4:14; Rom.14:9; 2 Cor.5:15; Eph.1:13 ) Appropriating the Gospel We often hear these phrases today in the context of becoming saved, "you must invite Jesus i