“Take heart; I have overcome the world.”  Though Jesus had not yet
gone to the cross, his victory over sin, death, and the devil was sure
to be won.  By dying on the cross, he would win the decisive battle,
such that all opposition to his kingdom would be pointless.
Because Jesus has overcome the world, there would be [...]

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The Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers to make them more and
more like Jesus Christ.  During this life, he “sanctifies” us, which
simply means that he makes us more holy day by day.  Romans chapter
six explains a great deal about our sanctification.
Grace is emphasized so much in the first five chapters of Romans that
some [...]

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The last chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives the letter a personal touch. The writer reveals his pastoral concerns for the believers and makes his desire known to be in their midst again.
The content of this chapter does not consist of some loosely connected exhortations. The writer encourages the readers to express [...]

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The second greatest command is that we love our neighbors as ourselves.  (Mark 12:31).  Jesus teaches us, in the parable of the good Samaritan, that the person before us is our neighbor.  This includes the stranger on the way but certainly also includes those with whom with live.  A husband and a wife are [...]

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This is a chapter of exhortations, commands, and applications. It is a rather practical chapter in which the pastor exhorts us, the believers, to live a Christian life. In his own direct manner, the writer exhorts us to stimulate our Christian hope by enduring hardship and affliction. He begins by encouraging us to exercise perseverance, [...]

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What is faith? The author answers this question by giving the readers first a brief definition and then the application of faith in the lives of many believers. The definition is not designed to be comprehensive; rather, it is introductory in nature. Using examples taken from life, the writer demonstrates the characteristics and qualities [...]

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The Bible teaches that God placed Adam in the garden and gave him a job to do.  But the man was incapable of accomplishing that task alone.  Adam needed help and Woman was created to meet that need.  (Gen 2:19-24)
We should now understand the connection between Adam’s work of naming the animals and the next [...]

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As a pastor sensitive to the needs to his people, the author changes his remarks from admonition to praise, from reproof to commendation. He enthusiastically approves of the works of love and mercy they showed to those who were persecuted and those who lost their possessions. The writer draws a parallel to his warning [...]

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Preaching sermons on hellfire appears to be something that happened in the past but not today. This type of preaching is considered an oddity of the eighteenth century; it should not be heard from a twentieth-century pulpit. True. Sermons ought to proclaim the gospel of salvation, the call to repentance, the assurance of pardon, and [...]

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We think of love as some sort of feeling within us but love is really manifest by what we do when the feelings are not present. Instead of obedience or love based on an inward “feeling” of fondness, we do the things which are representative of one who truly cares. Changing a baby’s [...]

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