James Series: Combatting Worldliness (4:4-6)
Combatting Worldliness Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”? But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” James 4:4-6 (NET) How do we combat worldliness? In James 4:1-6,
Soteriology Series: Perseverance of the Saints / Eternal Security
Perseverance of the Saints / Eternal Security Can true believers lose their salvation? There is considerable debate over this topic. Those who believe that believers can lose their salvation point to passages where it at least seems as though a believer has lost his or her salvation. For example, John 15:1-2, 6 says: “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it
Soteriology Series: Sanctification
Sanctification After the simultaneous events of regeneration and justification, believers begin the process of sanctification. Since the term sanctify means “to set apart,” sanctification means “setting apart to holiness” or “making righteous.”[1] God is the primary one who sanctifies believers. Second Thessalonians 5:23 says, “Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord J
Soteriology Series: Justification
Justification Justification simply means “to declare righteous.”[1] This, like regeneration, happens at the moment of a person’s conversion. An easy way to remember justification is “God makes us ‘just’ as though we never sinned.” There are two parts to justification. (1) It includes God forgiving our sins because of Christ’s death on the cross to pay the penalty for them. (2) It includes God declaring us as righteous based on Christ’s righteous life. Second Corinthians 5:21
Soteriology Series: Regeneration (Being Born Again)
Regeneration (Being Born Again) There is considerable debate over the placement of regeneration in the order of salvation. Scripture describes unbelievers as dead in their sin and rebelling against God and his Word (Eph 2:1-6, Rom 8:7, 1 Cor 2:14). But when a person is regenerated, God raises the spiritually dead to life through the Spirit (John 3:5-8) and his or her hearing of the gospel (1 Pet 1:23, Jam 1:18). The Greek word translated “regeneration” or “new birth” is only
