I was thinking about the church where I was saved in 1953. We had Sunday School (Bible teaching) and a preaching service on Sunday morning. On Sunday night we had Training Union (Christian training) and a preaching service. On Wednesday night we had prayer meeting and preaching. Most everyone, children included, brought their own Bible. We could even have what they called "Responsive Reading" (a person would read a verse of scripture and the congregation would read the next verse in response.) Wouldn't that be something today?
Right Division Blogs
April 15th, 2016
The Psalmist said:
" He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with Him." Psalms 126:6
This is a long time quoted verse regarding soul winning. It is a promise, a challenge and instruction. It matches the last book that Paul wrote. His last instructions to Timothy were:
"…do the work of an evangelist…" 2 Timothy 4:5
March 15th, 2016
Super Bowl 50 has come and gone. It was a great defensive football game which thrilled the real aficionados of the game and was boring to those who just want see touchdowns. As usual, there were private celebrations after every big play with either the offensive or defensive player drawing great attention to himself as if he won the game. This game also revealed that some who can celebrate their wins cannot handle their losses too well. Grown men drawing millions of dollars, pouting, whining and blaming others. This attitude has marked the biggest change in sports in my lifetime.
January 15th, 2016
In the final days of Christ's earthly ministry, Jesus stood in the Temple at Jerusalem and said:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Matthew 23:37
For three and one-half years Jesus had preached to and prayed for His people.
"...He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." John 1:11
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Matthew 23:37
For three and one-half years Jesus had preached to and prayed for His people.
"...He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." John 1:11
January 7th, 2016
Matthew 10:28 seems to do service for both the traditional and conditional views of the soul.
KJV Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
TBT Matthew 10:28 καὶ μὴ φοβηθῆτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι· φοβήθητε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃ.
The Lord says do not be fearful of those who can kill the body but are not able to kill the soul rather fear him that is able to destroy both soul and body in gehenna (the valley south of Jerusalem where Moloch took live children sacrifices). which is used here of the second death.
January 6th, 2016
Do you have an immortal soul -- or are you MORTAL? Lets run some pasaages from the book of books and see. Let God be true and every man a liar!
January 5th, 2016
Is Hell the fiery furnace where men and women suffer a Nazi like concentration camp? Excepting of course that it would be a torture chamber with no death to bring to an end the agony. The real actions of Mengele, Eichman, Heydrich and Himmler look like those of choir directors in comparison to the torture camp of the traditional hell. Isn't it amazing that lowly man can invent the spectacle of a constitution with more grace and foregiveness than the traditional view of God's eternal judgment on the lost. Is God less loving and foregiving than man in this respect? The 8th ammendment of the constitution of theUnited States demands that the Federal government does not institute cruel and unusual punishment -- the traditional view makes God the author of the MOST CRUEL and UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT!!
January 4th, 2016
What is the "soul" -- how is it used in the old and new testaments? Have we been shafted in our understanding of the nature of man? Is the immortality of the soul biblical or is it the tradition derived from Plato? Lets look at the many passages in the Old testament that refer to the soul and once we have digested them we will then look at the new testament.
December 24th, 2015
You assume that everything is just A OK and then everything changes! That's the "But Now" experience. It manifests its influence in various ways and interesting contexts.
December 22nd, 2015
Luke 16 is the main passage used by believers to justify the conscious intermediate state and the torment pre judgment of the lost. But what is the context of this passage? Can you really take the pagan notions of the Pharisees and believe that this is sound doctrine? Do you really believe that a pre-judicial burning in torments is both Biblical and just?