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God is holy.
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Humans are sinners.
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The wages of sin is death.
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God is merciful and gracious.
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He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
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Jesus Christ bled and died on the cross.
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Jesus Christ rose again.
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Humanity now has the hope of salvation.
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Repentance and faith should be our response.
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Those who respond to the Gospel will be saved.
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People who are in Christ will have a new life.
Do you know the Gospel?
Do you want to know more about God, the state of humanity, and Jesus Christ? These articles share the foundations of the Gospel. May they guide and encourage you in your journey with the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the characteristics of God that man must know and must not disregard is His holiness. This attribute belongs uniquely to God alone. Many may ask, “What does it really mean when we say ‘holy’?” When we look at the meaning of “holiness” or “holy,” it is synonymous with the term set apart or separate. Now we may ask: Set apart from what? Why is God set apart?
I see two outlines that explain the holiness of God and its meaning. These are:
In the last post, we discussed The Holiness of God, and we saw how He is separated from us, incomparable, and pure. In this post, we will discuss another attribute of God that will hopefully open our hearts to see how badly we defile and disrespect God’s name and His law: His Righteousness. As we can see, righteousness comes from the root word right. In Scripture, the Greek word δίκη (dike) is used, which can be interpreted as righteousness or justice. There are three things I observed in Scripture when we talk about the righteousness of God:
There is no argument that every human being knows what love is. When we say “love,” it can mean deep affection, romantic attraction, loyal concern, or even devotion to someone or something. However, this verse clearly talks about love toward fellow believers — fellow sinners who have received mercy and grace from the Creator, the very source of love.
There is one attribute of God that most people do not want to believe: His wrath. They say, “God is love; since He is love, He will never get angry. He loves unconditionally.” While it is true that God is a God of love, and that His love is unconditional in the sense that we are saved purely by His mercy and grace (unmerited favor), there are many biblical verses that speak clearly about His wrath.
In the previous chapter, we discussed some of the different attributes of our Triune God. Knowing His attributes is essential in our daily walk, in our daily lives, and especially when we talk about our salvation and spiritual life. In this post, we will discuss one of the topics most people don’t want to talk about — and that is sin.
In this post, we will answer how sin entered the world and what its effects are. We will also discuss what God did to overcome and ultimately defeat sin and its consequences.
We all know—and have discussed—the origin and meaning of sin. In this writing, we will focus on a type of sin that many people don’t realize they commit: the sin of omission.
Most people understand that disobeying the law—committing acts such as theft, robbery, murder, and even adultery—is sinful. This is what we call the sin of commission, where someone actively commits a wrong. However, this article will look at two important things: first, a brief explanation of the sin of omission, and second, its solution.
This Bible passage is part of the narrative between Jesus and the rich young ruler. The young ruler ran toward Christ and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” There are two major controversies in this exchange: the nature of Christ and the way to salvation. However, in this message, we will focus on the meaning behind Jesus’ words: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”
Many people and religious groups deny the divinity of Jesus. One reason they believe that Jesus is not God but only a man is that they think He began to exist when He was born of the virgin Mary. However, Scripture clearly describes the existence of the Lord Jesus Christ before His birth. While it is true that His humanity began when He was born, we cannot deny the Bible’s testimony that He existed from eternity past.
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In this writing, we will discuss the phrase in John 1:1 which says, “the Word was with God.” The Word described here is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ in John 1:14, which confirms that the Word—who is Jesus Christ—was with God the Father. This verse talks about the situation of Jesus with the Father, meaning His place, His position, and His location before the universe was created.
John 1:1-3: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made."
In a previous post, we discussed the existence and the situation of The Word, and how these affirm the divine nature of the Word. In this article, we will further examine John 1:1, focusing on the third statement: “and the Word was God.” This verse is John’s clear proclamation that Jesus Christ is truly God.
The context shows that the Word, who became man, existed before the creation of the universe and was with the Father—and this Word is also God. In relation to the deity of the Word, we will address two heresies:
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
In the previous article, we discussed the heresy of Adoptionism, wherein its followers believed that the Word, who is Jesus, was adopted by God at some point in time. However, this is the complete opposite of what Scripture teaches, because the Bible clearly says that the Word already existed before the universe was created. Moreover, Jesus Christ Himself claimed that He and the Father shared glory with each other before everything we see was created. In this article, we will discuss another heresy—one of the most well-known heresies in church history—called Arianism.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. - 1 John 2:1
In chapters 5, 6, and 7, we discussed the depravity of man—that all humanity has broken God’s law (Rom. 3:20), inherited sin from Adam (Rom. 5:12), does no good (Rom. 3:12), and that no one is righteous (Rom. 3:10). In the previous articles, we also discussed the divine nature of Jesus Christ: His pre-existence, His situation, and His identity as both God and man.
In the Old Testament, Israel had high priests who offered sacrifices for the sins of the people. They alone were allowed to enter the Holy Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies. But before entering, the high priest had to purify himself by washing his whole body and putting on the holy garments (Leviticus 16:3–4). The consequence of failing to do so was serious—physical death—because God is holy.
One of the greatest strengths a nation or kingdom can have is not merely super weapons or large armies, but a strong, wise, and godly leader. In history, Israel became a stronger nation whenever they had a wise and faithful leader whose strength came from the Lord. In contrast, whenever they had an evil and foolish king, the nation of Israel fell.
In this chapter, we will see and discuss the greatest, perfect, holy, and righteous King—Jesus Christ. Perhaps some of you reading this are questioning the validity of the kingship of Christ. Just like many of the Jews, they doubted Jesus as their King for several reasons. First, they believed He was only a carpenter’s son (Mark 6:3). Second, they expected a king who would come from the royal offspring of David. Below are the 2 verses in the Old Testament that talks about the coming Messiah.
In the Old Testament, God used men to relay His message to humanity. In every age under the Old Covenant, there were men whom God appointed to speak His instructions and covenant to His people. These men were called prophets.
According to The Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible by Kevin Vanhoozer, regarding ethics in the prophets:
“The prophets always came with a particular word for a particular time, but always reminded the people of the story and the covenant. They were not social reformers skilled in the craft and compromise of politics; they were messengers of God.”1
According to this definition, prophets were simply messengers of God. Their words were given for a specific purpose and time.
In Deuteronomy 18:15–19, the Lord Himself declared that He would raise up a prophet from among the Israelites. This prophet would speak the very words of God — words placed directly into his mouth.
The question is: Who is this prophet that came from the Lord according to our text?
It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.