Monthly Archives: December 2016

Many from Church of Christ backgrounds have been taught that instruments are unacceptable to God. Some take this to an extreme and try to suggest that the Bible condemns them outright. Others take a more moderate approach, and apply their prohibition only to church. Which is it? Can a Christian listen to contemporary Christian music? Are they in danger of hell fire for doing so? Are there good reasons to listen to Christian music, or to stay away from it? After giving serious thought to this subject from a scriptural standpoint, I came to the realization that there is nothing intrinsically or Biblically wrong with Christian music, and there is a lot of positive in it, in any setting (at home, in church, etc.). Each [...]

I often hear believers quote Jesus assuredly: "If you love me, keep my commands," as John records him saying. It seems that more often than not, though, what they mean is "If you loved Jesus, you would be keeping all of his commands like I am, and you clearly aren't." loving Jesus = keeping his commands I've personally found the subject of Jesus' commands a rewarding study. After all, if the Bible says loving Jesus means keeping his commands, I think it has to be pretty important to know what his commands are. So, what are his commands? This is an exercise everyone should try. Take out a pen and paper (or open up a Word file) and list all of the things you think [...]

I believe all biblical scripture is inspired and useful for our learning, even though the conclusions I draw from their writings have evolved as I get older, acquire more knowledge, and (I hope), mature in the faith. I understand that it's my understanding of Scripture that has evolved, not Truth. Truth is not relative, but our fallible understanding of it is; which is why our opinions about Truth can and should evolve as we gain years and wisdom. If they don't, we're not growing as Christians. So when we anchor Biblical truth in our minds by some past popular understanding of it–whether so-called "historical Christianity," or the teachings of the [church/sect/cult] we grew up in—we are risking measuring ourselves by ourselves. We are putting our [...]