Bible, theology, culture, etc.
https://youtu.be/eUjtxlAd5hs What is the secret to being happy? If you are unhappy, the problem is either (1) your circumstances or (2) you. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so I’ll cut to the chase: Paul doesn’t think the problem with our lack of contentment is our circumstances. 10 To the married I … Continue reading Live as You Were Called (1 Cor 7:10-24)
https://youtu.be/DudDkmQybjk The Bible is God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant word. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work,” (2 Tim 3:16-17). One test of whether or not we believe that … Continue reading Sex, Marriage, and Singleness (1 Cor 7:1-9)
https://youtu.be/zpaYUu1UEZs Sex and marriage have often been a place where the world and the church divide. Our cultural morays around sex have long since left the idea of sex being restricted to marriage. So, today people are getting married later and later in life, having fewer and fewer children, or foregoing marriage and children entirely. … Continue reading The Power of Sex (1 Cor 6:15-20)
https://youtu.be/8Voll-QTS5g How many times a day do you blink? 100? 500? A thousand? You blink 14,000 times a day, so much that your eyes are shut for 23 minutes every day. Yet, you don’t even think about it, even though if you stopped blinking you would irreparably damage your eyeball in short order. Our body … Continue reading God, the Body, and Sex (1 Cor 6:12-20)
https://youtu.be/E-c3HrlsUqU What should we think about the tragedy going on in the Middle-East? The only other event in modern history where more Jews died was the Holocaust. But, equally tragic, even more Palestinians—many of whom do not support Hamas, and some of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ—have died in Israel’s retaliatory strikes. Six thousand … Continue reading Such Were Some of You (1 Cor 6:9-11)
(In my second article on “The Best Arguments for Cessationism” I mentioned that I would address the argument for the continuation of the gifts based on 1 Corinthians 13:8-13. I addressed this matter directly in a sermon I recently preached, Heaven Is a World of Love. The following is an excerpt from that sermon.) Love never ends. … Continue reading When Do Tongues and Prophecy Cease?
This is part three of a summary of the best arguments for cessationism. You can read part one and part two, and the best arguments for continuationism here. Experiential Arguments Experiential arguments are not terribly persuasive since they are limited to the experiences of the individual, and those experiences themselves must be interpreted. Yet, while lacking deductive power, they … Continue reading The Best Arguments for Cessationism (Pt. 3)
The following is a lengthy excerpt from Robert L. Saucy’s chapter “An Open But Cautious View” in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views. Although Saucy is not defending the Cessationist perspective (Richard B. Gaffin Jr.), his chapter leans fairly strongly in that direction, particularly when he addresses the issue of church history. The conclusion that the … Continue reading A Historical Argument for Cessationism
This is part two of The Best Cessationist Arguments (See The Best Arguments for Continuationism) (More) Biblical Arguments First, when considering whether or not we should expect miracles, healings, and exorcisms to be performed today in the same way it was performed in the time of Jesus and the apostles, we should realize (1) how … Continue reading The Best Arguments for Cessationism (Pt. 2)
In my previous article I attempted to provide what I thought were the best arguments for continuationism—a view that states that all or most of the spiritual gifts practiced in the New Testament continue today. While I am not finally persuaded by those arguments, I admit they are very strong. This is a difficult subject to be … Continue reading The Best Arguments for Cessationism (Part 1)
Marc Sims 