Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He {began} asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some {say} John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” –Matt 16:13-16 NAS

The tendency was to give Jesus a label, to put Him into some category and to dismiss Him from their thoughts. This saved them the trouble of really looking at Jesus and making a fresh, independent evaluation of Him. However, the different categories into which the people put Jesus were all wrong. Jesus was not John, Elias, » Continue reading “Can One Be Just A Christian?”

There is a commonly held belief in the religious world that the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to set up or establish His kingdom, but because He was rejected by the Jews, He postponed His kingdom and set up the church instead. Those who hold to this view believe that Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth when He returns the second time.

This concept relegates the church to the role of a stop-gap arrangement, a kind of after-thought conceived by Christ to provide something to fill the gap between His return to the Father and His return to the earth. It is also believed that the prophets said nothing about the church since they saw only the first coming of the Christ and His yet to come, earthly kingdom. » Continue reading “Was The Church Predicted By The Prophets?”

There are different ideas about when the church began. There are those who speak of it as beginning in the Old Testament period, though such a view is a misunderstanding of what the church is. Others believe that it began with the ministry of John the Baptist. Still others believe that the Lord’s kingdom has not yet been established. With such different answers to our question it is no wonder people are confused.

The correct answer is rather easily determined, if one notices the tense of the verbs used in reference to the church. Throughout the Old Testament all references to the Lord’s kingdom are future. Notice just a couple of them: » Continue reading “When Did The Church Begin?”

The Bible is without exception the most wonderful book in existence! It is superior to all other literature for there is no book in the world like it. Millions of people down through the ages have read, loved, obeyed its teachings and have rejoiced in the promises of this magnificent Book.

That which makes this wonderful Book so special is its own claim, while men were used to write it, that the almighty God of heaven and earth was its ultimate author. This claim was not made by Christianity, but is the claim the Bible makes for itself. » Continue reading “What Makes The Bible So Special?”