There is much talk about legalism, but little thought and little definition. Legalism is not when you want to follow Christ’s commandments and know that you are lawfully subject to Christ. Decisive faithfulness and punctual obedience are not legalism. Legalism is a question of inner attitude. If we submit to a commandment, a law, in…
This passage presents us with four activities that the Lord Jesus is doing for His church in the present time. His motive behind everything is love. Christ has already fully demonstrated His love for His church by giving Himself up for her—He could not have given more! But His love has not changed since then….
The Law of Sinai does not provide us Christians with the high standards that correspond to our relationship and our position. Under the Law, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, but we are to lay down our lives for our brothers by loving them as Christ loved us. But the law does not…
It is astonishing that some Christians find it difficult to believe in a literal millennial kingdom under the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, even though Scripture says so clearly: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded…
Joseph is an excellent foreshadowing of Christ. There are hardly any weaknesses to be found in his life of faith. However, the two situations that show a certain weakness are very instructive. Once he sought help from Pharaoh’s cupbearer when his endurance in prison was severely tested (Genesis 40:14). But his help ultimately came not…
It is of utmost importance that believers understand the true nature of worship that God seeks and delights in. God delights in Christ. Therefore, our constant goal should be to represent Him to God. Christ should always be the content of our worship, and He will be to the extent that the Holy Spirit leads…
The reports of the broken walls and burned gates in Jerusalem had so affected Nehemiah that he sat down, wept, and mourned for days. His prayer ended with a specific request: “Let your servant succeed today and show him mercy before this man” (Neh 1:11). Remarkably, Nehemiah does not specifically suggest to God in what…
“And there was a famine in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before Elisha. And he said to his servant, ‘Put on the big pot’” (2 Kings 4:38). Famine—empty larders, growling stomachs, ever smaller food rations. People eat what they can get. Against this background, Elisha’s request to put on a…
A wealthy landowner needed to hire a new coachman. On the day the decision about the new coachman was to be made, several coachmen had gathered at the estate. Each of the coachmen was asked the same question: “How safely can you drive me along a narrow mountain path?” The first coachman was able to…
“For” – Answered prayers and authority. The prayers of the assembly are answered, and their decisions are recognized in heaven (Matthew 18:18-19). God says yes to their prayers and their decisions. How can this be? It is because the Lord is in their midst. All eyes are on him. He is the one who directs…
These words were written to young Christians — first-century converts — by the Apostle Paul, the greatest evangelist of all time. We, the young Christians here today, were converted in the 20th century, but what was true then is still true today. The Apostle began with the point when people stopped worshipping idols and began…
A Crisis By a narrow margin, the royal descendants of David were nearly wiped out. If that had happened, how could the Messiah have been born as a son of David (2 Samuel 7:12-13)? However, God is in control. He used a God-fearing couple to rescue Joash, a royal descendant, from the grasp of Athaliah,…
Psalm 118 describes how the Lord Jesus will appear as the Messiah in the future, returning to earth and to the land of Israel. His earthly people, who experienced deep distress after having once rejected the Messiah, will one day welcome Him with joy as the long-awaited King. Israel will shout with joy, “The stone…
Occasionally, it is asked whether a redeemed person only has the new nature or also an old nature – called “flesh” in the Bible. In other words, whether he has two opposing natures until the Rapture. This question has a significant impact on our life of faith. The Meaning of “Flesh” It now seems necessary…
A serious but, at the same time, challenging and motivating verse! God’s work – in whatever form – is so important and urgent that laziness, procrastination, half-heartedness, and sloppiness are bad in His eyes. The Lord wants to see zeal, dedication, full commitment, utmost concentration, and devotion. For example, it is not enough just to…
When we read this verse, we may be inclined to think of servants of the Lord who serve Him in distant lands. These words are undoubtedly also addressed to such people, but we should not limit them to them. The Lord Jesus means all of us; He means you, He means me. The Lord’s…
Alcohol is a subject about which the Bible is not silent. It is also an issue that is still highly topical today. We notice this every day – in our surroundings and perhaps from our own experience. So, how can a Christian deal with this topic responsibly? King Lemuel (perhaps another name for King Solomon)…
Hospitality plays a very important role in the New Testament. Here are some thoughts on this: If you want to serve believers (in the following passage as an overseer, but we can extend the circle), hospitality is a crucial criterion: “A bishop must be … hospitable” (1 Tim. 3:2). Why is this so? We cannot…
Nehemiah had a big work to do in restoring the walls of the city of Jerusalem, but the number of people to do the work were “few” (7:4). This was a critical situation, but there were some faithful ones with him, like Hananiah, who “was a faithful man and feared God more than many” (7:2)….
