The problem, as we have mentioned already, is that our minds cannot conceive spiritual truth without the help and blessing of the Holy Spirit. And when you begin to talk about God's process of revelation, what you come to next in the steps of God's dealings with fallen human beings is regeneration,
Some years ago, I received a letter from a pastor out in western Canada who was asking a number of questions about what he perceived to be contradictions in the pages of the Word of God. I could not tell from his letter whether these were genuine questions, or whether he was one of those people who
In yesterday’s study we ended with the idea of general revelation, which includes the revelation of God in nature. In 1 Corinthians 1 we were talking about the foolishness of this world’s wisdom, and the example of this from Carl Sagan’s program Cosmos. He looks at the wonders of creation, all the
A number of years ago I did a series of sermons on the passages in the Bible where the words, “but God,” occur. There are a number of very significant passages that use those two words, such as Ephesians 2:4, for one example. The verses immediately before talk of our sin and the way we have ruined
What about when Paul came to the Jews? Did Paul say something like this: “Well it’s obvious that we can’t get very far talking about Jesus as He walked around the dusty roads of Palestine. Let’s emphasize the transformation up on the mountain when Moses and Elijah came down. Let’s build that exci
We come now to the third section, where Paul begins to think about how God works. It is not only that God has demonstrated His wisdom at the cross in what Jesus Christ achieved there; God also demonstrates His wisdom by choosing the foolish people of this world to come to Christ, not the wise. Pau
A third error in Carl Sagan’s view of the universe is to suppose that somehow in that kind of a closed, materialistic system which excludes God, moral purpose and moral obligation can come about. If I am the accident of the universe, why do I owe anybody anything? I do not. I am not answerable to
In yesterday’s study we said that the foolishness of the world’s philosophies, science, and investigations is seen in their inability to produce the kind of results people expect. The world’s so-called wisdom is actually foolishness and is found to be inadequate.It does not make any difference what
With verse 18 of chapter 1 we come to the first major treatment of a theme that Paul considers in the book, the theme of wisdom and foolishness, the wisdom of God contrasted with the foolishness of men. It is a major section because Paul deals with that not only in the remainder of chapter 1 but th
There were also problems at the Lord’s Supper. This was not a matter of the kind of historical disagreement you had during the Reformation, particularly involving Luther, Zwingli, and the Roman Catholic Church. Then there was great difficulty over differences of understanding concerning Christ’s p
When we read that description of the church at Corinth, we think to ourselves how wonderful it would be to be part of a church like that—a church that was separated unto Christ, mature in its knowledge of the doctrines of the faith and their application, a church in which the spiritual gifts were ve
Paul writes of the first “bright spot” in the Corinthian church in verse 2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He says that the Corinthians are sanctified, or
Paul visited Corinth on his second missionary journey. He had been in the northern portion of Greece, in Philippi. He had made his way down the coast from Macedonia, spending some time in the city of Berea. He then went further south into Attica and came to Athens, where he spent some time. Afte
Every time I begin a study of a new book of the Bible I do so with mixed feelings because, on the one hand, the book is a challenge. It is exciting because it is filled with thoughts that we need to make our own. And yet, at the same time, any book of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit speaks through i
Proper evangelism, proper missionary work, proper Christian activity is to go out with the Gospel, win men and women to Christ, and bring them into the fellowship of the church where they are then taught the things that are found in the Scripture. Christianity is a full-orbed doctrine and approach t
It’s easy to look back to the resurrection on Easter Sunday and say how marvelous it is that Jesus rose from the dead two thousand years ago, and then go home to your dinner and leave it at that. But if Jesus rose, and if He is the Lord that His resurrection declares Him to be, this is the Lord who
Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His authority transcends all other authority. Now there are other legitimate authorities as well and we're instructed to recognize them. There is the authority of the state. There is the authority of parents. There is the authority of church officers
Now as we look at this commission, we see three parts to it. First, there is an announcement of Christ's authority, which we find in verse 18: "All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Second, we find a command: "Go ye therefore and teach [make disciples of] all nations, baptizing the
In nearly every case where the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to someone after His resurrection, He gave them instructions to take the message to someone else. For instance, when He appeared to Mary Magdelene in the garden, Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first. But when He spoke her name, she recognized
This leads me to the fourth and last point, which is the word “tell.” There's a wonderful sequence to these four words. If we come, if we see that the tomb is empty, if we are commissioned to go, then it is inevitable that we must have a message to tell. Good news must be told. If we don't tell it,
Now we've looked at two of the words of the angel’s message. We've looked at the invitation to come and the imperative to see. We’ve seen some of what that implies for us. The third word is “go” (v. 7). It’s a reminder that, blessed as it may be to stay near the tomb, nevertheless there is still wor
At the end of yesterday’s study, we gave two reasons why we should see the tomb. Today, we consider three more.The third reason we should come and see the tomb is that we might be reminded that we also will lie there. Unless the Lord Jesus Christ comes for His own before we die, we too must die. Th
Or again, there was the edict of Rome. The tomb had been sealed by Pilate's order. The soldiers were stationed at the tomb in order to guard it. Now, something had happened: the stone had been removed, and that meant that the seal had been broken, and Rome had been disobeyed. The women might have sa
“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goeth before yo
