Articles from Pastor Mike’s Theological Mailing
Jesus is _________. How would you fill in the blank? What is the first thing that comes to mind? Jesus is coming? He sure is. Jesus Himself promised that He will come again. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life? That is what He told the disciples in the Upper Room. And because [...]
When Christ said “It is finished!” (John 19:30), what exactly was finished? What was Christ referring to? What was executed or accomplished? The answer can only be found in the testimony of Scripture. REDEMPTION - THE SIN OF BELIEVERS ATONED FOR Redemption was an Old Testament concept. “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I [...]
Never were such words uttered with such finality! While on the cross, Jesus did NOT say, “It MAY be finished” OR “I HOPE it is finished.” Rather, He said declaratively, “It IS finished!” (John 19:30) Never were such depth of words spoken as our Lord spake while on the cross. Never was there so much [...]
The Doxology we sing ends with, “Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” But the Holy Spirit the Scriptures reveal is not a ghost, but a Person who is God, the 3rd member of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is a person. Possesses attributes of personality Intellect(Rom. 8:27; 1 Cor. 2:10-11; Eph. 1:17) NOTE: Holy Spirit [...]
True or False? Sanctification is when the sinner is declared righteous. Some who took my Soteriology class that I taught at our Church’s(Bethlehem Bible Church) New England Institute for Biblical Studies in 2011 got this question wrong on the initial quiz testing their knowledge. If you answered True, so did you. Justification is when the [...]
It happens once a week. It’s an event. There is tailgating. There are fantasy games where grown men compete in, even with money on the line. Oh and did I mention that it occurs on Sunday, when the Church, the redeemed, gather. Yes, it is football. If baseball is America’s favorite past time, then football [...]
As I drove back to Boston from NY during the Christmas holiday season, the billboard sign read, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS.” Now many people are bothered that we have replaced Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays. But for me, saying Happy Birthday Jesus is more disturbing because while it still has the name Jesus in it, it [...]
“I like to start with something funny.” As I heard these words from the T.V., I thought I came across Comedy Central, when it dawned on me that I do not have cable. (Yes, you heard correctly) Then the voice from the T.V. continued, as the crowd synchronistically repeated the same words in a very [...]
Remember your old Webster’s dictionary you used to grab(at least for those who lived before the internet) when you came across a word you didn't know the meaning of? Well, here is Webster’s definition of... U`surp´ v. t. 1. To seize, and hold in possession, by force, or without right; as, to usurp a throne; to [...]
Getting the Gospel right is critical for a number of reasons. It is of “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:1-3). Furthermore, only the Gospel is the power of God for salvation(Rom. 1:16) And anyone who teaches a different gospel is pronounced accursed (Gal. 1:8-9) To get the Gospel right, especially in our culture with so many [...]
