Tag Archives: salvation

Are You Watching?

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“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” — Matthew 25:13 (NKJV)

A significant difference exists between waiting for something and being ready for it. We can know something is coming, even expect it, and still be completely unprepared when it finally arrives. This is the warning Jesus gives in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.

The parable of the foolish virgins is closely connected to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24, where He repeatedly warns His disciples to be ready for His return. In Matthew 24:42, He commands, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Again, in verse 44, He declares, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” The parable of the ten virgins illustrates how serious these warnings are.

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When Hope Becomes Hype: Guarding Against Cultic Eschatology in the Pre-Tribulation Tradition

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Throughout church history, eschatological expectation has been both a catalyst for holiness and a crucible for error. From the Montanist movement of the second century to the Millerites of the nineteenth century, anticipation of Christ’s return has at times fostered spiritual excess and social upheaval (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998).[1] In recent years, a resurgence of end-times enthusiasm, fueled by social media, political uncertainty, and cultural anxiety, has given rise to movements claiming prophetic insight into the timing of the rapture or tribulation. While most evangelicals who affirm a pre-tribulation rapture do so within the bounds of orthodoxy, some of these movements exhibit behavior characteristics of cultic systems. These behaviors include Continue reading →

Be Fruitful

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John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

In his Systematic Theology, Charles Ryrie writes concerning this verse, “Believers have been chosen to bear fruit; not to do so would be contrary to God’s purposes.” Ryrie considers fruitlessness a sin. This is an important point to understand. While Ryrie points out the negative aspect of fruitlessness, namely that it is sinful, Jesus states the truth in the positive, namely that the Christian life was designed by Him to be fruitful. He states that we are chosen, that we “should go bear fruit.” The Christian life was meant to be fruitful. Or stated another way,

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A Living Faith

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Hebrews 10:26-27, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

We are called to live a life of faith. For many people, however, belief is equated with faith. In other words, they assume that if you “believe” in Jesus, then you have faith. However, saving faith is not just intellectual belief expressed through verbal consent. Saving faith is expressed as a life lived for Christ on his terms (cf. Mark 8:34-38; Luke 14:25-33). James echoes the same truth (cf. James 2:14-18).

We live in a day, however, where false assurances of “belief” abound. People are commonly called to make decisions for Christ. Churches that lead many people to make decisions for Christ are heralded as models to emulate. If those decisions are translated into an active life of discipleship through intentional training and equipping, they are worthy of emulation. If no discipleship takes place and people are told they can now have assurance of eternal life while they continue to live life on their terms, then such a church is not to be emulated.

The author of Hebrews sends a strong warning to those who fail

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