Dr Paul Allen

Christians are not to judge other Christians. And Christians are to judge other Christians. That’s what the Bible teaches. In fact, the apostle Paul says both things in the same letter just a few paragraphs apart. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God . ( 1 Corinthians 4:5) Don’t judge other Christians. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? (1 Corinthians 5:12) Judge other Christians. Is Paul contradicting himself? No. Paul is simply instructing us that there are things we must not judge and things we must judge. What We Must Not Judge We must not judge “the hidden . . . purposes of the heart” of other Christians based on their decisions, actions, perspectives, words, or personality that concern us  i...

Resurrection. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” ( Acts 20:7 ) Given the fact that everything about God ’s Word was specifically inspired by its Author, it is appropriate that this important phrase, “the first day of the week,” occurs exactly eight times in the Bible . The first six of these ( Matthew 28:1 ; Mark 16:2 , 9; Luke 24:1 ; John 20:1 , 19) all stress the fact that it was on this day that the greatest event in history (since the creation) had taken place. The creation of the universe had taken place on the first day of the week, and now its Creator had conquered sin and death itself on that day. In the Bible, of course, the number “seven” represents completeness, so “eight” represents a new beginning—a new creation, a resurrection. The last two references tell us just how the early Christians reme...

( ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles .” ( Mark   10:33 ) The road to Calvary was a road of confusion, not confidence, for those first disciples. Three times Jesus explained to these men what it meant for him to be the Messiah. It was a horrific, yet hope-filled story: the murder of the promised king and then an inexplicable, unprecedented resurrection. It was way over the shortsighted, glory-hungry heads of Peter , James, John, and the others. Their ignorance and wrong responses highlight ungodly grooves in the human heart. Their errors weren’t peculiar to first-century fishermen. No, they’re as pervasive and offensive in the church today. As we look forward to the horrors of Good  Friday  and the victory of Easter, we have to ask again,  Who do we say this Jesus is? ” (Mark  8:29 ). Is he the Christ (on...

Author: Randy Alcorn. Jonathan Edwards said, “It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven . . . to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and true happiness?” In his early twenties, Edwards composed a set of life resolutions. One read, “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can.” Unfortunately, many believers find no joy when they think about heaven. A pastor once confessed to me: “Whenever I think about heaven, it makes me depressed. I’d rather just cease to exist when I die.” “Why?” I asked. “I can’t stand the thought of that endless tedium. To float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp . . . it’s all so terribly boring. Heaven doesn’t sound much better than hell.” Where did this Bible-believing , seminary-educated pastor get such a view of heaven? Certainly not from Scriptu...

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God , be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” ( 1 Timothy  1:17 )   Our text reminds us that God is immortal. And yet, “ Christ died for our sins ” ( 1 Corinthians 15:3 ) to bring us salvation. If this astounds us (and it should), we can take solace in that we are not alone. “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things . . . which things the angels desire to look into” ( 1 Peter 1:10-12 ).   Think of it! The Creator , the Author of life, has died to offer eternal life to His creation, for “all have sinned” ( Romans  3:23 ), and the “wages of...

The Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We must boldly  proclaim the resurrection of Christ from 1 Corinthians 15 where the apostle Paul gives, "the greatest defense for the primacy and the centrality of the resurrection of Christ in the gospel." If the resurrection did not happen: Our preaching is futile. Our faith is foolish. The disciples are frauds. The cross has failed. The grave is final. Everything is folly. Related articles "Why is the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ so important (jesuschristlordsavior.wordpress.com) Our worthless faith (thebereanway.wordpress.com) Christ's Resurrection (erikbrewer.wordpress.com) The Resurrection of Christ: Four Flawed Theories and the Glorious Truth (insightscoop.typepad.com) Yolanda's Points Of Power: The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ [EXCLUSIVE AUDIO] (praiserichmond.com) The Resurrection and the Believer (codybateman.org) Resurrection: Jesus Christ Was ...