Dr Paul Allen

The apostle Paul did not always know exactly what the Lord wanted him to do. So if he was unable to find out supernaturally which way to go for ministry, he would simply go the way he thought best. If the Holy Spirit did not want him to go to that place at that time, He would give Paul a check or restraint in his own spirit. The incidents in Acts 15 and 16 show the apostle operating this way when he intended to preach in Asia , but was rerouted by the Lord instead to Macedonia . These events prove that God has a general will as well as a specific will. It was His general will for the Gospel to be preached to every creature, but He had specific plans for when, where, and how it should be preached. To know and follow God’s will for our lives, then, we must be very sensitive to the checks and restraints of the Holy Spirit. He will also “bear witness with our spirit” (Rom. 8:16b) to help us know His mind. The prophet Agabus , for example, gave Paul a prophecy that he was going to

“For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake itis cultivated, receives a blessing from God ” (Heb. 6:7). Some Christians think that they have committed the sin of apostasy, thus demonstrating that they were never really saved. But the very fact that they worry about it might show that the Holy Spirit is working in their hearts to bring them to repentance. Someone who doesn’t care about falling away demonstrates that he was never a true Christian. In Hebrews 6:4–6 we are told that those who fall away cannot be brought again to repentance. Many people believe that this passage refers to genuine Christians and that those with true faith can lose their salvation.  Yet, there is nothing in this passage that suggests that the author must be talking about genuine Christians. Rather, because an unregenerate person can experience the new covenant blessings listed in 6:4–5, the text could be referring to people who c

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity , not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God ” (Heb. 6:1). Many of these followers of Christ should have been mature enough to teach, but because they had made themselves hard of heart, they were still infants in Christ (Heb. 5:11–12). These “infants” were unskilled in the handling of the Word, not able to discern good from evil (5:13–14). Having expressed his dismay at the immature state of the readers, the author of Hebrews now begins admonishing them to grow up. The first way he does this is to encourage them to “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” (6:1a).  Two things should be noted about this part of the verse. First of all, the author does not approach his audience as one who lords his maturity over the babes in Christ. Rather, he invites the immature to journey together with him into maturity in Christ. This is an important poi

The gift of justification (that is, of present acceptance by God , the world's Judge) is accompanied by the gift of adoption, that is, of becoming a child of the heavenly Father ( Gal. 3:26; 4:4-7). In Paul's world, adoption was ordinarily of young adult males of good character to become heirs and maintain the family name for rich people who otherwise had no children .  Paul, however, proclaims God's gracious adoption of persons of bad character to become "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ " (Rom. 8:17). Justification is the basic blessing on which adoption is founded; adoption is the crowning blessing for which justification clears the way.  Adopted status belongs to all who receive Christ (John 1:12). In and through Christ God loves His adopted children as He loves His only begotten Son , and will share with them the glory that is Christ's now (Rom. 8:17, 38, 39).  Believers are under God's fatherly care and discipline ( Matt.

A third clear teaching in God ’s Word about His will concerns our sanctification , or in simpler and more useful terms, our purity and holiness.  While writing to the Christians at Thessalonica , Paul said:  “For this is the will of God , your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality ; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God” ( 1 Thess. 4:3–5). Purity and holiness are often uncomfortable terms for Christians. They sound so self-righteous and sanctimonious. Actually, purity and holiness are two crucial parts of practical Christian living. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4, you can find several principles for purity. The first one is plain enough: “Avoid sexual immorality.” Stay away from sexual sins. Did Paul mean sex was evil? Of course not. Sex is a beautiful, glorious human relationship—within marriage. But sexual immorality (“fornication” in some ver

Anytime God is about to do something amazing in our lives, He calls us to consecrate ourselves to Him. That pattern was established right before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and conquered the Promised Land .    “ Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” Here’s our fundamental problem: we try to do God’s job for Him. We want to do amazing things for God. And that seems noble, but we’ve got it backward. God wants to do amazing things for us. That’s His job, not ours. Our job is consecration. That’s it. And if we do our job, God will most certainly do His. Before I tell you what consecration is, let me tell you what it isn’t. It’s not going to church once a week. It’s not daily devotions. It’s not fasting during Lent . It’s not keeping the Ten Commandments . It’s not sharing your faith with friends. It’s not giving God the tithe. It’s not repeating the sinner’s prayer. It’s not volunteering for a ministry. It’s not l

Salvation.  The central theme of the Christian gospel is salvation. The gospel proclaims that as God saved Israel from Egypt and the psalmist from death (Ex. 15:2; Ps. 116:6), so He will save all who trust Christ from sin and its consequences. This salvation from sin and death is wholly God's work. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). "Salvation belongs to the LORD" (Jon. 2:9). The Hebrew words that express the idea of salvation in the Old Testament have the general sense of deliverance from physical danger or moral distress (Ps. 85:8, 9; Is. 62:11 ). In such passages the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses Greek words that mean to save from death or dangers, as well as to preserve or to heal. New Testament passages that speak of salvation use all these ideas to explain the acts of God on behalf of the lost. Salvation delivers the believer from the

Can I live a holy life?  If it were not possible to live a holy life, God would not have commanded it. He said, "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Lev. 19:2). To be holy means to be separated to God. God’s nature itself defines holiness. Being set apart to God makes us holy. We are not made holy by doing good things. We are made holy by faith in Christ , Just as we are saved by faith. Little by little, as we grow and live with the Lard we become more like Him (2 Cor. 3:18). As we look to the Lord Jesus , think about Jesus, study about Jesus, pray to Jesus, and seek to follow His example, we become like Him We begin to think like Him and act like Him. We become like Him because we are set apart to Him. This is true holiness. If you are a Christian , ten years from now your life should be considerably different from what it is now. Your motives and desires, as you draw closer to Him should be continuously more holy. Jesus said, "Blessed a

If I sin, will I lose my salvation ? (Heb. 6:4–6) An act of sin does not cost you your salvation. There are people who teach that if you sin once after you have accepted Jesus, you must be saved again. But this is not what the Bible teaches. Can you conceive of somebody adopting a child and then throwing it out on the street because it falls while learning to walk? When we are saved, we are adopted into the family of God . We must, out of love on one hand and godly fear on the other, seek to live a life that is pleasing to Him. But the idea that one act of sin would cause someone to be thrown out of God’s family is not in the Bible ( I John 1:7, 9). However acts of sin or rebellion will take away the joy of your salvation. When David sinned he had no joy, because he had rebelled against God (Ps. 51:12). He said, "Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 51:11). Even though he had committed adultery and had been responsible for an innocent man’s death, by this clea

English: Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”- Romans 15:5-6 Having provided significant instruction in Romans 14:1-15:4 on Christians’ responsibility not to divide over matters that are not essential for salvation, the Apostle Paul draws his discussion to a close with a prayer for unity in the church. Paul recognizes that Christian harmony is impossible apart from God’s empowerment, and so He calls upon the Lord to grant the readers of his epistle the ability and willingness to glorify “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” with one voice. Let us consider the most notable points of this prayer. First, the Apostle’s prayer is both an act of intercession and a statement of exhortation. By including the pray

The Ladder of Divine Ascent is an important icon kept and exhibited at Saint Catherine's Monastery, situated the base of Mount Sinai in Egypt. The gold background is typical of icons such as this, which was manufactured in the 12th century after a manuscript written by the 6th century monk John Climacus who based it on the biblical description of Jacob's ladder. It depicts the ascent to Heaven by monks, some of which fall and are dragged away by black demons. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness , godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life , whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” ( 1 Timothy 6:11-12 )   A Christian has no desire for his past life of sin. As we see in our text, we should “flee these things” and “lay hold on eternal life,” putting off whatever is old and instead putting on what is

Church of the Holy Ghost in Ryazan (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The first effect which followed this baptism of fire is thus described: “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost .” This expression is so closely joined with the record of the miracle, that we easily suppose that it is itself intended to express miraculous inspiration; but this is not its constant, nor even its most frequent, use in the New Testament . It is sometimes employed to describe an inspiration antecedent to a miraculous manifestation, and sometimes one antecedent to a purely moral manifestation. Examples of the latter occur in several cases of “speaking the word of God with boldness,” when the circumstances were such that human nature unassisted would have shrunk from the danger. John the Baptist wrought no miracle: yet of him it was said that he should be “filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb.” Here the expression denotes some inward and spiritual operation, which may take place in the silence o

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “[Barnabus] was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” ( Acts 11:24 ) The Holy Spirit indwells all believers ( 1 Corinthians 1:22 ; 6:19, etc.) and the fruit of the Spirit includes “goodness” ( Galatians 5:22 ) among eight other godly traits. One should therefore expect those empowered by the Spirit ( Romans 15:19 ) to demonstrate holy goodness. How does holy goodness manifest itself in people? • Good people delight in God ’s holiness ( Psalm 37:23 ). • Good people expect God’s blessing ( Proverbs 12:2 ). • Good people secure their children ( Proverbs 13:22 ). • Good people are satisfied with life ( Proverbs 14:14 ). • Good people love wisdom ( Matthew 12:35 ). • Good people are just people ( Luke 23:50 ). • Good people are full of faith ( Acts 11:24 ). Our Lord Jesus made it clear that the “fruits” borne by our lives provide the identification of our spiritual status ( Matthew 7:20 ) for all