Dr Paul Allen

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  1 John 2:2 The word propitiation, as used by the apostle John in 1 John 2, has been the subject of much debate throughout the centuries. The question is this: Does John mean by propitiation that Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, obtained forgiveness for us, or does John mean that through His death, Jesus not only obtained forgiveness for us but also satisfied the wrath of God against us? How you answer this question will either lead you to the gospel of Jesus Christ and a saving knowledge of God or to a faulty understanding of who God is and what He requires as payment for our sins. Some would say that God is not a God of wrath.   They would say God does not demand blood sacrifice to satisfy His wrath against sin and sinners. They claim that God is pure benevolence – a loving God who would never have this kind of wrath that needed to be satisfied against sin. The...

The Bible tells us that Satan has been disarmed. So what did he get disarmed of? What powers did he have that he no longer possesses? That’s the question from a podcast listener named Dan, in Altoona, Iowa. “Pastor John, hello! Colossians 2:15 tells us our Savior Jesus Christ ‘disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them.’ Great text! But what is here meant by ‘disarmed’? Was there something they were wielding then that they do not wield now? If so, what is the weapon Paul speaks of here in this text?” Not only is Colossians 2:15 amazing, but the way verses 13 and 14 prepare for it and put a massive foundation under it. So let’s read the whole unit, and then I’ll give a couple answers to the question, In what sense did the death of Christ strip Satan and his demons of their weapons? Here are the verses: You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him [Christ], having forgiven us all ...

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread , and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” ( Matthew 26:26 ) This is the first of 12 specific references to the “breaking of bread” in the New Testament , each reminding the participants of Christ ’s sacrificial death. Although Paul had not been present at the Last Supper , he had evidently received a special revelation concerning it. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed [literally, ‘while he was being betrayed’] took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ). Similarly, drinking of the cup recalled to them His shed blood. All of this helped them remember and appreciate the great reality of eternal life imparted to them through His death, for He had said, “Whoso ea...