Perhaps the most notable aspect of the charismatic movement is the claim of speaking in tongues.  In common charismatic theology, speaking in tongues follows the special filling or baptism of the Holy Spirit.  They base this belief on the examples in Acts 2, 10 and 19. They believe that the...

When reading through the New Testament, one quickly notices the exhilaration and passion with which the apostle Paul preached the gospel (e.g. Romans 1:14-17; 1 Corinthians 9:16).  Likewise, anyone in the company of Christians for some time will surely hear phrases such as “gospel ministry,” “gospel-centered,” “preach the gospel,” “believe...

Repentance is an essential element of the gospel message.  God calls us to repent of our sins in order to receive forgiveness in Christ (Luke 24:47; cf. Acts 2:38; 17:30).  Repentance therefore is a mark of a true Christian.   Because the heart of man is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), often...

Over 145 years ago Charles Darwin wrote Origin of the Species that began an intense theological-philosophical war between Scripture and science.  What was at stake is the significance of life, especially human life.  Is mankind the result of a divine plan and action to make creatures in God’s own image? ...

biblestudytools – concordances, dictionaries, interlinear bibles, bible searching, encyclopedias sermoncentral – a site with hundreds of sermons from various men. bible.org – the home of the Biblical Studies Foundation (Dallas Seminary) blueletterbible – a helpful online study bible with commentary ccel.org – Christian Classics Ethereal Library (Wheaton) gty.org – Grace...

The King James Version was completed in 1611 as an attempt to have the Church of England use one Bible translation rather than the several which were in use at the time. As the years went by it became the primary version used in the English speaking world for hundreds...

The doctrine of election teaches that God sovereignly chose before creation those whom He desired to save.  This is a difficult doctrine for people to embrace because it appears to conflict with our responsibility to receive Christ.  Because our experience was that we chose to believe in God, it is...

The doctrine of eternal security is the belief that once a person believes in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and thus becoming a Christian, they cannot lose their salvation.  It is sometimes referred to as “once saved, always saved.”  We recognize the difficulty that some may have accepting the...

Water baptism was instituted by God to be the first step of obedience, demonstrating our reception of the gospel of Christ.  This initial act of obedience identifies the believer as a follower of Jesus Christ. Baptism is important for two reasons.  Jesus commanded baptism, in effect, when He said “Make...

The truthfulness of the Bible has come into question from many who even call themselves Christians.   We believe the Bible is completely truth in everything it teaches, whether explicitly or implicitly.  It more than accomplishes its purpose without failure; it does so without communicating erroneously.  If the belief in...