Tag: God


  • Recently I witnessed several conversations on social media between believers and those who either might be considered “liberals” or out-and-out unbelievers. I was, to be honest, shocked by the behavior and words I saw—mostly from the Christians. I shook my head, and felt as hurt as the Lord must feel. Judging by the words, I…

  • In the previous post, we affirmed that there is something more needed in the believer’s life than correct doctrine. We said that the Spiritual Heart (the new heart received at salvation) longs to engage God and others in ways to show a new passion for Him. It’s the Holy Spirit who guides and directs the…

  • In the last post, we suggested that it’s indeed possible to have both sound doctrine and true heart-felt passion in our faith. We also suggested that what makes that possible is a changed heart guided by the Holy Spirit. In this follow-up post, we will consider how segments of the church can move from what…

  • “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  he second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31). One of the purposes of The Shepherd’s Voice…

  • Salvation is secured by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. No other act (including baptism or keeping the law) can save a man, and failure to perform any single act (including baptism) will not condemn a man. Salvation includes forgiveness of sin, the reception of a new heart and spirit, and the indwelling of the…

  • We’re continuing our series on the fundamentals of the faith. Today we turn to humanity, being made in the image of God. God created humanity in His image. Adam and Eve were literal people who fell from their position of innocence into sin because of disobedience. Because of that, the whole creation has been contaminated…

  • So far in our series on the fundamentals of the faith, we have examined God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Now we turn to the nature of sin. Sin exists in the world because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Sin is more than outward behavior or disobedience to God’s commandments. At…

  • We are continuing our series on the fundamental doctrines of the faith. What are the core truths of the Gospel? Today, we are focusing on the Holy Spirit. Our statement about the Spirit tells us: The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. The Spirit is to be referred to as “He” or…

  • Continuing on in our look at the core truths of the faith, we come now to Jesus. Now, we have talked about Him a lot previously. Specifically, though, we have discussed His being both God and Man as well as the purpose for which he came. (Listen to the podcast “The Centerpiece of the Gospel:…

  • We are continuing in our series on the fundamentals of the faith. The first of these ideas deals with the existence of God. The Bible does not seek to prove the existence of God; it assumes that He exists. Indeed, the Bible was written as a result of His existence. Previously, we’ve discussed the nature…

  • “How can you support that person/group?” This question is heard often in Christian circles. So many churches and groups have sprung up with such wide-ranging views that it’s often difficult to determine just what makes one “a Christian.” Do you have to believe in baptism by immersion? Do you have to keep the Sabbath? Is…

  • Come Just As You Are–Or Not at All

    In Second Chronicles 30, we read an amazing story of celebrating the Passover.  What makes this story interesting is that neither Israel (the northern kingdom after the split) nor Judah (the southern kingdom) had celebrated the Passover in a long time. Passover was a big deal. It was instituted by God on the very night…

  • “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which means, God with…

  • What was the purpose of Jesus coming to earth, dying, and being raised from the dead? Was it only so that we could have a ticket to heaven? We’ve already said, in previous posts, that there is much more to the gospel than that. Jesus declared to the people, “I came that they may have…

  • When Jesus came to earth preaching the Gospel, He wasn’t preaching a message that was unknown to the Jews. Centuries before, several Old Testament prophets had predicted that God would usher in a new way of doing things. In fact, the Gospel really started off in the promise that God made to Abram. Now the…

  • What It All Means

    What does it mean to be a Christian? There have been many answers over the centuries, some of which contradict each other. Some of the most common answers today include: * It means I’m going to heaven.* It means I have a personal relationship with Jesus.* It means living by the Ten Commandments, Golden Rule,…

  • What the Narrow Road Looks Like

    Christ calls us to walk the Narrow Road in order to enter eternal life. He called this road “the hard way.” This is how Jesus described life on the Narrow Road, and why it’s called “the hard way”: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and…

  • It’s good to take a break on this day from the stresses of life. Pause and reflect. Today is a day of “giving thanks.” That phrase is used often. In today’s world, with all the violence, division, stress and anger, we need to be thankful to God.  What are we to be thankful for? Yet…

  • Two Roads, One Choice

    Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matt. 7:13-14, ESV). Jesus said that there…

  • Which Road Will You Travel?

    Now that we have discussed the Gospel and what it means, we must also discuss the cost. “Cost? I thought salvation is a free gift of God!” It is indeed a free gift of God; one can never earn it by doing good deeds or keeping the law. But there is a cost that those…

  • We’ve learned that the Gospel is the story of Jesus coming to rescue His people from their sin and its consequences–eternal separation from God. He did this by living a perfectly sinless life, dying for our sins on the cross, and rising from the dead, which proved that His sacrifice was pleasing to the Father.…

  • Jesus: Our Rescuer

    As we have seen, Jesus is the Son of God (fully God) and the Son of Man (fully man). Some call Him the God-Man.  By itself this would (or should) make Jesus the most important person in all of history. But, that’s not all…. It’s not just who Jesus is that makes Him so important,…

  • Jesus: Son of Man

    Not only is Jesus the Son of God, equal to and of the same essence of God the Father, and having all the same attributes, but He is also fully human. How do we know that Jesus is human? Consider this: * John 4:5-6 tells us, “So he came to a town of Samaria called…

  • Many have heard of Jesus as “God’s Son.” We sing of Him at Christmas and Easter that way. But, few realize the implications of the phrase. John’s Gospel tells us much about the Son of God, particularly in the first verses of chapter one. There we read: In the beginning was the Word, and the…

  • After an introduction to the Father, we now turn to the One who was sent to reveal the Father’s very heart to us, the centerpiece of the Gospel, Jesus. Many know of Jesus, the baby in the manger that we celebrate at Christmas (though He was likely born in the fall…but I digress), to bring…