Articles

It may surprise some to consider that the strongest words in the Bible concerning hell come from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself. For example, in Mark 9:48, Jesus uses imagery from Isaiah 66 to describe hell as a place full of invincible, flesh-eating worms and unquenchable fire. (That’s not exactly the most pleasant picture, is it?)

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Comfy, accommodating visions of the Christian life have been popular for some time now. Peddlers of such ideas speak as if Christ’s mission were to purchase us an oversized, fluffy armchair to lounge in until He tranquilly guides us to an even fluffier cloud in heaven. “If you become a Christian, all your difficulties will fly away,” they say. “Just have enough faith, and you will reap only blessings.”

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In some of the most important words ever written about marriage, the apostle Paul roots the marital union in God’s creation design:

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Have you ever noticed that mainstream talk of religion rarely pays attention to God’s activity in the world? When the media does have something to say about God, it’s usually about the “search for God,” as if a great multitude is out there looking all over the place for Him, and they just can’t find Him. This is the story of religion: that man is just trying to find God, wherever He is.

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Jesus never promised His people a pain-free life. In a fallen world, we all experience physical breakdown and decay as we await “the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23). Sometimes, though, as James 5:13–18 describes, that future redemption breaks into the present, and God graciously heals what ails us.

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Human life is unintelligible apart from God. Try as we might, not a single soul can truly understand its place in this world without knowing this world’s Architect.

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Ephesians 6:18 “… praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

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Prayer is an indispensable privilege for every Christian. In prayer, we have the ear of the very creator of the universe. But we very often lack motivation to pray, and when we do pray, our prayers end up revealing the preoccupations of our lives, which are far too often unashamedly selfish and self-oriented, lacking attention to the great concerns of the kingdom of God.

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Romans 8:28 “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

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For churches that take the Bible seriously, doctrine can be dangerous. Where theology is appreciated and taught, the hazard is not vagueness, compromise, or fellowship based on the lowest common denominator; it’s just the opposite. When people begin to take doctrine seriously (which we all ought to), they may also become rigid and demand too much of others—and sometimes even of themselves. In other words, we risk making essential what is actually nonessential.

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