The burnt offering uses a personal picture: of man the guilty sinner who deserves to die for his sin and of the animal dying in his place. God accepts the animal as a ransom for man. The sin offering uses a medical model: sin makes the world so dirty that God can no longer dwell there. The blood of the animal disinfects the sanctuary in order that God may continue to be present with his people. The reparation offering presents a commercial picture of sin. Sin is a debt which man incurs against God. The debt is paid through the offered animal.
Holier than the Popes
For Paul every Christian is a walking shrine, a temple for the Holy Spirit in which God is to be glorified (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Like the Old Testament tabernacle the Christian enjoys the permanent presence of the Spirit, but just as the old shrine enjoyed a special manifestation of God\’s glory from time to time, so the Christian should be filled with the Spirit and display God\’s glory to the world (cf. Acts 6:15: 7:55- 56; 2 CorInthians. 3; Ephesians 5:18).
Sermon Prep Class tonight at 6pm (GMT)
An introduction to the basics of sermon construction and delivery. This is not primarily a course on the theology of preaching, but rather is a practical introduction to the tools, structures, and concepts that help preachers learn to put a sermon together.
Jesus said that He loved the Church
FREE BOOK: However, the scriptural doctrine of the Church has not come in for any great amount of emphasis. In spite of the great deal of activity in churches, the current state of the Church is not very healthy. There is a great deal of superficiality, a lot of shallowness, and it is permitted to continue partially because of inadequate views of the local church.
Is speaking in tongues a sign of being born-again?
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is regarded as an experience that usually occurs after conversion. Pentecostals believe at conversion a Christian receives the Holy Spirit. However only at the subsequent baptism in the Holy Spirit does the Christian receive the fullness of the Spirit and the full empowerment for Christian service. Most Pentecostals believe that Spirit-baptism is always accompanied with the gift of speaking in tongues as evidence for the baptism. Thus one can be a genuine Christian yet not be baptised in the Holy Spirit.
Islamic Perspective on the Doctrine of the Trinity
Islamic critics of Christianity regularly criticise Christians for apparently deviating from this emphasis upon the unity of God (often referred to by the Arabic word tawhid) through the doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine is argued to be a late invention, which distorts the idea of the unity of God, and ends up teaching that there are three gods.
Exodus is linked to Genesis
The loyal love and dependable grace of this covenant-making God to his promises dominated the transition between these ages. He had heard Israel’s groanings in Egypt, and his interest in them and action on their behalf were summed up as a “remembering” of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (2:24).
God who sees
I\’m the God who sees you in the wilderness
Sees you in your brokenness
When your feeling lonely
I\’m the God who sees
In the desert places, in your empty spaces
I\’m the God who sees
I\’m nearer than you dare believe
Here in the very air you breathe
I\’m the God who sees, you
Spiritual Warfare
Ephesians 6:10-18 regarding putting on the armour of God. When the important points in these verses are considered in its context as well as that of other Scriptures, then we find that: There is no mention of a war in which the believer must attack Satan and his demonic forces. The opposite is rather true. Our fight is a defensive one, not an offensive one. The distinction is made by the type of sword in verse 17. It is not the heavy sword used by the Roman soldiers when they attacked, but the short dagger-type sword they used in defence and close combat.
How Much Faith Do You Need For Healing?
Christ has become merely a means to an end, and believers are induced to come to the Master\’s table, not to experience fellowship and intimacy with the Master, but to enjoy what is on the Master\’s table. In sharp distinction to this message, the Jesus of the Scriptures is not a means to an end; He is the end (cf. Phil. 3:7-8). McCullough writes, “the church is more often influenced by cultural trends than theological commitments. Our obsession with self has led us astray into the temple of idols: in particular the god-of-my-comfort, and the god-of-my-success.” Shakespeare says it most succinctly, “you pay a great deal too dear for what\’s given freely.”