John-8:21-47

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas, the sacred and the secular. As the seas are conceived to exist apart from each other and to be morally and spiritually incompatible, and as we are compelled by the necessities of living to be...

For Reading and Meditation:     John 8:31-41

You have probably sensed that the issue we have been dealing with is extremely important. In fact, I know of nothing of greater consequence for the Christian Church than the need to resolve the issue of why it is, when facing the tough questions of life, we settle for answers that are not answers. Let me illustrate what...

For Reading and Meditation:     John 8:21-36

We saw yesterday that the phenomenon of catharsis comes about not simply through telling someone else our troubles, but when that other person is a warm, accepting and understanding individual. Psychologists believe the explanation for this to be the fact that the warm, accepting manner of the helper is so directly...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 3:9-15

Clearly Haman knew that his plan to exterminate the Jews needed careful thought if it was to succeed. As Persia prided itself on its structure of law, his first task was to draw up a new edict which demanded the death of all those who were Jews, then have it approved by the king. When, at last, the cruel document is...

For Reading and Meditation:     John 8:31-47

Jesus publicly made the challenge: " Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" Here we are face to face with a kind of person who had not been seen since Adam in his pre-fallen condition - a man without sin. The disciples had shared every kind of experience with Him that mortals can share, had seen Him at all hours of day...

It is important to know the devices of our enemy, the Devil. Otherwise he is likely to take advantage of us.

We should know that he is a liar, and has been from the beginning. In fact, he is the father of lies (John 8:44). He lied to Eve by misrepresenting God, and he has been doing it ever since.

He is a deceiver (Revelation 20:10). He mixes a little truth with error. He imitates or...

Those who teach and preach the Christian faith should practice what they preach. They should present to the world a living example of the truth. The will of God is that the Word should become flesh in the lives of His people.

The world is more impressed by action than by talk. Wasn't it Edgar Guest who wrote, "I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day"? And there is the well-known jibe, "What you are speaks so loud, I can't hear what you say!"

It was said of one preacher that...

Paul's experience with the Christians in Galatia reminds us that we often make enemies of our friends when we tell them the truth. The apostle had introduced these people to the Lord and nurtured them in the faith. But later when false teachers infiltrated their Christian assemblies, Paul had to warn believers that they were forsaking Christ for the law. That caused them to become hostile toward their father in the faith.

It was also true in Old Testament times. Elijah was always...

People often quote this verse, forgetting that it is part of a conditional promise. The previous verse says, "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." Then follows the promise, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." In other words, the liberating power of the truth depends on our continuing in His Word.

It is not enough just to know the truth in an intellectual sense. We must obey it...

John 8:31-40

The title of this passage is suggestive. People who live in sin - do not think that they are slaves - they often think they are the only free men, and that Christians are the slaves. But in all this world, there is no bondage so terrible as the bondage of sin. The salvation of Christ is not merely the taking away of sin's penalty - if this were all, it would be very incomplete. This would leave...