We know from John 3 that Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council, who came to Jesus at night with a question. He received an answer that generations of Christians would hide in their hearts. Nicodemus’ Secret Conversation with Jesus In John 3, Nicodemus concedes that God must have sent Jesus because of all the miraculous signs he performed. Jesus gets to the heart of the matter by responding with firm truth: “…no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Nicodemus, thinking literally and physically, asks how anyone can be born twice (John 3:4). Jesus continues the conversation teaching Nicodemus about the need to be born of the Spirit (John 3:5-8). Then Nicodemus simply asks, “How can this be?” (John 3:9). Jesus laments that Nicodemus ca...

The Bible is clear that Mary’s unique position as the mother of Jesus did not give her any more access to God than another believer in Christ is given. Therefore, Mary is not worthy of receiving prayers from Christians. Jesus addressed this in Luke 11 by emphasizing that it’s more blessed to be a follower of Christ than to be the mother of Christ. Mary, Mother of Jesus Christians have always been amazed and interested in Mary, the mother of Jesus. This is understandable because her role in God’s redemption plan is unlike that of anyone else. She carried the Son of God in her womb, gave birth to him, nursed him as an infant, and (with her husband, Joseph) nurtured him through his childhood. Mary is worthy of admiration due to her selflessness, courage, and faith in God. Especially in her ti...

What is Original Sin? Biblical Meaning and Consequences of Ancestral Sin Original sin, also described as ancestral sin, is a Christian view of the nature of sin in which humanity has existed since the fall of man. Original sin arose from Adam and Eve‘s transgression in Eden, the sin of disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Original sin can be explained as “that sin and its guilt that we all possess in God’s eyes as a direct result of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden.” [embedded content] As transcribed in the video above, Shai Linne discusses whether we are guilty for the original sin of Adam: This is what I would say to someone who says the idea of original sin being guilty in Adam, that’s unfair. Like what’s up with t...

Evangelical Christians have spent a lot of time talking about the doctrine of hell. One question weighs particularly heavily: Why, if there is a hell, is it forever? The idea of eternal hell weighs heavily on the heart, as we think of those we know and love apart from Christ. Sometimes a devilish desire to condemn (“You will not surely die”) is behind a denial of future judgment, but sometimes the human motive is just the unbearable gravity of it all. Why would God sentence an everlasting punishment for crimes committed in what God himself describes as a life so quick that it’s like a vapor of mist (James 4:14; Psalm 39:5; Psalm 144:4)? Scripture is quite clear that hell is indeed everlasting. Yes, Scripture speaks of hell as “death” and “destruction” but defines these in terms of a place ...

Temptation is the intentional enticement of a person, by some bait—usually pride, always self-gratifying—to disobey God’s revealed Word. The predicate may be demonic or fleshly, but the object is always the distortion of God’s world and the defiance of God’s mission in the world. Temptation and Original Sin Temptation is as old as, well, the Garden of Eden. The devil, in the form of the serpent, tempted our first parents, Adam and Eve. They fell for the lie, which flattered them, and were led into the trap of death and loss. The rest of the Bible unfurls the redemptive plan of God in Christ. Temptation of Christ Our Lord Jesus, the “second Adam” was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan” (Matthew 4:1). Though led by the Lord, the Savior was tempted by the Devil (...

The Pentateuch, or books of Moses, are the first five books found in the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These five books ascribed to Moses have a peculiar place in the structure of the Bible, and an order which is undeniably the order of the experience of the people of God in all ages.   The Name “Pentateuch” The term “Pentateuch” does not occur in Scripture, nor is it surely known when the text was thus separated into five parts: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Presumably, that was done by the LXX. translators. Some modern critics speak of a Hexateuch, introducing the Book of Joshua as one of the group. But this book is of an entirely different character from the other books and has a differ...

Was Jesus a Carpenter? We can look to the Gospel scripture to know the events and details of Jesus’ life and one verse in particular addresses whether Jesus was actually a carpenter. Mark 6:3 gives us the response by those in Jesus’ hometown when he returned to teach in the synagogue, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.” They refer to Jesus as being previously a carpenter, a trade he likely learned from his father of the same profession.  The Gospel also mentions carpentry in Matthew 13:54-55, saying “Coming to his hometown [Jesus] taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man ...

“The Romans Road is a sort of roadmap through various gospel truths that someone, years ago, put together by selecting key verses out of Romans,” Phil Johnson, executive director of Grace to You, said. Watch the full video of his explanation below. [embedded content] God’s plan for human salvation is communicated throughout the entirety of Scripture. The Romans Road to salvation is a collection of verses from the New Testament book of Romans that concisely explain God’s salvation plan. Because this collection is human assembled, not an official Biblical arrangement, some collections may include more or fewer verses than others. For the most part, the Romans Road consists of essentially four parts. The Romans Road Bible Verses 1. The Human Problem (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23)...