Does Hebrews 6:4-6 Teach That It Is Possible To Lose Salvation?

In my view, the crowd of 5 point Arminians seems to be quickly dissipating. Most people who I am aware of do not think that it is possible for a true believer to lose their salvation. In fact, even Jacob Arminius thought that it was an open question and too difficult to answer. But those who want to hold fast to this view will usually use Hebrews 6:4-6 as a proof text, arguing that it teaches that these people are born again, experiencing the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, and…

Should We Baptize Only In The Name Of Jesus?

Everybody in the early church was baptized. If one was to express the fact that they were a Christian, or perhaps even the mechanism by which they became a Christian, they went through the process of water baptism. For the sake of discussion, this essay will ignore the question of whether water baptism, in and of itself, is an essential prerequisite to salvation. Rather, I will focus on the view of the Oneness Pentecostal Movement. They teach that went one is water baptized, the person conducting the baptism must recite…

Is Jesus The Father?

The focal point of this essay is this question: is Jesus the Father? Let me preface this a tad. The Bible reveals the following three truths: there is one God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each distinct persons. That is a rather confusing set of doctrines, because, after all, how can there be one God, if there are three persons? Well, to me, this is sort of like asking how there can be one triangle,…

6 Reasons That Metaphysical Naturalism Limits Science

People who believe in the existence of God are sometimes charged with limiting science, lazily saying that God is the explanation, and therefore we do not need one. While some Christians may be guilty of such thinking, many Christians acknowledge science as the means by which God created the universe. For one to say that because we understand science, that therefore we do not need God, is like saying that because we understanding engineering, we do not need Henry Ford. Ironically, metaphysical naturalists (those who believe that the natural world…

5 Answers To The Question, “Why Doesn’t God Heal Amputees?”

Sometimes religious people will claim that they were healed of cancer, or some other illness. They will have great joy that this sickness has departed their body. Then the atheist, almost in an attempt to steal that joy and put other people down, will come in and say, “ah, so God healed you. But why doesn’t God heal amputees?” The implication is that what the Christian will call a miracle, is not really a miracle. Why doesn’t God heal amputees, and show a real miracle that we can all see…

Does James 2 Teach Salvation By Works?

False religions throughout world history has men trying to earn favor with God by their own merit. They show God how much they are worth, and God chooses them above the others. When they do good works, God becomes their debtor and owes them eternal life. It is ironic, though, that the message of the Bible since the beginning of time has just the opposite. God tells his people to just put their trust in him. But instead, men have put their trust in their own works. They put their…

Are Tongues Necessary For Salvation?

The book of Acts records a number of occurrences of people being filled with the Holy Spirit and beginning to speak in tongues. Throughout church history, the debate has raged on about the nature of these tongues. Are they other human languages? Are they ecstatic gibberish, only comprehensible to the heavenly host? But the issue may be pressed further. If somebody speaks in these ecstatic tongues, do they have a deeper level of interaction with the divine than others? Are they more holy? Further even, are tongues necessary for salvation?…

Is Jesus The Holy Spirit?

Almost in an attempt to muddy the waters and distort the biblical teaching about the person of Christ, some people will argue that Jesus is the person of the Holy Spirit. Before I answer the question, ‘Is Jesus the Holy Spirit?’ I ought to preface this topic so that you, dear reader, will understand what I mean. There has been heated debate throughout church history over the nature of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The prevaling orthodox position has always been the position that there is one…

What Were The Disciples Doing Between Good Friday And Easter?

Yesterday was Good Friday, which is the day that Jesus was murdered for the sins of the world and all of the wrath of God that we deserve was poured out on him. So I made a point to write a few relevant things. I want also to write relevant things about the days leading up to Easter. What were the disciples doing between Good Friday and Easter? That is certainly an interesting question and there is certainly a bit of speculation from historical scholars. Did they expect Jesus to…

Will The Bible Fall Apart If There Is One Error?

Christians are plagued with an almost Islamic conception of the Bible. Some even want to say that because Jesus is the Logos (the Word) and the Bible is the word of God, that therefore, Jesus is the Bible. But this view immediately leads us to the worship of the Bible, and we are no better than the Pagans who worship gods made from human hands. Christians ought not hold the view that Jesus is the Bible, nor ought we hold an Islamic conception of Scripture. Muslims believe that the Qur’an…

Is The Qur’an A Perfect Book?

Is the Qur’an a perfect book? This is the argument that the Qur’an offers for itself. There is no book that is like it. Muslims maintain that it was dictated by God himself, handed to an angel, and given to Muhammad. For those who doubt that the Qur’an really is from God, it poses the challenge, “If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants.” (17:88). However it…

Do Christians Only Do Good For A Reward?

It is sometimes charged against Christians that they only do good things so that they can be rewarded with Heaven. In contrast, the atheists argue, they do not have such an expectation, and therefore, when they do good things, they are being truly genuine. While Christians are only doing it for selfish reasons, that is, to have a nice place to live in the future. Similarly, Christians may do good things out of fear of going to Hell. But is that the case? Do Christians only do good for a…

What Happens To Those Who Have Never Heard About Jesus?

A first-century Jew is living very far from Jerusalem and never heard of Jesus during his living ministry. Jesus died for the sins of the world and was raised from the dead, and this particular Jew did not even hear that message. Jesus tells us that if one does put their trust in him, they will die in their sins (John 3:18). Does that include that man? What about his children, who never hear about Jesus? Suppose they immigrate somewhere even further away, and an entire generation of people never…

Is Atheist Activism A Religion?

Is atheist activism a religion? Sometimes believers like to suggest that atheism is a religion, and as such, atheists are religious believers. However I do not think that is true. Atheism, defined as just the position or view that there is no such being as God, is not a religion. In fact, even theism is not necessarily a religion. Some people can believe that God exists, and still not be religious. Holding the belief that God exists or God does not exist, does not make one religious. In fact, even…

Is My Loved One In Hell?

When somebody close to you dies, everybody wonders what happened to their loved one. Did they end up in Hell? Did they just pass on to the spirit world? Are they with God in eternity? Did they reincarnate into another animal? Is my loved one in Hell? When you encounter Christians, the first thing that you probably think is that your loved one went to Hell if they are right, and this repels you from the Christian faith. Unless you had a really nasty relative, this usually invokes the reaction…

How Can Christians Deal With Lust?

It is a little odd that I am even bothering to write this article. After all, lust is only something that one in every thousand Christian man struggles with. Only those who are unholy and unloving, only those who do not care about God struggle with lust. No true Christian would have this struggle. So why write about it? Because that is a lie. That is a lie that you tell yourself. Lust is something that just about every single Christian man struggles with. Imagine the person who you would…

Does Matthew 28:19 Contradict Acts 2:38?

There is a slight divide within Christendom about minor issues such as the baptismal formula. When I say the baptismal formula, I mean the words that one recites just before they baptize a person. The super-majority of Christians will argue that when a person is water baptized, the baptizer must recite the words of Matthew 28:19, that is, baptism “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Less than one percent of Christendom, namely the Oneness Pentecostal movement, will argue that according to Acts 2:38, we…

Why Isn’t The Gospel Of Thomas In The Bible?

People love uncovering new artifacts that seem to contradict everything that we thought we knew, especially with regard to the common religious belief. That is why Reza Aslan’s book proclaiming that Jesus was a violent revolutionary was such a hit. Authors are given airtime on major networks because they proclaim that the body of Jesus was found. People love hearing that the Romans claimed that they invented Jesus. They love hearing that there are books out there, which were recently discovered, that have just as much historical credibility as the…