Category: What do you think?

The only door: why Jesus alone gives life to the church

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Jesus alone is the source of life within the church, which explains why someone can walk down a church aisle, join a congregation, and undergo baptism in any form, yet remain spiritually dead in their sins if they have never personally received Jesus Christ as their saviour.

A person could hold membership in dozens of local churches and still have no true connection to the body of Christ, because that body is Christ himself, his very life. Every genuine believer carries within them the resurrection life of Jesus Christ, and this is what sets them apart from everyone else, becoming the true source of their strength and power as children of God.

Jesus described himself as the way, the truth, and the life, stating plainly that no one reaches the Father except through him, calling this a narrow path found by only a few. Everything narrows down to this single person: without Jesus there is no resurrection, no salvation, no heaven, and no true church, regardless of what someone claims to believe or where their loyalties lie.

As creator of heaven and earth and head of the church, he alone stands as the one door leading to God.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14:6

The Office of prophet in the early church

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JEFF TURNER

Among the leadership roles Paul describes in Ephesians, prophets occupy a distinct place alongside apostles, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. Understanding this role requires distinguishing between a general sense of speaking truth and a specific, recognized office within the early Christian community.

While anyone preaching or teaching could loosely be described as prophesying, the formal office of prophet referred to specially appointed individuals serving within local congregations, distinct from the apostles who travelled to plant new churches. These prophets appear to have received direct revelation intended for their specific community, though their messages still required validation from fellow prophets and had to align with established apostolic teaching.

In essence, the apostles functioned somewhat like the early evangelists of their day, spreading the gospel across new territory, while the prophets functioned more like resident teaching pastors, instructing and guiding congregations already established.

Doesn’t this explain why, once the apostolic era concluded, the offices naturally transitioned into the ongoing roles of evangelists and teaching pastors that continue within churches today.

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation.

1 Corinthians 14:3

Don’t mistake winning an argument for winning a soul

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DAVID INGRAM

If you’ve spent much time defending the Christian faith online or in person, you’ve probably noticed a familiar pattern. It has become so common that it’s almost predictable.

Someone confidently declares, “There is no God.”

When you ask them to support that claim, the response is often, “The burden of proof is on you because you’re the one who believes God exists.”

At first, that may sound reasonable. But think carefully about what has happened.

The statement, “God exists,” is a claim. The statement, “God does not exist,” is also a claim. Both are assertions about reality. The only position that avoids making a claim is, “I don’t know.”

A common mistake in reasoning is to assume that only one side has a burden of proof. This is known as shifting the burden of proof. It occurs when someone makes a positive assertion but insists that only the other person is responsible for providing evidence. If a person claims there is no God, they have made a claim just as surely as the person who says there is a God. Neither side should be exempt from defending what they affirm.

As Christians, we should never be embarrassed to acknowledge that we are saved by faith given as a gift from God so that no one may boast. To be clear: I believe the Bible tells us that our faith is not something we manufacture on our own or that stems from our own ability to understand.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8-9

We do not hide our faith because it is God’s gift, not our achievement.

What should concern us is when someone confidently declares there is no God while insisting they owe no explanation for that conclusion. That is not skepticism. It is simply another belief being asserted without defense.

Yet even this is not the heart of the matter.

Christians can become so absorbed in debating logical fallacies that we forget why the conversation matters in the first place. We begin treating apologetics as though our mission is to outthink the unbeliever.

It isn’t.

The deepest reason people reject Christ is rarely intellectual. Scripture says the problem is spiritual.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” (Psalm 14:1)

Notice that Scripture does not say the fool has examined all the evidence and reached an unavoidable conclusion. The issue begins in the heart.

Paul explains that humanity already has sufficient knowledge of God through His creation, yet suppresses that truth.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them… So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.”
— Romans 1:19-21

The Bible teaches that unbelief is not caused by a lack of information. It is a suppression of truth. Sin affects not only what we desire but also how we think.

This does not mean every objection to Christianity is dishonest. People often have sincere questions that deserve thoughtful answers. We should always be prepared to give a reason for the hope within us, doing so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

But we should never imagine that the right argument alone can produce saving faith.

Paul wrote,

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:18

And again,

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him… because they are spiritually discerned.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:14

No one is argued into the Kingdom apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

That should change the way we engage unbelievers.

Yes, expose faulty reasoning when it appears. Correct logical fallacies when necessary. Defend the truth faithfully. But do not mistake exposing an error in logic for addressing the real issue. A person can lose every argument and still reject Christ. Another can ask difficult questions and, by God’s grace, come to faith.

Our confidence should never rest in our ability to corner someone intellectually. Scripture warns us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Don’t work so hard to open the door of human reason that you neglect the door only the Holy Spirit can open.

Winning an argument is not the mission.

Leading people to the Savior is.

Submitting to government authority

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JEFF TURNER

Romans 13 instructs believers to submit to governing authorities, pray for their leaders, and pay required taxes, raising an important question about whether disobedience to government is ever justified for a Christian. The exception arises only when government commands believers to do something God explicitly forbids, or forbids believers from doing something God explicitly commands. Outside of that specific intersection, believers are called to obey and submit to governing authority, even when disagreeing strongly with particular policies or decisions made by that government.

Disliking how tax dollars get spent, or opposing certain government positions on moral issues, does not itself justify disobedience or rebellion. Believers can certainly use whatever legitimate influence they have to oppose policies they find objectionable, but submission remains the default posture unless government directly demands sin. This is because government, despite its flaws, functions as an institution established by God specifically to restrain evil and reward good behaviour, providing the order necessary to prevent society from collapsing into lawlessness.

Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.

1 Peter 2:13-14

When righteous anger cleared the temple

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JEFF TURNER

Some people picture Jesus as endlessly gentle and soft-spoken, never raising his voice or displaying frustration. Yet one of the clearest scenes in the gospels shows him driving merchants and money changers from the temple, overturning tables and scattering coins in visible anger. This was not an isolated loss of temper but a deliberate act of judgment against corrupted religious practice.

What provoked this response was not minor inconvenience. It was the desecration of true worship and the misrepresentation of God’s character through false religious systems.

Jesus showed remarkable patience and compassion toward ordinary people who lacked spiritual guidance, yet he reserved sharp condemnation for religious leaders who knowingly distorted truth and led others astray, going so far as to label such figures as sources of spiritual ruin.

As Christians we should stay focused on genuine compassion toward those who are lost and firmly stand against teachings or systems that deliberately twist or counterfeit the truth of God.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 23:27-28