How To Not Be Taken Captive (#6)

Welcome again to the sixth and likely final part of our series on How To Not Be Taken Captive. This is now our longest running series on the channel! But I believe that it’s also one of the most important, because I know it has broken a lot of long-lasting religious chains some of us have had. And praise God that He is using these studies to set people free.

Today we will tackle two more common religious ideas that serve to breed fear and keep people in bondage, as we conclude How To Not Be Taken captive, and allow the truth of Jesus to set us free.

How To Not Be Taken Captive (#5)

Welcome back to part 5 of our series on How To Not Be Taken Captive, as we continue exploring dangerous captivating religious ideas. We began, This series by looking at the list of items in Colossians 2:8 of things to be wary of, things that can captivate us, and we saw the general commonality of “man-made ideas, and philosophies” — things that sound right and righteous, but lead to destruction.

Then, we began to examine what some of these man-made religious ideas are, and how when held up to the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ, these man-made ideas fall apart. Many of these ideas are very common in Christianity today, even preached from the pulpits, as many Christians just nod, and smile, and shout “Amen” to these false ideas, without giving them a second (or even first!) Thought. But as the scriptures say, there is a way that seems right but leads to death in Proverbs 14:12, so we need to be discerning about what we agree to

A baby will put anything into it’s mouth, even poison…but we should carefully see if these common ideas align with the truth of Jesus and His gospel, or not…

So join me today, as we continue exploring these commonly heard ideas, and see how to not be taken captive.

How To Not Be Taken Captive (#4)

Welcome back to the fourth part of our series on how not to be taken captive. This is the segment that I believe most people have been waiting for, because today we will examine the most common captivating ideas in modern Christianity — or what I call the “Holy-Sounding Hogwash,” a term I coined in the previous part of this series.

I’ve compiled a list of the religious rubbish I’ve heard repeatedly throughout the years, and also added the ones which you all sent me via comments and emails, so it’s my wish that today’s study will benefit us all, as we see how the truth of Jesus and His finished work in the New Covenant keeps us from being taken captive by these dangerous doctrines.

How To Not Be Taken Captive (#3)

In the previous two parts of this series we examined a list of items in Colossians 2:8 of things we should be wary of because they can take us captive.

We saw how the dangerous items in that list, aren’t so much physical but mental; they are deceptive thoughts, arguments, and errant beliefs. While there are many of those which are brazenly obvious today, other are more subtle, even creeping their way inside churches, and into the speech, and minds of Christians.

Today, we will dive into this particular area of subtle captivity, as we continue exploring how to not be taken captive.

What the Prince of Peace Means for You

Of the many titles given to Jesus, none are perhaps quite as striking as “the Prince of Peace.”  When considering the names and titles which God describes Himself to us as, we should remember that God doesn’t need to name himself for His benefit. Whenever God gives himself a name, he does it for our benefit.

So when the God-breathed, holy Spirit inspired scriptures refers to Jesus as the Prince of Peace, what does that mean? That’s a challenging question to answer, but it’s vital to understand to appreciate the gift of divine peace that Jesus gives to us.

Holiness vs. Grace: Which One is Right?

There’s been an ongoing feud among Christians for a long time. A battle between the holiness camp and the grace camp. The holiness side is preoccupied with your works, the things that you do, your behavior, and a checklist of things that you must accomplish to please a perfectly holy God. And they often sound something like this:

“God is coming back one day! He’s not coming back to give you a big hug! He’s coming back to execute his wrath! You need to fear and tremble before him! The scripture says Be holy for I am holy! Tremble, fear, condemnation! Bwahahahahah!”

So, the holiness camp is completely focused on the wrath of God, and uses fear to promote human works.

Now, the grace side is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The grace camp often completely disregards the judgment and even sometimes the respect worthy of God. On the extreme, the grace side sounds like this:

“Oh, don’t worry! God loves you! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and everything’s just fine and dandy all the time!”

So which is it? Is God suffering from multiple personality disorder? 

As you might expect, neither of these positions tell the whole story, and the truth of God’s character, His nature, and the Gospel message, is far greater! Let’s talk about it!

Real Help For Real Problems

Many times n the past when I would find myself troubled or hurting, a well-meaning Christian friend would tell me “Don’t worry, God knows what you’re going through.”

They intended for the comment to soothe and comfort me, but somehow on the inside, their comment only made the pain worse. If God knows what I am going through, why isn’t He doing anything? Why isn’t God helping?

Simply knowing that “God knows what you’re going through” doesn’t really do anything to ease the pain— in-fact, it hurts all the more, because God has the power to help!

If this describes you today, I have some good news, because God’s help is far more than merely a nice thought. Today we will explore how to receive real tangible help, for real problems.

The Blessings and Promises of God for You (#1): Certainty in Christ

The blessings and promises of God can be a touchy subject for some people. There are various ideas regarding God’s blessings ranging from saying they don’t exist at all today, to doctrines saying that God’s blessings are entirely ethereal, or claiming that extreme personal sacrifice and pain is necessary to attain them.

Amid the confusion, it’s easy to become lost and frustrated, and to want to simply give up on the entire topic of blessings. However, God is not the author of confusion, and the scriptures do not leave this topic clouded.

In this series we will be examining the blessings and promises of God available to us through Jesus Christ, how they are give, and how we receive them. 

Join me in this introductory segment today, as we explore the foundation of why blessings and promises available to us in Christ.

God’s Mercy and Grace (part 2)

Last week, we began a discussion about the mercy and grace of God. We learned about what the terms mean, and we started to look at how realization of God’s mercy and grace can impact every area of life.

As we see ourselves on the other side of the cross, we start to comprehend the reality that we are not still trying to get to the finish line; we have arrived.

Today I’d like to continue this discussion, and explicate these ideas further. As we continue examining God’s mercy and grace, we will see more of what He has accomplished, and more of who we are in Him.

God’s Mercy and Grace (part 1)

Mercy and grace, two wonderful gifts that Jesus has given to us. His mercy and grace are always available to us, and they are always active; never dormant or stale. Yet oftentimes we find ourselves feeling as though God’s mercy has somehow left us. Sometimes we think that His grace has abandoned us in the midst of a crisis. I understand those thoughts and feelings, and I’ve felt them myself many times before. I know that it can be very disconcerting, frightening and even depressing; again I have experienced all of that.

But is it actually true that God’s mercy has left us? Is it true that God’s grace has abandoned us? It can be difficult to even confront that thought, because on the one hand, we are uncomfortable even contemplating it. Yet even so, no problem of any significance is ever solved by ignoring it. We can and should approach the problem directly, and we shouldn’t be fearful about it. For if we do indeed believe as we proclaim that “God is good all the time”, then whatever answer we find, we can be certain that it will be good and beneficial for us.

So today I’d like to have a discussion about the mercy and grace of God, and perhaps tackle some of the more palpable aspects of it, both negative and positive.