“Confession” means “to say the same thing.” 

In connection with our salvation, confession is the personal acknowledgment of the transgressions in our lives that God has spoken of and condemned thr...

The Philippian church was established by Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 16:11ff). These people quickly secured a place in the great apostle’s heart. This letter, written some ten years ...

The church in Thessalonica was established on Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 17:1ff). After he left the region, he received a report regarding the congregation in Thessalonica, containing b...

A type (tupos) is a prophetic, pictorial preview that finds its fulfillment in an antitype. Types are grounded in historical events, but they are symbolic in import. These forms of figurative proph...

“Suffering” is a term that embraces the various physical and emotional ills to which the human family is heir. Skeptics charge that human suffering is irreconcilable with the idea of an all-powerfu...

Hosea lived in that era just prior to the Assyrian invasion of the kingdom of Israel (722/21 B.C.). His mission was to admonish Israel for her idolatry (Baal worship), and to urge her to repentance...

This is a specific time determined by God for the vindication of divine operation. Acts 17:31 is a very comprehensive passage in this regard: (a) A day of judgment has been “appointed.” (b) The ent...

“Materialism” is commonly used in two different senses. (a) Philosophical materialism is the idea that nothing exists except that which is material in nature (i.e., composed of matter). There is, t...

The role of the Christian teacher is sobering indeed, for those who presume to “teach” will receive a “heavier judgment” (Jas. 3:1). This warning is not designed to discourage teaching (a divine ob...

This word is related to a Greek verb, apostello, meaning “to send away, to send forth.” It is used in several senses in the New Testament. 
• Christ was God’s “apostle,” sent from heaven to reveal ...

Drunkenness involves the ingestion of a mind-altering substance for purely pleasurable purposes. This vice is repeatedly condemned in the Scriptures (Proverbs 23:29ff; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Corinthians...

Praise, in the highest sense of the term, is a feeling toward, and/or outward expression of, devotion to deity. It acknowledges thanksgiving for Heaven’s glorious creation, beneficent providence, a...

The false idea that all men will be saved ultimately is called “universalism.” (a) Universalism is illogical; it suggests that man’s use of his power of choice — for good or evil — is irrelevant....

Woman was fashioned from flesh and bone taken from the side of man (Gen. 2:21-24). Male and female qualities were designed by God (Mt. 19:4); these characteristics are not accidental developments o...

Micah lived south of Jerusalem during the reigns of Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (cir. 749-697 B.C.). He was a contemporary of both Hosea and Isaiah. Micah’s mission was to rebuke the sins of both Is...

The act of “laying on of hands” served several functions in the N.T. (a) Some parents brought their children that Jesus might lay his hands upon them (Mt. 19:13). This involved no magical ritual; r...

Several Hebrew words are rendered by the English “wine,” the most common of which are yayin (134 times) and tirosh (33 times). The basic term for “wine” in the Greek New Testament is oinos (33 time...

The verb “reconcile” (Grk. katallasso) basically suggests a “change.” In an ethical or religious sense, it denotes a change between parties who have been estranged. It may refer to human associatio...

The term “evangelist” is an Anglicized form of the Greek euanglistes, derived from eu (“well”) and angelos (“messenger”). 

An evangelist is someone who proclaims the good news, serving as a gospel...

This is the name of a figure of speech whereby things are described in human terms. The word derives from the Greek anthropos (man) and morphe (form), hence man-form. 

Because God is “spirit” (Jn....