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....

Repentance has a variety of uses in the Scriptures. (a) One form of “repentance” is simply a feeling of remorse. It was in this sense that Judas “repented” (Mt. 27:3) just before he hanged himself ...

The Greek term porne is a comprehensive term, covering every form of illicit sexual activity by human beings. Note the following passages that help us understand this word.

Single people who wish ...

Literally, this term has to do with the implantation of seed by which a child is conceived. The word is used in Scripture figuratively to illustrate the spiritual agency, namely the word of God, by...

More than a dozen words are used in the Greek N.T. to represent various aspects of “sin” (e.g., bad, evil, transgression, iniquity, trespass, godless, unrighteous, etc.). The most frequently employ...

Homosexual activity is sexual intimacy between two persons of the same gender. This form of sexual conduct is uniformly condemned in the Bible. (a) It stands outside the divinely prescribed realm o...

The Greek term, found in various forms about forty-five times in the N.T., means “the possession of a lot,” or portion. Some ideas associated with the word are these: (a) It can suggest a possessio...

The doctrine of hereditary total depravity is also known as “original sin” in Roman Catholicism. This concept asserts that all children come into the world with both the effects and guilt of Adam’s...

A significant portion of the Old Testament record embodies the law of Moses. Some basic facts relative to that system must be understood. (a) It was given by God, and ordained by angels; it came th...

The term “truth” carries several connotations in the Bible. (a) Truth can convey the idea of loyalty. Those who abide in Jesus’ teaching are “truly” his disciples (Jn. 8:31). (b) True may denote th...

Discipline is actually a process of training that begins at the point of one’s conversion and continues throughout one’s life. It includes teaching, example, exhortation, admonition, etc. (2 Tim. 3...

Prayer is a mode of communication between a human being and deity. Prayer is almost a human “instinct,” reflecting man’s innate need for contact with his Maker (Acts 17:27). It has been said that w...

Death is a term that, in one sense or another, suggests the idea of separation.

Physical death is that state of the body which is separated from the “spirit” or “soul” (Gen. 25:8; 35:18; Jas. 2:2...

This term is found only a few times in the English Bible. In four cases it renders the Greek threskeia, which basically means holy service, the exercise of devotion to a transcendent Being or being...

The Bible occasionally speaks of the wicked being ultimately “destroyed” (apollumi) in hell (Mt. 10:28; Lk. 13:3, 5; 2 Thes. 2:10). Some, therefore, have assumed that after an appropriate period of...

Deism is a religious and philosophical theory that acknowledges the existence of a Supreme Being responsible for creating the universe. However, this philosophy asserts that the transcendent Being ...

The most common word in the Greek New Testament that conveys the idea of “forgiveness” is aphesis, a compound term meaning “to send away from.”

Forgiveness is a divine response to human sin, flowi...

Ethics concerns the system or code by which attitudes or actions are determined to be right or wrong. Only two sources can serve as the basis for ethical conduct: ethical conduct is either regulate...

Purgatory is a state, fabricated by the Roman Catholic, which is supposed to be a depository for those who die, not wicked enough to enter hell, but not good enough to merit heaven. Accordingly, th...

References to “worship” are common in both the O.T. and the N.T. The Hebrew term shachah (about 100 times) refers to “bowing” before an object of religious devotion. Similarly, proskuneo (59 times)...