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)...

The term “works” is a perfectly noble word; yet, in the minds of some, there is a distorted view of this biblical term. Especially has the Protestant world reacted negatively to Catholicism’s "work...

The most common Greek word representing this idea is apollumi. The term can suggest the idea of an object that is estranged from its owner. A shepherd loses his sheep, a woman loses a coin, a Fathe...

Titus was a Gentile co-worker of Paul’s whom the apostle had left on the island of Crete to “set in order” certain matters and to work toward the ordination of elders within the local congregations...

Isaiah was a prophet who lived in Judah in the eighth century before Christ. He foretold coming judgments from God to be visited upon Israel, Judah, and several heathen nations, because of their si...

Idolatry is the worship of any being or object other than the true God, or the worship of supposed images of Jehovah himself (Ex. 20:3-6).

A more subtle form of idolatry is the slavish yielding t...

The word “soul” is used in several senses in the Bible. (a) It may signify an individual person (Ezek. 18:20). (b) It may be employed of mere biological life (Gen. 1:30). (c) It can have to do with...

The Bible is filled with affirmations of our Creator’s generosity. Every good and perfect gift is from him (Jas. 1:17). Surely our gratitude must be lavishly expressed for his graciousness. 

God h...

This is the erroneous theory that a vast span of time (billions of years) transpired between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. 

Allegedly, during this period, large creatures roamed the earth (e.g., dinosaurs)...

This word derives from a Latin term meaning “unmarried.”

In the divine scheme of things, the ideal is for human beings to marry (Gen. 2:18; 1 Tim. 5:14). Sometimes, however, it is not advisable t...

Faithfulness conveys integrity, steadfastness, truth, and dependability, among other qualities. Two important emphases of this quality are highlighted in the Bible. 
• God is faithful in all things...

John’s second epistle is a word of commendation for a certain “elect lady” and her children. Further, it issues strong warnings against those who go beyond the teaching of Christ and cautions again...

This small book contains one of the 1,005 songs penned by king Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:32). It extols the passion and bliss of wedded love, and praises the king’s “beloved.” Many scholars have suggested ...

Roman numeral; seventy. Common abbreviation for the Greek Version of the O.T. (third century B.C.). See SEPTUAGINT.

Animals operate largely on instinct, an inherited pattern of behavior. Human beings are different. We are made in the very image of God himself (Gen. 1:26-27). We possess volition (i.e., the power ...

The Greek noun hesuchia does not signify absolute silence, i.e., absence of sound, but that which is tranquil, causing no disturbance. When Paul addressed an unruly mob, and they perceived that he ...

This celebrated book is a narrative about an ancient patriarch who lived in Arabia. Job becomes a tragic yet faithful example of endurance (Jas. 5:11) as a test case designed to prove that God is "...

Expediency is sometimes defined as the method by which a determined goal is achieved, regardless of the moral consequences. This is not the biblical concept of expediency.

In Bible parlance, a me...