The expression "Great Commission" is commonly used to refer to a special directive Christ gave in a post-resurrection appearance before he ascended back into heaven.  The "commission" is found in ...

"Communion" is a term applied to the Lord's Supper because of its usage in 1 Corinthians 10:16. This act of worship emphasizes the fellowship (koinonia — sharing, participation) we enjoy with Chris...

Paul commended Timothy for making "the good confession" before many witnesses (1 Tim. 6:12).  The word "confession" comes from the Greek homologia, which means "to say the same thing." It implies a...

"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...

This English term is related to the Latin conscientia, literally, "to know together" or "joint knowledge." It corresponds to the Greek suneidesis (found thirty times in the New Testament), which es...

Critics are fond of claiming that the Bible cannot be the word of God because, supposedly, it contains multiple contradictions. Such allegations reveal that these critics are oblivious to the natur...

Paul wrote this epistle to a church he had established on his second missionary campaign (Acts 18:1-11). It deals with problems within that local congregation, such as division (1:10ff), carnality ...

Paul's second preserved letter to the Corinthian brethren was designed to be corrective. It urged the saints to be forgiving to the brother who had been disciplined because of his fornication (2:1f...

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. In some cases, the parties stand on equal footing, and each party contributes to the conditions of the covenant.  It can be the case, however, that ...

The creation was the act of an omnipotent God, speaking into existence, from no previous materials, the entire Universe and everything within it. This concept is unique to Judeo-Christian theology....

The Book of Daniel records the life and prophetic visions of the prophet Daniel.  As a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity in 605 B.C., during the first deportation under King Nebuch...

The Hebrew term yom, with its Greek equivalent, hemera, typically signifies a unit of time determined by the full rotation of the Earth upon its axis. That is its meaning in Genesis 1, concerning t...

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...

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 ...

Demons (not "devils" KJV) were evil spirits (Mt. 12:43-45) that were permitted to inhabit the bodies of some people during the days of Christ and his apostles.  Almost certainly, this was to allow...

A religious denomination is a body or sect subscribing to a particular set of doctrinal tenets that is set apart from other religious groups by its name and human creed.  Denominations find no div...

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...

The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Pentateuch. The title signifies "second law."  Moses penned this document near the end of the era of wilderness wandering. Its design is to rehears...

The term devil means one who slanders or accuses (cf. Rev. 12:9-10). This word is used thirty-three times in the New Testament of the arch-enemy of man, Satan (Mt. 13:28). Since only the deity is...

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...