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Writings on Christianity

Culture Will Impact our Faith

Our Culture Will Impact the Soundness of Our Christian Faith To be “sound in the faith” is to embrace the truth of the gospel message without being distorted by false teaching and false practice. We see this in Titus 1:13-14, where Paul’s heart is that the Cretan believers would be “sound in the faith” and […]

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Writings on Christianity

Beauty of the Gospel Gives Me Courage

BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL GIVES ME COURAGE EVEN WHEN I FEEL UGLY The gospel is the good news of God’s saving love for us in Christ. It is the message and truth that God, who dwells in unapproachable light and is infinitely holy, loves us and has reconciled us to Himself in Jesus. We were […]

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Writings on Christianity

BEAUTY of Christ Outshines ALL Other Beauties

BEAUTY OF CHRIST OUTSHINES ALL OTHER BEAUTIES Naperville, the city I live in, is filled with beauty. There are beautiful people, beautiful homes, a beautiful Riverwalk. There are stores filled with beautiful clothes and barber shops and beauty salons to make your hair look beautiful. But there is a beauty that outshines the beauty of […]

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Writings on Christianity

BEAUTY and the Christian Life

BEAUTY and the Christian Life Titus 2:10 gives us an interesting view on BEAUTY and the Christian life. In this passage, Paul has been giving instructions on how believers are to live out their faith (2:2-10) and here (2:9-10) he is specifically addressing slaves, urging them to live godly lives in their present position in […]

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Writings on Christianity

A Kingdom Without SIN

A KINGDOM WITHOUT SIN One of the extraordinarily wonderful claims of Christianity is entrance into an eternal and glorious kingdom free from sin. When Jesus came to earth he said, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ (Matt 4:17). With his arrival—the arrival of God the Son who took on human flesh and […]

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Writings on Christianity

Whiter Than SNOW

WHITER THAN SNOW One image that Scripture uses to speak of the redemption we have in Christ is that of being pure or clean. The idea is that sin corrupts and defiles, but God in His mercy and grace makes us pure and clean again. We see this in Titus 1:15: “To the pure, all […]

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Writings on Christianity

THE Good News

The Gospel is THE Good News I have been preaching through the book of Titus at our church, Cross of Christ Fellowship. It has been a joy and seems so relevant to us in this season of life and ministry. Lately, one thought has been coming to my mind, as I’ve been reflecting on the […]

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Writings on Christianity

Calvin on the Use of Secular Sources

CALVIN on the Use of SECULAR Sources In preparing to preach on Titus 1:10-16, I ran across an interest quote by John Calvin regarding Titus 1:12-13. In that passage, Paul quotes Epimenides, a Cretan poet 1:12-13. The quote reads: “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, […]

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Writings on Christianity

William Edgar’s 4 Step Apologetic Method

William Edgar’s 4 Step Apologetic Method Westminster Professor of Apologetics William Edgar has written a book on apologetics called “Reasons of the Heart: Recovering Christian Persuasion” (2003). In one of the more helpful chapters he gives a four-step approach to apologetics which relies on “four apologetic realities.” He argues that, when these 4 realities are […]

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Writings on Christianity

Grace to Us in Sound Doctrine (Titus 1:9)

1:9: God’s Grace to us in Sound Doctrine The Apostle Paul has told us that when we look for elders in a local church, we need those who “hold firm to the trustworthy word as it has been taught” (Titus 1:9). An elder must be qualified, a called man who is committed to the authority […]