Was Jesus a racist? You know, he live in a society that was, frankly, racist. Religious Jews would not eat with gentiles and Samaritans were beneath contempt. Oh, they were happy enough to make a proselyte from among the Gentiles, but they still treated them as second-class worshipers of God. So what was Jesus doing when he sent his disciples out a…

For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrew 4:12 KJ2000 [Paul_Study_Questions_Link]توسط Ronald L. Dart

Jesus must have given a lot of people whiplash. For one thing, he didn’t seem to be very religious. That is not to say that he was not a law-abiding person, or that he was profane or irreligious. It was just that he wasn’t religious in the accepted sense. For one thing, he consorted with the wrong kind of people. And he was under near constant crit…

Why was Jesus so hard to understand at times? Oh, there were times when he was clear as crystal, and we just don’t like what he said, but there are other times when he is not clear at all. Jesus, like any good communicator used all the various devices, analogies, illustrations, stories, comparisons, etc. But he had another tool that he used frequen…

Imagine for a moment that you and your family go out to a movie one night and when you come home, your house has burned to the ground. I know, it would be a terrible loss. You would all shed a lot of tears. It would be horrible. But assuming you had your house properly insured, have you ever considered how free you would be the next morning? The in…

When reading the Bible, especially the words of Jesus, have you ever wondered why Jesus did not speak more plainly? He was a man of few words, and I often find myself wishing for more words from him—more detail, more explanation. Only a part of the problem is the brevity of Jesus’ remarks. Part of it is an assumption of knowledge on the part of his…

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. It is an old, familiar friend, this hymn. There’s a good chance you know the tune and could sing it. Too often, when we sing these songs in church or hear them on the radio, we sing them…

There is such a thing as an unpardonable sin. I hesitate to bring it up, because some poor soul out there who is guilty of serious sin is likely to have a few bad nights worrying about whether he or she has done it. But you needn’t worry. The unpardonable sin is not a matter of degree. It isn’t adultery or theft. What is it? Well, Jesus popped the …

How do you look at religion? Is religion a burden you have to bear, or is it more of a release from burdens? I don’t mean theoretically, I mean by your own observation of the religious people you know. As a person becomes more religious, is she more or less happy? Jesus made a short statement on this; it is found in Matthew’s 11th chapter: All thin…

Man is a territorial creature. I don’t mean that purely in a geographical sense, either. Man is socially territorial—we expect people to stay in their class or in their race. Man is even territorial in an ideological sense. We put together belief systems—think of churches with all of their doctrines and creeds—that are exclusionary. They accept all…

And, you, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands: They shall perish; but you remain; and they all shall grow old as does a garment; And as a mantle shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail. Hebrews 1:10–12 KJ2000 [Paul_St…

Poor Joseph. It is hard to imagine what a shock it was to him when he learned that his betrothed wife was with child. Understand that, in that society, at that time, this was a much bigger thing that it is today. The role of women in society was different, and her marriage-ability was all that stood between a young woman and starvation—or perhaps p…

Would you consider yourself a fair-minded person? I mean a person who believes in equity—who holds yourself to the same standards to which you hold others; a person who really believes we shouldn’t have double standards; a person who is offended when someone judges you for doing something and then does the same thing himself? Jesus said: Judge not,…

All of us grow up familiar with rules. Our parents had rules for us. Schools had rules. The community had rules. If you are the parent of a teenager, I’ll bet you have heard at least once, Aw, you never want me to have any fun. And if you are teenager, you have heard, in answer to your question, Why? the words, Because I said so. When you grow up a…

Was Jesus a pacifist? It hasn’t been much of a question in this country since the end of the draft, but it still resonates with a number of people. Did Jesus say we could not defend ourselves if attacked? When he said turn the other cheek, just how far does that go? In this program series, we are talking about the words of Jesus—what he actually sa…

When the history of our generation is finally written, I think historians will see the single greatest tragedy of our generation is the disintegration of the family. Some experts are now saying that half of all new marriages will end in divorce. We tried an experiment in making divorce easier in this country, without thinking through the consequenc…

Finally we come to Second Timothy. Paul is now an old man—one who had been over a lot of roads, been to a lot of places. He had been imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked. Paul may not have lived as many years as some in the Bible, but he put an awful lot of miles on in that period of time. He also changed a lot. The Paul we know in Luke’s early writings…

There are so many mysteries in the Bible. Yes, it was written in another language and in another culture, and there is much we simply don’t know. But I am not talking about that. I am talking about things we aren’t programmed to understand. We are programmed, you know. Just like a computer has to have an operating system to, well, operate, so do we…

I known I’ve been complaining about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John not giving us more of what Jesus actually said. They’ll tell us that Jesus went into a synagogue and taught, that people were astonished at his doctrine, that he delivered it with authority—but wouldn’t tell us what his doctrine was. Well, we’ve discovered that the reason for that su…

Jesus was a man of few words, so we want to pay close attention to the words he did say. When he spoke, he was often enigmatic in what he said–sometimes it was hard to figure out exactly what he meant. As often as not, he would make his point with a question, or perhaps with a question followed by an action. For example, Jesus was a Sabbath-keeper,…

How was it possible that otherwise sane men would want to kill Jesus? Think about it. He was a quiet man. He was plainly a kind man. He was an engaging teacher and faithful to the scriptures. More important, he was doing miracles—he was healing people left and right, and such healings as no one had ever seen. And yet, immediately after some of thes…

Over the years, a common objection people raised to religion is that, well, it’s pie in the sky. Religion, they think, has some vague promises of benefits in the next life, but it doesn’t do much for a person in this life. That’s really a pity that those of us who call ourselves Christians have allowed people to think of us that way; for if a perso…

Titus was a younger man than Paul, and is called his own son after the common faith. Titus had assisted him since at least the Jerusalem Conference, so by the time Paul gets around to writing this letter to Titus, he is writing to an experience minister—a man who has been used to deal with difficult situations on several occasions. Now, having Titu…

There seems to be a difference between a secret and a mystery. At the very least, the Bible seems to use the word mystery in more than once sense. For example, there might be something that can be known but has been deliberately kept secret. Then there can be something that, even though stated, is not understood. This is the only way I can understa…

I doubt if there are any words of Jesus more widely quoted and better known than his little statement in John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV It is hard to grasp how a first-century Jew would have taken that. Listen to t…

Whatever image you have in your mind of Jesus Christ, it is surely wrong. None of his disciples told us anything at all about how Jesus looked—which is a curious oversight, in a way, because we really would like to know. It comes as a shock to some people when they learn that the picture of Jesus they bought and hung on the wall is a painting of so…

Nothing is more central to the Christian faith than baptism. Whether it be by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring, baptism is the initiation rite to the Christian church. If you haven’t been baptized somehow, someway, you haven’t met the entry level requirement. Baptism is a Christian thing—and yet baptism did not originate with Christianity. It had …

Did it ever occur to you to wonder why Jesus didn’t write his own book? Why do have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as the four Gospels, but no Gospel According to Jesus? And have you ever noticed how little Jesus had to say? He was a man of few words for the most part, though he did sometimes wax eloquent for, say, five minutes. Let me show you some…

Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you through prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these thing…

Nancy Pearcey, in her book Total Truth, brought something into focus that I had thought about but hadn't quite got together. She observed that a common weakness of evangelism is that we start with redemption. It's true, especially among evangelicals. When there is an altar call at the end of a sermon, it can't help but control the entire sermon. Th…

I’ve never known of a womanizer who really liked women. Women are useful to him, things to satisfy his ego—but not people he respects or cares about (or, more importantly, cares for). There may have been no one more destined to win than Solomon. His wisdom was legendary. But in the end, it was his choice of women that turned him into a loser. King …

Only by pride comes contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. We all know that too much pride is a bad thing. And we all know that humility is a virtue. But what are you supposed to do about pride when you are really good at something? Having talented children is a source of great joy, but having talented children who display humility is rea…

It seems that every age and every generation has it defining characteristic. It also seems to me that we are currently living in the generation of the lie. Just look at politics. If we find a man (or woman) who will tell us what we want to hear, truthfulness aside, we’ll vote for them. But this program isn’t really about politics. It’s about making…

Is it possible to give things away and yet become richer? Is it possible to hold on to everything you have and wind up poor anyhow? This is the paradox of generosity—and it has a lot to do with relationships. No man is ever going to get rich without other people—working with you or for you. Selfishness alienates. But generosity attracts and, as a r…

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 1 Timot…

What do you call those little wooden figures with movable arms and legs that are controlled by strings from above (like Pinocchio)? It’s a puppet, right? Actually, no, that’s a marionette. I learned that from reading an article which featured a prominent psychiatrist referring to people who described themselves as marionettes of helplessness. Sadly…

How many times have you gotten yourself into trouble by speaking up when you should have kept your mouth shut? If we’re talking about making life work, the mouth may be the biggest single problem we have to solve. Nine times out of ten, when we have caused a problem by something we have said, we try to convince ourselves and others that we didn’t r…

What father does not take pride in the accomplishments of his son? And what mother does not glow with pride when her daughter is honored for her talents? And what parent does not burn with shame when their children are shamed? I suppose we could say that Solomon was stating the obvious when he wrote that a wise son makes a glad father: but a foolis…

The Proverbs are essentially ideas that grow naturally out of the Law of God. Here we are dealing with one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible. If you’ll bear with me, I believe I can clear up a major muddle about the Law and the Bible. There are certain laws that we call the Laws of Nature. We live with them every day. And while we mig…

Of all the ways that a man can mess up his life, sex-related problems have to be some of the most likely. Even more so for a woman—in that the consequences for women seem more likely, dangerous, and permanent. Many parents make the common mistake of warning their children of the dangers instead of impressing upon their minds the morality of the sit…

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things are held together. Colossians 1:16–17 KJ2000 [Paul_Study_Questions_Link]…

Years ago, I used to enjoy going up on internet forums and discussing religion there. They had any number of them divided up by category. I tended to hang out on the Christian forums. What was fascinating to me, and something I did not really understand, was the degree of hostility expressed on Christian forums. It seemed a good thing that these pe…

There are a lot of ways to mess up your life. It’s frightening how easy it is to make one small mistake that carries consequences that last a lifetime. There’s no way to avoid every mistake, and accidents will happen from time to time. But we can often be saved from those moments of reckless behavior by having a little wisdom. The problem is that m…

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and se…

I beseech you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Who in time past was to you unprofitable, but now profitable to you and to me: Whom I have sent again: you therefore receive him, that is, my own heart: Whom I would have retained with me, that in your stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: But without …

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According a…

And as he thus spoke for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself; much learning does make you mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and good sense. For the king knows of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden…

Do we truly understand how difficult the years ahead will be? Christians have often believed that we would escape the disasters striking the world simply because we were more righteous than others. Some thought we’d be taken to a place of safety, spared from the trials ahead. But the Bible tells us otherwise. Even the children of Israel faced plagu…

توسط webmaster@borntowin.net (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound…