Many professing Christians accept unbiblical teaching that emphasizes the need for good self-esteem. Because such teaching denies the truth of God’s Word in many areas, the body of Christ should have rejected this self-emphasis long ago. Although decades of emphasis on self-esteem have produced no standard definition of that concept, many ideas underlying self-esteem theories…
“Forgiving yourself” & “Forgetting your sins” Recommendation: Have your Bible available to look up verses as they are presented in this study. Or, you can print the verses that follow this study and consult them as they are referenced. INTRODUCTION Two of the most popular, unscriptural concepts accepted by many believers are the need to…
Being established in the faith—living a life consistent with sound teaching—is closely linked with maturing in Christ (Ephesians 4:11-15, Colossians 2:6-8). Consequently, Christians are to watch carefully what they believe and teach (1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:15). It is a mark of noble character to examine all teaching to ensure that it is consistent with the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).…
Jesus narrowed the most significant priorities of life to just two: Loving God–with all your heart, soul, and mind–and loving others, as you already do love yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). Contrary to a deluge of humanistic teachings, there is no third commandment to “love yourself” in this key passage of Scripture. Our inherent “love of self” does not need…
By Daniel B. Wallace, Th.M, Ph.D Matthew 22:39 This is one of several occasional essays on “Scripture Twisting.” The purpose of these very brief essays is to challenge certain popular interpretations of the Bible that really have little or no basis. Matthew 22:39 reads simply, A second [command] is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In…
by Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspective Ministries A writer friend was at an event many years ago when he witnessed the following: He was standing near a woman confined to a wheelchair. Suddenly a well-known woman, who had written and spoken extensively about her gift of healing, marched up to the lady in the wheelchair,…
Doing good works—often defined as being obedient to religious tenets and/or moral practices—is the most commonly supposed qualification for a person to go to heaven, or “to enjoy the afterlife” as some religions state. You may not know it, but Christianity is the only spiritual belief that says it is impossible to qualify for heaven…
by Randy Alcorn, Director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries The world is desperately hungry for two things—grace and truth. Jesus Christ is full of both: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace andtruth” (John 1:14). When Jesus…
What does Scripture teach with regard to “forgetting your sins”? Does God’s Word teach that a believer is “to forget these sins” with the meaning of “not having a remembrance of those sins”? One will look in vain to find biblical support for the necessity of “being unable to recall” or “to lose remembrance” of…
The conflict between biblical truth and false teaching is a battle over what “source” (authority) is to be trusted. A person’s authoritative source of truth for life and relationships will either be from humans (natural wisdom, typically disseminated via books, public presentations, and broadcast media) or from God (divine wisdom stated in Scripture and portrayed…