Building on the Foundation

  In both Old and New Testaments, we occasionally find puzzling verses that require much thought, study, and prayer to understand. Today, let’s examine one such passage in the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage begins clearly enough. Deut. 22:25-27 plainly states that if a man rapes a woman who is betrothed to another man, the rapist must be put to death. Naturally, this would extend also to a fully married woman. The Bible deems raping another man’s wife to be just as terrible of a crime as murder: “For just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter” (Deut. 22:26). But in vv. 28-29, we read something different: “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.” Thos...

What is spiritual death? Does it have the same weight as physical death, or can you repent and return to God? Is all spiritual death equal? These questions drove me to study this topic, one my cousins and I have been theorizing on for a while. The Bible has a lot to say about spiritual death, and it is vital that we understand what spiritual death is - after all, the second death is spiritual. The permanent kind.  Rev 21:8 KJV But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. There’s no coming back from that one. What about spiritual death while we are still alive physically?  Ephesians 2:5 KJV  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Paul says that we were spiritually dead before we had the blood of Christ applied to our sins. Or does h...

  This life is full of decisions; in fact, we make an average of thirty-five thousand of the little buggers a day! From what to wear and what to eat to whether or not to smile at a stranger, our life is composed of decisions. The smallest of them can change the course of our lives forever, and the biggest of them can either destroy us or save us. To talk about the decision we have to make, we must talk about the war. The biggest and longest-lasting battle in history is the battle between dark and light, good and evil. As long as humans have existed, we have been choosing one side or the other. Choosing a side isn’t as simple as choosing and then continuing to live your life the way you always have; whichever side you choose will require your participation in the fight. There is no neutrality; you choose darkness simply by making no choice. You would think everyone would choose the side of light, the side of life, but that’s not so. The darkness is attractive, it’s fun, and they hav...