For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong. (Acts 27:23)
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15
Apr
2026
15
Apr
2026
James 1:17 – Does God Dwell in Light or Darkness?
In the February 12, 2009 Butt/Barker Debate on the existence of the God of the Bible, atheist Dan Barker spent nearly two-thirds of his opening 15-minute speech alleging that the Bible’s portrayal of God is contradictory. Barker alleged several discrepancies (most all of which we have answered elsewhere on our website), including that God cannot logically dwell in light and darkness. Twelve minutes and five seconds into his first speech, Dan Barker asserted:
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14
Apr
2026
Election and Free-will
There is no question but that the “Doctrine of Election” is taught in the Scriptures, and that it applies not only to “service,” but to “salvation.” It is equally true that the “Doctrine of the Freedom of the Will” under certain conditions is also taught. We may not be able to reconcile the “Sovereign Will of God,” with the “Free-will of Man,” but that is no proof that they are not reconcilable. They are the corresponding halves of the Doctrine of Salvation, “Election” is the Godward side, and “Free-will” the manward side. The perversion of the “Doctrine of Election” leads to the “Doctrine of Inability” or Fatalism, which denies the freedom of man’s choice, and therefore his accountability or responsibility for his salvation. It was this Doctrine that the Revelation. Charles G. Finney thundered against during all his evangelistic ministry.
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14
Apr
2026
James 1:13 – Does God Tempt People?
Problem: In his February 12, 2009 debate with Kyle Butt, Dan Barker alleged that he “knows” the God of the Bible cannot exist because “there are mutually incompatible properties/characteristics of the God that’s in this book [the Bible—EL] that rule out the possibility of His existence.” Seven minutes and 54 seconds into his first speech, Barker cited James 1:13 and Genesis 22:1 as proof that the God of the Bible cannot exist. Since James 1:13 says: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (KJV), and Genesis 22:1 affirms that “God did tempt Abraham” (KJV) to sacrifice his son, Barker asserted that God is like a married bachelor or a square circle—He cannot logically exist.
13
Apr
2026
The Neglect of Hell
Hell is a major and fundamental doctrine of the Bible. Jesus preached a lot about hell, but it is a neglected doctrine today, and this is one of the reasons why the fear of God is not before men’s faces. Take “Christian America,” for example. Even in the age of skepticism, a large percentage of Americans are church goers, but America doesn’t fear God because the vast majority of its pulpits don’t preach the fear of God. Hell is not the sweet, positive type of religious message that Americans want to hear, because they have been nurtured on cotton candy theology rather than the pure Word of God. If you listen to funeral sermons, you would think that everyone is in heaven, and that is emphatically not the case, for Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14), and, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3), and, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
13
Apr
2026
James 1:13 – God Cannot be Tempted…But Jesus Was?
According to Scripture, Jesus was Deity in the flesh (John 1:1-5,14; 20:28). He was not sired by man; He was not conceived naturally by woman (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). Rather, Jesus came from heaven (John 3:13; 6:38), proved His “mighty God” Messiahship (Isaiah 9:6) through a variety of verified miracles (John 20:30-31; cf. Lyons and Butt, 2006), accepted worship (Matthew 14:33; John 9:38), and claimed a unity with God the Father that even His enemies understood was a profession of Deity (John 10:30,33). Some, however, question the Bible’s consistency of Jesus being God. The argument goes something like this (cf. Wells, 2010): The Bible declares that Satan tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1), and that Jesus was “in all points tempted as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). Yet, the Bible also declares that “God cannot be tempted by evil” (James 1:13). Therefore, the Bible (allegedly) contradicts itself regarding the nature of Jesus. How could He be God, if God cannot be tempted?
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12
Apr
2026
Christ’s Finished Work and Triumphant Death
John 19:30 brings us to holy ground: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” In that single, triumphant word—tetelestai—our Lord declares that the whole work the Father gave Him to do in paying for the sins of His people has been perfectly accomplished. This is not the sigh of a defeated martyr, but the shout of a conquering Surety. The debt of all His people—every sin, original and actual; every omission and commission; every guilt that cried out for judgment—has been fully paid. Nothing remains to be added, nothing can be subtracted. Divine justice is satisfied, the law is fulfilled, the curse is exhausted. The veil is as good as torn, for the way into the holiest is now opened by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Yet John adds a remarkable detail: “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” Our Savior did not die as we do. We die, and then our head falls. But He first bowed His head and then yielded up His spirit. Here is sovereign love in action. He lays down His life; it is not taken from Him. Even in death, He is the active Redeemer, voluntarily offering Himself as the spotless Lamb. He dies in full possession of His strength, in perfect obedience, in conscious surrender to His Father’s will—for needy, hell-deserving sinners such as we are.
12
Apr
2026
James 1:13 – Can God Be Tempted?
Problem: The Bible clearly states that God cannot be tempted by evil, so why do other passages speak of God being tempted?
11
Apr
2026
Making Scents of Smells
How many different scents do you think your nose is able to smell? The answer is about 10,000. How does your nose tell the difference between a rose and a skunk? Until only recently, scientists really weren’t sure.
11
Apr
2026
James 1:4 – Can Christians gain sinless perfection?
Problem: James writes, “Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas. 1:4). Does this mean that Christians can reach a state of sinless perfection?
10
Apr
2026
A Humble Confession
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Is 53:6)
10
Apr
2026
Heb 13:8 – A Change of Heart
If God never changes, then how can He change His mind?
Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
09
Apr
2026
The Shushan Palace
The Shushan palace is mentioned in three books of the Bible.
“The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace” (Ne. 1:1).
09
Apr
2026
Heb 12:4 – Is Marriage a “Good” Thing?
Problem: Generally, marriage is looked upon by the world around us as a good and acceptable institution. Since the commencement of time, the universal law has been that marriage is proper and beneficial. On the very day that God created the first man, He stated: “It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18); thus He created a wife for Adam (2:21-24). Everything God had created and examined up until that point had been “good” (1:4,10,21,25). The one thing He stated as being “not good,” however, was man’s lack of human companionship. Therefore, God created woman to be man’s helper and lifelong companion. It was only after her creation (at the end of the six days) that we read for the first time His creation was “very good” (1:31).
08
Apr
2026
Mastodon Lunch
Mastodons were distant relatives of the elephant. Modern science says that one of the main parts of their diet was conifer needles. Supposedly, they died out at the end of the Ice Age because conifers became scarce as the world warmed.