Jesus expects the church to grow, and he wants us to promote that growth in every way possible. But do we have to welcome people who get on our nerves?
Faithful gospel preachers teach “sound doctrine.” But what does Paul mean by “sound”? Is it possible that many people claiming to be “sound” are nothing of the kind?
When a wealthy person visits the assembly, we warmly welcome him. He could really help the church. But why are we tempted to give a poor man the cold shoulder?
False Christian teachers encourage sexual relationships condemned by God. They promise freedom, but what do they deliver?
Peter wanted the church to grow, but preaching the gospel in the home of Cornelius made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
False teachers try to put one hand over our eyes and the other hand in our pocket. But we don’t have to be taken in.
Sometimes there’s a difference between what we think we should do and what we actually want to do. We think the church should grow and that we should do something to help that happen. But some potential converts make us feel anxious.
Legalists in Galatia were teaching the church that salvation depended on observance of the Law of Moses. It was a message different from what Paul had preached there. But it wasn’t really a “gospel” at all. It wasn’t good news.
Jesus has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. Unless the church’s mission is global, then we haven’t really honored his purpose for our lives.
God became flesh and lived among the men and women of first century Israel. But liars in the church denied Christ’s humanity. Why would they do that?