The deity of Christ is the heart of the Christian religion. The apostle Paul clearly taught that his “great God and Savior” is Jesus Christ. Our Lord is real God Incarnate. But the haters of the Christian faith see this teaching as unacceptable as the Bible itself. How did Paul arrive at his doctrine that Christ is our great God and Savior?
The term born again is prone to wild misuse. Its meaning is almost always clothed with mockery. Our Lord Jesus, seeing its future distortion by His enemies, spent eighteen long verses with Nicodemus in John chapter three in order that His teaching concerning man’s salvation through the second birth be made crystal clear.
Saul, who later became Paul, the Apostle, had a heart filled with religious pride before his conversion. He thought of Judaism, the religion of the Jews, as God’s only faith system, which they practiced for thousands of years. There should be no other tenet than that which was given by God to Moses. This conviction has led him to persecute the followers of Christ. His religious pride heightened in toxicity when Saul consented to the death of the first Christian martyr named Stephen. (See Acts 7:58.)
Life demands that everyone should follow its list of priorities, topped by food and marital stability. I heard someone say this typical family shibboleth: “College, job, family.” But Mary Kay’s philosophy of life was even superior: “God first, family second, career third.”
The Lord’s church needs Spirit-appointed, Spirit-filled, and “poured-out” leaders who are considered faithful and more interested in Christ than in “Greek.”
I am resigning—am a Christian . . . I find the entire system of our company shamefully corrupt. Bribery, immorality—I don’t want to be identified as one of its employees.” It was the statement given by Moab, a highly respected officer of a certain company, before he left his job. Few months after his resignation he found himself penniless; his family having no more food in the fridge and his children quitting school. So huge was Moab’s financial downfall in the guise of his Christian principles. But, if you were in Moab’s place, for instance, would you dare such an enormous decision to defend your Christian beliefs? Or will your employment with such a company make you less Christian?