- Written by Adam Heltne
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Whether it’s philosophy, psychology, religion, or social or political issues, this current world system is attacking the church and God’s people with several layers of deceit through several different human institutions. It might seem overwhelming at first, but in reality, all these institutions have the same goal: to understand and control the world while ignoring and rejecting God. It’s a battle between man’s word and God’s Word. This strategy is nothing new. The early church faced these same challenges in their day: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). The apostle Paul wasn’t warning the Colossian Christians to avoid simple thinking, he was warning them to avoid simplistic thinking.
- Written by Steven Amis
Whether it is a worldwide pandemic or a flat tire, life is hard. Things that are supposed to work as we would expect them to, often don’t. Plans that are made often get canceled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. These difficulties are experienced by everyone, including unbelievers. If life as a pagan is difficult, does that mean it gets any easier once you are in a right relationship with God? Does God really “have a wonderful plan for your life”, as is commonly said amongst professing evangelicals?
- Written by Steven Amis
Last week, we sought to address a couple of passages that are often difficult for some to reconcile with the doctrine of eternal security. What may seem at first glance to be in the favor of the conditionalists (that is, Christians who believe that true saints can later lose their salvation) upon closer examination of the context of the passages in question and understanding the clear teaching of Scripture of true vs. false conversion, show they are not.