by Jonathan Koehler | May 21, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The book of Hebrews has a series of warnings to those professing Christ, but drawn to the safety of the past. The epistle is an enigma at times, but also a key to a treasure trove of understanding the Old Testament . It is also a book of worship as it emphasizes the superiority of Jesus and is the only place in Scripture where Jesus is called our High Priest. I would suggest that besides the Epistle to the Romans, the Epistle to the Hebrews has some of the most theologically concentrated, complex, and challenging concepts in the Bible. Hebrews also contains several passages that engender some of the most intense debate among Christians. It is generally well accepted that the book was written, perhaps as a sermon, to some number of professing Christians in a church in or near the city of Rome, a portion of whom were suffering persecution for their Christian faith. These recipients were likely Jews very familiar with the Old Testament , and were either tempted to turn or had turned back to the relative safety of Judaism in order to escape persecution meted out to those claiming to be followers of Christ, or were drifting from their faith. Perhaps the key theme of the book is the exhortation to hold fast to their faith, to persevere, to endure. As modern readers of Hebrews we are challenged to discern the relevance of a book written for a people with whom virtually all of us have little to nothing in common-at least at first glance. But as we face the continuing decline of our culture...
by Bill McCurine | May 7, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (ESV) God gave mankind sex for procreation, intimacy, and commitment. Procreation is part of God’s special means to create a bride for His Son who is worthy of His Son. The Father determined that in order to create a bride for His Son, children must be born. Mankind must increase in number. Because many are called but few are chosen, there must be many births in order to create the perfect number of saints to constitute the bride for Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that when God created man “God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it….”[1] God gives us sex to create intimacy. The more we understand and value intimacy the more we are able to understand and value our relationship with Jesus Christ. Fornication destroys intimacy between a husband and wife. It also destroys our intimacy with God. The less we understand the spiritual nature of intimacy the weaker our ability to understand and value our relationship with Jesus Christ. Fornication eventually produces alienation rather than intimacy. It is doubtful that sex will exist in heaven because our intimacy with Christ will be wonderful and satisfying, fulfilling our deepest desires. The intimacy...
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