Life in All its Fullness

 When I read the Bible for my first time I saw a vision of life in all its fullness. God is both infinitely powerful and intimately personal.

The Deathtrap of Sin

The Doctrine of Sin, Its Character and Universality

Every person is equally sinful and subject to sin’s powerful spiral of destruction and death. This biblical truth deals a crushing blow to human pride, signaling helpless defeat under sin’s tyranny. Paul delivered this pressing truth to prove that every person needs a Saviour more powerful than sin—Jesus Christ. Sin’s just penalty brings death and eternal separation from God. Rather than defend ourselves and deny sin’s presence in our lives, the gospel invites us to confess, turn from our sin, and seek Christ and His power.1

God’s Gift to Believers

The Doctrine of Righteousness

Righteousness means rightness or being upright in all things. Paul’s letter to the Roman believers explains God’s righteousness and humanity’s lack of righteousness. Only God is holy, pure, and utterly perfect; He knows no sin. Every human lacks true and perfect righteousness.1 While we may gain a measure of security by finding someone whose behavior seems worse than our own, righteousness cannot be measured by imperfect human standards. Righteousness must be measured by God’s holy and perfect standard—by which we all stand condemned and without hope.

God understands our weakness and does not leave us hopelessly enslaved by sin. He extends compassion and offers His grand solution to our utter unrighteousness. God sent His Son to provide us His own true and perfect righteousness. When we believe Jesus bore the punishment our sin deserves, God freely gives us His righteousness, apart from any contribution on our part. This is the only way to be right with God. This transaction is called “justification” because we are counted as “just,” or back in proper relationship, with God. Jesus “was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”2 

To overestimate ourselves and reject the righteousness God offers through His Son leaves us with only our sin-stained attempts to be good enough. Ignoring the sin that infects our motives and actions means missing what God requires. We desperately need Jesus’s perfect righteousness—God’s ultimate gift. Without turning to Christ, the peace we long for eludes us. The ineffective game of comparing ourselves with others we deem worse leaves us filled with uncertainty and doubt. 

Belief in Christ clothes God’s children in His righteousness. This amazing transfer of Christ’s perfection to us takes place by God’s doing, not our own. We contribute nothing, yet through faith in Christ we receive what we cannot earn. Though we remain sinners, God sees us through the lens of His perfect Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We enjoy peace with God because we belong to Him. God counts believers as righteous, equipping them in their ongoing battle with sin on earth. God’s righteousness transformed Paul’s life. Constantly amazed by God’s grace, Paul made sharing that wonder his life mission. Do you? 

1. Without righteousness: Romans 3:9-18 

2. Justification: Romans 4:25

What is Islam?

A Manifesto for Wholeness in a Fractured World: A Reformed Biblical Vision for Identity, Suffering, and Community

Preamble: Our Foundation

We confess that the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—created humanity male and female in His image, endowed with dignity, purpose, and ordered design. The Fall corrupted every aspect of creation, including our bodies, emotions, and identities. Redemption in Christ offers reconciliation with God and the restoration of our humanity, though full renewal awaits the coming Kingdom.

In an age of confusion, therapeutic individualism, and identity fragmentation, we affirm a vision of human flourishing grounded in Scripture, guided by Reformed theology, and lived out in covenantal community.

In Search of Wholeness: A Biblical View of Identity in a Broken World

Today, conversations about identity are everywhere—and they are often deeply personal, painful, and polarizing. From classrooms to social media, from surgeries to church halls, we’re being asked big questions:

3 Lies Your Kids Want To Believe

https://youtu.be/WKobdoB5STs?si=qpmtJtIk7DmEYm-P 

"When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear."

- Thomas Sowell

The Enemies of God’s Plan and His People

The Doctrine of Satan and Demons

Even though the entertainment industry capitalizes on the ongoing conflict between good and evil, few people truly understand the spiritual forces behind that clash. In the distant past, Satan led a large angelic force in rebellion against God.1 Throughout human history, Satan has opposed God’s people, His plan, and His Son. Only Satan’s fury can explain the uncanny and repeated hatred spewed against God’s people—the Jews and believers in every age. Satan unsuccessfully sought to eliminate Jesus in Bethlehem2 and tempted Jesus to seek glory apart from the cross.3 Though a terrible enemy, Satan does not share God’s omnipotence, omnipresence, or omniscience. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, Satan remains a defeated foe who will unscrupulously deceive and destroy people until his final and inevitable defeat when Christ returns. 

Haman’s deadly scheme reflects Satan’s desire to eliminate the Israelites, through whom God had promised to send the Messiah as humanity’s Savior. Satan prowls the earth, looking for ways to deceive and devour people4 and defeat God, which he cannot do, even in the final battle at Armageddon.5 While Satan wreaks havoc upon God’s people, he cannot and will not ultimately defeat them.6 

People fall prey to Satan’s masterful deception when they fail to understand His insidious nature. He knows the sinful appetites of fallen humanity and seeks to turn people away from God. With cunning strategy and manipulation, Satan makes sin look appealing and following God appear foolish. He does everything he can to keep people enslaved to sin and his power. His evil influence should not be underestimated. 

God’s people should guard against Satan’s deception but primarily focus on God’s overcoming power. Aware of Satan’s temptation and wily ways, God’s people trust the Holy Spirit for power to resist him.7 God will prevail over every deadly strike of an already defeated foe. How will you trust God as you seek to live unswervingly for Him in this world? God is stronger than Satan. God lives within His people. In His power, they can overcome.

1. Satan’s fall: Luke 10:18; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 12:7-8 
2. Murder at Bethlehem: Matthew 2:16-18 
3. Satan and Jesus: Matthew 4:1-11; 16:22-23 
4. Satan’s deception: John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8-9 
5. Armageddon: Revelation 16:16 
6. Ultimate victory for God’s people: Matthew 16:18 
7. Resisting Satan: James 4:7

God Breaks The Man He Wants To Use

 

Voddie Baucham March 11, 1969 - September 25, 2025

 

John MacArthur 1939-2025

On July 14, Pastor John MacArthur’s faith became sight, as he entered into the eternal presence of his Savior. He had been dealing with some significant health challenges dating back to early 2023, and God, in His perfect wisdom, determined that John had completed his earthly ministry. John is survived by his wife Patricia, his children Matt, Marcy, Mark, and Melinda, and their spouses, along with fifteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. He was eighty-six years old.

For more than fifty-six years, John served as the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. The emphasis of his pulpit ministry was the careful study and verse-by-verse exposition of Scripture. Under his leadership, the church grew to several thousand members, providing ample opportunities to train up men for ministry and the resources to send more than one hundred missionary families into the field.

John’s faithfulness in the pulpit also resulted in a prolific writing ministry. Books like The Gospel According to Jesus, Our Sufficiency in Christ, Ashamed of the Gospel, Slave, Twelve Ordinary Men, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, The Truth War, The Vanishing Conscience, Strange Fire, The War on Children, and many more were the products of John’s verse-by-verse Bible teaching. In 2015, John completed The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series—thirty-four volumes covering every verse of the New Testament. Without a doubt, the cornerstone resource of John’s ministry is The MacArthur Study Bible, which provides nearly 25,000 study notes to help readers better understand what Scripture says and means. First published in 1997, it is now available in several English translations, as well as Spanish, Russian, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, and Chinese.

From John’s earliest days at Grace Church, his sermons were recorded for the sake of homebound church members. Eventually those recordings made it onto Christian radio, and the ministry of Grace to You was born. Today the sun never sets on John MacArthur’s preaching, as the Grace to You radio broadcast airs around the globe in both English and Spanish. His full sermon library is available for free download.

In 1985, John became president of what is now known as The Master’s University (formerly Los Angeles Baptist College, then The Master’s College until 2016). Located in Santa Clarita, California, it is a distinctly Christian, accredited, liberal arts institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Through the decades under John’s leadership—first as president, then as chancellor, the University developed into one of the premier academic institutes in the country, equipping thousands of young men and women for the work of God’s kingdom with an education grounded in His Word.

When John came to Grace Church, he told the elders he wanted to do two things: preach the Word of God and train up other men to do likewise. To that end, in 1986, he founded The Master’s Seminary, a graduate school on the campus of Grace Community Church dedicated to training men for full-time pastoral and missionary work. To date, the school has graduated more than two thousand men who are faithfully ministering across the United States and in almost seventy other countries around the world.

Much of that global work takes place through another ministry that John has helped establish and lead, The Master’s Academy International. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a group of Ukrainian pastors requested John’s help in withstanding the flood of false doctrine that was sweeping into the country. In 1991, graduates from The Master’s Seminary began training pastors in the Ukraine. Nearly thirty-five years later, more than nine hundred pastors across the country have been trained. That school, which continues to this day, became the model for what would become The Master’s Academy International. Officially founded in 2004, there are currently nineteen member schools operating all around the globe, with plans to add several more in the coming years.

Through the years, many individuals have approached John with a desire to support these ministries in their areas of greatest need. In response to this growing request, the John MacArthur Charitable Trust was formed in 2017 with the sole purpose of providing support for the ongoing and expanding work to the MacArthur family of ministries.

In God’s providence, all of that—and much more—has been the direct result of John MacArthur’s pulpit ministry. As he often said, it was beyond anything he could have ever planned or schemed to create on his own. He focused on the depth of the ministry and left the breadth of it to God. “Faithfulness,” he said, “is its own reward.” Only heaven will fully reveal the rich harvest God has brought forth through the faithfulness of John MacArthur.

“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7).

Source: GTY.org

Jesus Christ Reigns for One Thousand Years

The Doctrine of the Millennium

 Jesus’s triumph in this passage brings blessing and hope to all Christians.1 The word “millennium” is derived from the Latin words mille (thousand) and annum (year). Revelation 19–22 seems to describe the millennium as a thousand-year physical reign of the Lord Jesus Christ as King over the entire earth at the very end of human history. This reign precedes final judgment, the creation of a new heaven and earth, and believers’ entrance into the eternal state. 

 Sincere believers hold varying views about the millennium. 

 ● Premillennialism, meaning “before the millennium,” says Jesus Christ will return and establish His earthly rule for one thousand years (or a long time) during the time Satan is bound. After Satan’s release and a final battle, Jesus will judge the dead and inaugurate the new heaven and earth. Furthermore, many premillennialists believe many prophecies regarding the Jewish people will be fulfilled during the millennial age.2 Bible Study Fellowship supports this view. 

 ● Amillennialism, meaning “no millennium,” interprets the one thousand years not as a physical reign but as a symbolic description of the present age, in which Christ rules in the hearts of His people until He returns. He then ushers in the new heaven and new earth. 

 ● Postmillennialism means “after the millennium” and sees the one thousand years as a golden age on earth resulting from the worldwide spread of the gospel, after which Jesus returns. The challenging interpretation of this passage should not be fodder for argument or dissension. All Scripture is equally true but not equally clear. We must study diligently and seek to understand all of God’s Word. Ultimately, we trust God with details that are challenging to reconcile. God’s unconquerable power and sovereign control remain constant. 

 Believers find unity around comforting, solid truth. The powerful gospel redeems and transforms those who believe in Christ. Satan’s reign of terror is temporary; he will be utterly defeated. To fail to recognize the certainty of Christ’s return and ultimate victory means interpreting life and facing eternity without true hope. All who follow Jesus eagerly anticipate His triumphant return to earth. 

 1. Blessing in God’s Word: Revelation 1:3 

 2. Prophecies regarding Israel: Isaiah 2:1-4; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 11:25-27

The Hebrew Roots Movement

(It is difficult to document the movement’s history because of its lack of organizational structure, but the modern HRM has been influenced in some ways by Seventh-Day Adventism and the Worldwide Church of God during the lifetime of its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong.)

The premise of the Hebrew Roots movement is the belief that the Church has veered far from the true teachings and Hebrew concepts of the Bible. The movement maintains that Christianity has been indoctrinated with the culture and beliefs of Greek and Roman philosophy and that ultimately biblical Christianity, taught in churches today, has been corrupted with a pagan imitation of the New Testament gospels.

Those of the Hebrew Roots belief hold to the teaching that Christ’s death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers. They teach that the understanding of the New Testament can only come from a Hebrew perspective and that the teachings of the Apostle Paul are not understood clearly or taught correctly by Christian pastors today. Many affirm the existence of an original Hebrew-language New Testament and, in some cases, denigrate the existing New Testament text written in Greek. This becomes a subtle attack on the reliability of the text of our Bible. If the Greek text is unreliable and has been corrupted, as is charged by some, the Church no longer has a standard of truth.

Although there are many different and diverse Hebrew Roots assemblies with variations in their teachings, they all adhere to a common emphasis on recovering the "original" Jewishness of Christianity. Their assumption is that the Church has lost its Jewish roots and is unaware that Jesus and His disciples were Jews living in obedience to the Torah. For the most part, those involved advocate the need for every believer to walk a Torah-observant life. This means that the ordinances of the Mosaic Covenant must be a central focus in the lifestyle of believers today as it was with the Old Testament Jews of Israel. Keeping the Torah includes keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals, keeping the dietary laws, avoiding the "paganism" of Christianity (Christmas, Easter, etc.), and learning to understand the Scriptures from a Hebrew mindset. They teach that Gentile Christians have been grafted into Israel, and this is one reason every born-again believer in Jesus the Messiah is to participate in these observances. It is expressed that doing this is not required out of legalistic bondage, but out of a heart of love and obedience. However, they teach that to live a life that pleases God, this Torah-observant walk must be part of that life.

The Hebrew Roots assemblies are often made up of a majority of Gentiles, including Gentile rabbis. Usually they prefer to be identified as "Messianic Christians." Many have come to the conclusion that God has "called" them to be Jewish and have accepted the theological position that the Torah (Old Testament law) is equally binding on Gentiles and Jews alike. They often wear articles of traditional Jewish clothing, practice Davidic dancing, and incorporate Hebrew names and phrases into their writing and conversations. Most reject the use of the name "Jesus" in favor of Yeshua or YHWH, claiming that these are the "true" names that God desires for Himself. In most cases, they elevate the Torah as the foundational teaching for the Church, which brings about the demotion of the New Testament, causing it to become secondary in importance and only to be understood in light of the Old Testament. The idea that the New Testament is faulty and relevant only in light of the Old Testament has also brought the doctrine of the Trinity under attack by many advocates of the Hebrew Roots beliefs.

As opposed to what the Hebrew Roots movement claims, the New Testament teachings of the Apostle Paul are perfectly clear and self-explanatory. Colossians 2:16,17 says, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Romans 14:5 states, "One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind." Scripture clearly indicates that these issues are a matter of personal choice. These verses and many others give clear evidence that the Mosaic Covenant laws and ordinances have ended. Continuing to teach that the Old Covenant is still in effect in spite of what the New Testament teaches, or twisting the New Testament to agree with the Hebrew Roots beliefs, is false teaching.

There are aspects of the Hebrew Roots teachings that certainly can be beneficial. Seeking to explore the Jewish culture and perspective, within which most of the Bible was written, opens and enriches our understanding of the Scriptures, adding insight and depth to many of the passages, parables and idioms. There is nothing wrong with Gentiles and Jews joining together in celebrating the feasts and enjoying a Messianic style of worship. Taking part in these events and learning the way in which the Jews understood the teachings of our Lord can be a tool, giving us greater effectiveness in reaching the unbelieving Jew with the gospel. It is good for Gentiles, in the body of the Messiah, to identify in our fellowship with Israel. However, to identify with Israel is different from identifying "as" Israel.

Gentile believers are not grafted into the Judaism of the Mosaic Covenant; they are grafted into the seed and faith of Abraham, which preceded the Law and Jewish customs. They are fellow citizens with the saints (Ephesians 2:19), but they are not Jews. Paul explains this clearly when he tells those who were circumcised (the Jews) "not to seek to be uncircumcised" and those who were uncircumcised (the Gentiles) "not to become circumcised" (1 Corinthians 7:18). There is no need for either group to feel they must become what they are not. Instead, God has made Jews and Gentiles into "one new man" in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:15). This "new man" is referring to the Church, the body of Christ, which is made up of neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:27-29). It’s important for Jews and Gentiles to remain authentic in their own identity. In this way a clear picture of the unity of the body of Christ can be seen as Jews and Gentiles are united by one Lord, one faith, one baptism. If Gentiles are grafted into Israel, becoming Jews, the purpose and picture of both Jew and Gentile, coming together as one new man, is lost. God never intended Gentiles to become one in Israel, but one in Christ.

The influence of this movement is working its way into our churches and seminaries. It’s dangerous in its implication that keeping the Old Covenant law is walking a "higher path" and is the only way to please God and receive His blessings. Nowhere in the Bible do we find Gentile believers being instructed to follow Levitical laws or Jewish customs; in fact, the opposite is taught. Romans 7:6 says, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Christ, in keeping perfectly every ordinance of the Mosaic Law, completely fulfilled it. Just as making the final payment on a home fulfills that contract and ends one’s obligation to it, so also Christ has made the final payment and has fulfilled the law, bringing it to an end for us all.

It is God Himself who has created a world of people with different cultures, languages and traditions. God is glorified when we accept one another in love and come together in unity as "one" in Christ Jesus. It’s important to understand that there is no superiority in being born Jewish or Gentile. We who are followers of Christ, comprised of many different cultures and lifestyles, are all of value and greatly loved because we’ve entered into the family of God.

At the end of the day, the Hebrew Roots movement is only a variation on the same argument the apostles already settled in the book of Acts and Hebrews. Those who struggle with the teachings of this movement would do well to study those two books and come to better grasp what it means that we now live under the new covenant and that Jesus is our new and final High Priest. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Jeremiah Knight

The Reformation Resurgence 

Jesus or Yeshua

"Why is no preacher speaking the correct names of The Almighty and The Saviour, YAHUAH AND YAHUSHA HA MASHIACH?" 

The above was a comment posted on the John MacArthur’s reel "Conterfiting Christianity" that I posted yesterday. 

This is something that I have seen taught in many churches in India also. I have also had people come up to me during street preaching and tell me that our Lord should not be referred to as “Jesus.” Instead, we should only use the name “Yeshua.” Some even go so far as to say that calling Him “Jesus” is blasphemous. Others go into great detail about how the name “Jesus” is unbiblical because the letter J is a modern invention and there was no letter J in Greek or Hebrew. The origins of these claims are from the “Hebrews Root” movement. (I will article a separate article on them and their errors)  

Yeshua is the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Joshua.” Iesous is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Jesus.” Thus, the names “Joshua” and “Jesus” are essentially the same; both are English pronunciations of the Hebrew and Greek names for our Lord. (For examples of how the two names are interchangeable, see Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 in the KJV. In both cases, the word Jesus refers to the Old Testament character Joshua.)

Changing the language of a word does not affect the meaning of the word. We call a bound and covered set of pages a “book.” In German, it becomes a buch. In Spanish, it is a libro; in French, a livre. The language changes, but the object itself does not. As Shakespeare said, “That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo and Juliet, II:i). In the same way, we can refer to Jesus as “Jesus,” “Yeshua,” or “YehSou” (Cantonese) without changing His nature. In any language, His name means “The Lord Is Salvation.”

As for the controversy over the letter J, it is much ado about nothing. It is true that the languages in which the Bible was written had no letter J. But that doesn’t mean the Bible never refers to “Jerusalem” or “Judah.” And it doesn’t mean we cannot use the spelling “Jesus.” If a person speaks and reads English, it is acceptable for him to spell things in an English fashion. Spellings can change even within a language: Americans write “Savior,” while the British write “Saviour.” The addition of a u (or its subtraction, depending on your point of view) has nothing to do with whom we’re talking about. Jesus is the Savior, and He is the Saviour. Jesus and Yeshuah and Iesus are all referring to the same Person.

The Bible nowhere commands us to only speak or write His name in Hebrew or Greek. It never even hints at such an idea. Rather, when the message of the gospel was being proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in the languages of the “Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene” (Acts 2:9–10). In the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was made known to every language group in a way they could readily understand. Spelling did not matter.

We refer to Him as “Jesus” because, as English-speaking people, we know of Him through English translations of the Greek New Testament. In my country India, where we speak so many languages; our Lord is known in Bengali as যিশু (Jishu), in Hindi ईसा (Jesu) and in Tamil இயேசு (Iyēcu) just to name a few. The point is this: Are any of these languages “wrong”? Were the apostles, missionaries, evangelists, and translators who carried the faith of Christ “to the ends of the earth,” to each one of these peoples, “wrong”? To argue that there is only one name by which Jesus can properly be addressed is to deny the universality, the catholicity, of Christ’s message of salvation; to cast aside the very message of the Gospel, of forgiveness and acceptance and inclusion into Christ for all peoples. Is Jesus a Savior for the Jews only? Or did He come for the lost sheep of every nation, tribe, people, and tongue?  Scripture does not value one language over another, and it gives no indication that we must resort to Hebrew when addressing the Lord. The command is to “call on the name of the Lord,” with the promise that we “shall be saved” (Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32). Whether we call on Him in English, Korean, Hindi, Tamil or Hebrew, the result is the same: the Lord is salvation.

The greatest danger of the “Hebrew Roots” movement, I fear, is that it in effect recycles the heresy of the Judaizers, in arguing that the only true way to be a Christian is to be a Jew — an argument that Scripture rejects again and again.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Jeremiah Knight

The Reformation Resurgence

Jesus Christ—Eternity’s King and Humanity’s Saviour

The Doctrine of God the Son 

John’s Gospel compellingly presents Jesus and His redemptive mission on earth. From the opening words of this amazing book to its final chapter, we see Jesus is no mere man. Jesus is God’s own Son, eternal in nature and united in purpose with His Father and the Holy Spirit.1 

By God’s design, Jesus took on human flesh2 and died on a cruel cross to redeem humanity from sin’s curse.3 In His humanity, Jesus bore sin’s curse and rose again, representing and redeeming all sinners who place their faith in Him.4 Jesus’s divinity5 means that He could pay for an infinite number of sins with His one, perfect sacrifice.6 Exalted by God, Jesus will one day return to earth to take His people to glory and bring final judgment to the world.7 

For many, biblical accounts about Jesus seem irrelevant to their lives in today’s world. John would not agree. The truth about Jesus cannot be ignored, at least not forever. Jesus’s offer of salvation presents an eternity-defining choice that people reject or dismiss to their peril. 

John’s Gospel heralds Jesus and calls people to believe in Him. We have pondered the beauty of Jesus’s character, divine authority, and gracious compassion for sinners. Ultimately, Jesus came to provide what we needed most—to be set free from sin’s judgment. Jesus made it possible for us to know God in this life and to be with Him forever. For the believer, the name of Jesus speaks power, love, forgiveness, and hope. Only Jesus, God’s Son, offers the cleansing we need and hope we long for. Jesus’s name will be forever praised by grateful and forgiven sinners. 

1. United in purpose: Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 1:35; John 14:7-10; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:3-10; Hebrews 1:1-4 

2. The Word became flesh: John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-11 

3. Jesus’s purposeful death for sinners: Romans 5:6-8 

4. Jesus’s humanity: 1 Corinthians 15:44-46; Hebrews 2:17 

5. Jesus’s divinity: John 1:1; 20:28; Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9; 1 John 5:20 

6. Jesus’s one perfect sacrifice: Romans 6:10; Hebrews 9:12-14; 10:10-14 

7. Coming glory and judgment: Matthew 16:27; 26:64; Acts 1:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 29, The Gospel of John

No Longer Enemies

The Doctrine of Reconciliation 

Jesus offered reconciliation and restoration to Peter, who had denied Him three times. Reconciliation describes the process by which parties at odds with each other are restored and brought together again. We need to be reconciled to God because our sins separate us from Him. 

In His grace, God sent Jesus Christ—His own Son—to bear sin’s penalty on behalf of Peter’s sin and ours. Though sin blocks humanity’s fellowship with God, Jesus removed sin’s curse when He shed His blood on the cross to cleanse all who believe in Him. Without Jesus, we remain estranged from God, placed under His wrath, and face nothing but His just condemnation. Like Peter, we can be reconciled to God.1 We are called by God to care for His sheep and be agents of reconciliation for others, as Peter was.2 Believers can share the greatest news of all time—the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

To reject Christ’s work of reconciliation leads to utter hopelessness and eternal peril. Without Jesus’s intervention on our behalf, we remain God’s enemies. No human effort can sufficiently bridge the gap between sinful people and holy God. Only Jesus can reconcile us to God.3 

Accepting Christ’s reconciliatory work on the cross brings peace that surpasses all understanding. Though we still stumble like Peter, Jesus has borne the punishment for our sin and offers the way of repentance and restoration. We long for the day we see Jesus face-to-face and no longer endure sin, sorrow, or tears.4 Jesus reconciled Peter to Himself and does the same for us. Our reconciliation rests solely on Jesus and His completed work. He calls us to follow Him with repentant hearts and receive His sacrifice on our behalf. His victory becomes our victory. 

1. Reconciled to God: Romans 5:18; Colossians 1:19-20 

2. Agents of reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

3. No longer enemies: Romans 5:7-10 

4. New heaven and new earth: Revelation 21:1-5

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 28, The Gospel of John

Jesus’s Post-Resurrection Appearances

Resurrection Sunday, in and near Jerusalem 

● To Mary Magdalene in the garden outside the tomb; early morning (John 20:11-18) 

● To Mary Magdalene and the other Mary returning from the tomb; early morning (Matthew 28:1-10) 

● To two disciples on the road to Emmaus, about 7 miles (11 km) from Jerusalem; late afternoon (Luke 24:13-35) 

● To Peter privately (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5) 

● To all the apostles except Thomas in a locked room; evening (John 20:19-23) 

A Week Later, in Jerusalem 

● To all the apostles, including Thomas, in a locked room (John 20:26-29) 

Later, Likely in Galilee 

● To the 11 apostles and a group of more than 500 believers (1 Corinthians 15:6) 

● To the apostles and others on a mountain; perhaps the same occasion as 1 Corinthians 15:6 (Matthew 28:16-20) 

● To James, probably in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:7) 

The 40th Day, near Bethany 

● Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven as the apostles watched (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-10) 

On the Road to Damascus 

● To Paul (Acts 9:1-16; 1 Corinthians 15:8) 

Future 

● The Lord Jesus will return bodily and visibly to stand on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7)

Resounding and Indisputable Victory over Death

The Doctrine of Resurrection

The indisputable fact of Jesus’s resurrection displays glorious proof of God’s sovereignty over all creation. The One who was with God in the beginning and creates life from nothing1 has overcome death and now reigns with the Father in heaven.2 Jesus’s resurrection demonstrated God’s validation of Jesus’s mission and all He claimed about Himself. 

Through faith in Christ, all believers are raised into resurrected life with Him.3 Jesus promised that all who believe in Him will be given new life and saved from God’s condemnation of their sin.4 Believers await future resurrection in imperishable, glorified bodies but also walk in new life today. The Holy Spirit raises the spiritually dead to abundant life and implants new desires and priorities within them. God supplies the power to overcome sin and point others to our Saviour. 

To refuse to believe in Christ means remaining dead in sin. To turn away from Jesus necessitates accepting the judgment we deserve. There is no hope in anything or anyone but Jesus. Without Jesus, death reigns without hope of deliverance. 

Faith in Christ’s resurrection breathes new life and hope into every believer. God’s children look forward to joining heaven’s chorus of fellow believers—past, present, and future—in eternal worship in the presence of our Lord. The Holy Spirit allows believers to radiate the joy and beauty of Jesus, drawing others to faith in Him. 

1. In the beginning: John 1:1-5 

2. Reigns with the Father: Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 11:15-18 

3. Raised into eternal life: John 6:40; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:9-14 

4. New life in Christ: John 3:16-17

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 27, The Gospel of John

Jesus’s Resurrection: The Witnesses and Evidence

Supporting evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ surpasses many events recorded in ancient history. The testimony of many witnesses and the detailed accounts compiled shortly after the events offer compelling proof that Jesus rose from the dead.

● The disciples expressed no hope of Jesus’s physical resurrection before it happened.1

● The tomb was empty when the angel rolled away the stone and announced Jesus’s resurrection, despite the Roman soldiers assigned to seal and guard the tomb.2

● Had Jesus not risen, the Roman and Jewish leaders would have found evidence. Instead, the chief priests bribed the guards to say they fell asleep on duty.3

● The grave clothes remained in place in the empty tomb where Jesus’s body was laid.4

● At least two women physically clasped Jesus’s feet and worshiped Him.5

● Jesus showed and allowed His disciples to touch His wounds.6

● Jesus walked, talked, taught, and ate with believers at various times and places.7

● Jesus appeared to 500 at one time. When Paul published this fact, most of the 500 were still alive to confirm the truth.8

● Many witnessed Jesus ascend bodily into the clouds of heaven.9

● The witnesses to the truth of Jesus’s bodily resurrection gladly suffered ridicule, persecution, and even death.10 No witnesses suffer willingly for what they know to be untrue.

● The changed lives of believers offer enduring evidence of Jesus’s resurrection.11

1. No hope: Luke 24:13-24
2. Sealed, guarded tomb: Matthew 27:62-66; 28:2-4; Luke 24:1-10
3. Bribed guards: Matthew 28:12-15
4. Grave clothes: John 20:6-8
5. Clasped: Matthew 28:1, 9
6. Wounds shown: Luke 24:37-43; John 20:27
7. Met believers: Luke 24:13-34; John 20:19, 24, 26; 1 Corinthians 15:5-7
8. Met 500: 1 Corinthians 15:6
9. Jesus’s ascension: Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:9-11
10. Persecution: Acts 2:1-41; 4:1-31; 5:17-31; 12:2; Revelation 1:9
11. Believers’ lives: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:9

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 27, The Gospel of John

The Significance of Blood and Water in Scripture

Blood 

Humanity’s sin results in separation from God, who is perfectly righteous, holy, and set apart from everything evil.1 In love and grace, God provided a substitute, His own Son, to pay the penalty our sin deserves. 

In the Old Testament, God declared to Israel, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”2 The New Testament confirms, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sin].”3 The sacrificial system of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, who died as the ultimate offering for sin.4 Animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.5 Jesus’s death provides reconciliation to God for all who trust in Him. 

At the Last Supper, Jesus lifted the cup and said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”6 John, who wrote this Gospel, drank from that cup. Surely the significance of that night resonated deeply within his memory. John later wrote a message he longed for God’s people to know: “The blood of Jesus ... purifies us from all sin.”7 As an elderly apostle imprisoned on the Greek island of Patmos, John declared the truth that sustained him: Jesus “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”8 

Water 

Jesus said the water He gives to believers is “a spring ... welling up to eternal life.”9 He promised, “Whoever believes in me, ... rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit.”10 The water that flowed from Jesus’s body may point to the new spiritual life that is given to all who believe and receive Jesus.11 The Bible’s final chapters repeat Jesus’s promise. God invites all who thirst to receive “water without cost from the spring of the water of life.”12 The Spirit and the Church repeat the invitation: “Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”13 

1. Set apart from evil: Habakkuk 1:13 

2. Atonement: Leviticus 17:11 

3. Shedding of blood: Hebrews 9:22 

4. Sin offering: Romans 3:25-26; 8:1-4 

5. Animal sacrifices not necessary: Hebrews 10:1, 4 

6. Last Supper: Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20 

7. Purification from sin: 1 John 1:7 

8. Freed from sin: Revelation 1:5 

9. Living water: John 4:14 

10. Spirit: John 7:38-39 

11. New life: John 1:12-13 

12. Water of life: Revelation 21:6 

13. Let the thirsty come: Revelation 22:17

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 26, The Gospel of John