Posts by Randy Livingston
The Road of False Teaching
There is only one gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since the days of the early church, Satan, the destroyer of men’s souls, has provided many imitations of the true and only gospel. But there is at least one thing these false or pseudo-gospels have in common. They cannot save from sin nor deliver the…
Read MoreWhat is a Christian?
The Bible tells us that the “disciples [of Jesus] were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Over the centuries, the term “Christian” has grown in its embrace of peoples and practices that are anything but what those who coined the term observed of believers in first century Antioch. Reviewing the term in its…
Read MoreTo the Unknown God
“But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people” (Acts 17:13). The gospel message is either received or rejected and, often, when it is rejected, it is openly resisted. This was the case in Berea. Consequently,…
Read MoreSpeak the Truth
In the days following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the believers’ love for one another was characterized by selfless giving to meet the needs of one another. The Scriptures record “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of…
Read MoreMaking Truth a Commodity
Jesus was brought to Pilate for judgment by the chief priests and the people. The course and outcome of this assembly though foreordained by God nonetheless reveals the willingness of men to sell the truth for gain. The chief priests wanted Jesus dead, so they lied about his teaching or doctrine. They asserted to Pilate…
Read MoreA Pattern for Worship
The church was born at the first Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ. It was at that time that Jesus “having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit” sent Him to his disciples and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”…
Read MoreFalse Teachers Bring False Messages
Near the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, he “determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost” (Acts 20:16). Nonetheless, he desired to meet with the Ephesian elders to encourage them and bolster…
Read MoreFact: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
One of the cornerstones of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that he rose bodily from the grave following his crucifixion and ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). The scriptures leave no doubt about this for us. We are told that after his…
Read MoreThe Working Clothes of Love (3)
We continue to examine Paul’s working definition of love as revealed to him by the Spirit of God and so come to a phrase that should genuinely give us pause. Perhaps, it is because this phrase strikes remarkably close to home. He writes that love “seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no…
Read MoreThe Working Clothes of Love (2)
In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul was constrained to speak on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they are to be ministered under the operation of love. That being so, it became necessary for him to spend some time showing what love looked like in its “working clothes.” He continued…
Read More