Posts by Randy Livingston
Prophecy over Tongues
The gift of “tongues” was an important gift found in the early church and necessary for advancing the gospel among different ethnic groups. Tongues in the New Testament has reference to foreign languages unknown or unlearned by the speaker. It would be as if I were able to speak French or German without any instruction…
Read MoreOnly One Way Out of Temptation and Sin
Paul reminded the church at Corinth of the Israelites’ repeated disobedience to God in their journey through the wilderness. He warned them that they could easily fall into such careless living if they were not careful because these temptations are common to all men. While it is true that such temptations are common, it is…
Read MoreServing One Another
Paul challenged the Corinthian believers’ perspective on Christianity. They were puffed up over sin tolerated in their midst (1 Corinthians 5:1-2). There were divisions among themselves as they laid claim to following their favorite apostles (1 Corinthians 3:3-5). They misused the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to them to draw attention to themselves in…
Read MoreThe Judge Is at the Door
As James draws his epistle to a close, he offers encouragement to those who are being oppressed. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7). In…
Read MoreWhat the Gadarene Demoniac can Teach Us about Evangelism
In Mark 5:1-20, the gospel writer records for us Christ’s encounter with “a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him,…
Read MoreYou Adulterers and Adulteresses … who?
James made a comparison of earthly wisdom to wisdom that is from above (James 3:17). It is understandable that James spoke of a wisdom that is “from above” when he described how Christians should live. After all, believers are in the world but are not to be of the world. Yet his audience was characterized…
Read MoreBe of Good Cheer!
We live in challenging times, do we not? Perhaps, many might think “challenging” is a bit of an understatement. Truth seems to be such a rare commodity. We do not trust our government, the media, even one another. There is little in the way of civil debate over social or political issues. Rather, harsh condemnation…
Read MoreDo You Have a Golden Calf?
John Newton, author of that well known hymn “Amazing Grace”, once made this statement, “Lord, save us from our golden calves.” Knowing the background to the “golden calves” will help us understand his plea. After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, he brought them to Mount Sinai where God delivered unto them…
Read MoreDealing with Sexual Sin
One of the reasons that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth was to address the sexual sin that was tolerated by the fellowship. He wrote “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. …
Read MoreA Warning Against Contentious Behavior
The Apostle Paul thanked God greatly for the evident grace in the lives of the Corinthian believers (I Corinthians 1:4). Even so, as often is the case with every Christian, they had just as evident a need for correction as well. Consequently, Paul rebuked them for the contentions that had arisen among them as reported…
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