The Faithful Christian a blog of The Lighthouse Ministries

  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:25 Would I say something or keep quiet? My friend had just bought a new specialty Bible (one with notes) and was showing me what she liked about it. But I couldn’t hear her because I was mentally debating whether I would tell her that I had written many of that Bible’s notes and introductory articles. When she asked me a question, I realized I was too busy listening to the argument in my mind to hear my friend. Convicted, I looked directly into her eyes, knowing that she wanted my attention. Loving her meant letting go of my self-congratulatory thoughts and listening  carefully as she repeated her question. To die to self is to set aside what we want in this moment and focus instead on loving God with everything we’ve got and valuing others as highly as we value ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). This moves us away from self-centeredness and close...

Among the most hotly contested and persistent debates in the history of the confessing church, the doctrine of election is perhaps the greatest of all. The question goes like this: Does God choose sinners to be saved and then provide for their salvation? Or, Does God provide the way of salvation that sinners must choose for themselves? Where's the evidence? This question of choice is called "election" because of the Greek word for those who are chosen — the Bible calls them eklektos . There are many such uses in the Bible (cf. Col. 3:12 ; 1 Tim. 5:21 ; Tit. 1:1 ; 2 John 1 ), but one of my favorites is in Romans 8:33 : "Who will bring a charge against God's elect?" The answer is, "no one," but why? Is it because I chose God, or is it because God chose me? One passage that is critical to the discussion is in the opening chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Immediately after his customary greeting, Paul launches in Ephe...