Alētheia: Truth

Tag: bible

  • Foundations – Bakers Dozen


    James 4:17 (ESV)

    “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

    During a season of difficulty, my accountability partner shared this verse with me. It really hit home. This verse helps us to know when the Holy Spirit is telling us to do something in our hearts, and we don’t do it, it becomes a sin to us.

    Now that I know this verse by memory, I am more aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life. This verse is just another illustration of  how alive God’s word is to us and how important it is to hide God’s word in our hearts.

    “The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.” – A.W. Tozer


  • Foundations – Bakers Dozen


    Bible Translations

    I thought it might be good before I begin to share the 12 life verses from the bible, to talk about which translation I use. There are 4 translations that I like – King James Version (KJV), New King James (NKJ), New American Standard (NAS), English Standard Version (ESV). There are other versions but they seem to be more of a paraphrase of these translations. For me, I try to stick to translations rather than paraphrases.

    This is the order I use these 4 versions: 1) NKJ, 2) NAS, 3) ESV, 4) KJV.

    The first 3 were translated from the Greek and Hebrew word for word in todays english while the KJV was translated using old style english.

    Of course, there is much study that can be done in just researching which translation is best. I would encourage you to study for yourself concerning these translation and develop for yourself  the standard by which you use your translation.

  • Foundations – Back to Basics – The 7 Essential Principles of Christian Doctrine


    The Deity of Jesus Christ

    There are 7 Essential Principles of Christian Doctrine that we will examine. These 7 are so important that when discussing religious issues both parties must come to agree on these doctrines in order to continue in your discussion. If both parties do not agree on these 7 Principles, then every thing else is irrelevant.

    The first is “The Deity of Jesus Christ.” 1 John 5:20 we read: “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” The truth is that Jesus, who is the Son of God, has come in the flesh (John 1:1-3, 14) and is God (John 10:30). This fact is absolute.

    Of course people may say that the Bible is not the word of God – that’s it’s just a book written by man. We will talk more about that principle later. But the fact is this, that even if a person doesn’t believe that the Bible is the revelation of God the Father to his children does not make it false. Any person can believe that gravity does not exist and can prove it by jumping off a very tall building only to find that they were wrong.

    Jesus is who he said he was, that is, He and God are one. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah that has come to gather His sheep together and through the blood that Jesus shed on the cross, we have victory over sin and death and we will spend eternity in Heaven. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus. The way is very narrow but open to all peoples who will put their faith in Him and call on the Lord to be saved. It’s that simple.