As we have seen in our study of the one another instructions in the New Testament, the gospel has very tangible relational implications. In Ephesians 5:18–21 we see how being Spirit-filled leads to joyful submission to one another out of our...

Throughout history, the church has found itself in the midst of various storms, which have seemed to impede her progress. The church has had to “row hard” in the face of such adversaries. But she has rowed hard and, as she has done so, Jesus, the...

What does Christian fellowship and unity look like? How are Christians supposed to live with one another? Romans 14:1–15:7 teaches us that, just as God has welcomed us in Christ Jesus, so we are to welcome fellow believers, despite our differences....

To an Israelite, a shepherd was not only a person who cared for animals; the term also applied to rulers, such as kings. God intended those who ruled over his people to act as shepherds: guarding the sheep from attackers, healing the wounded and...

Just as a comprehensive and consistent pro-life commitment leaves no room for compromise, so meaningful church membership requires a thorough commitment to walking in the Spirit in all areas of life and in all relationships.

The holocaust of abortion is a worldwide problem, for which South Africa will not escape with impunity. Since February 1997, hundreds of thousands of children have been put to death in their mother’s wombs all under legal protection. This fact is...

The majority of the New Testament one anothers assume the presence of the potential of conflict: Forgive one another; be kind to one another; don’t provoke one another; stop envying one another; etc. The instruction in James 5:9 is no different....

When Jesus prepared to send his disciples out on mission, he was working with a group of men who, at least as Mark’s account goes, hardly seemed suited to the task. And yet he sent them with authority to act on his behalf. The implication is that...

The Pneumatomachi were a sect of Christians in the fourth century who denied the deity of the Spirit. “Pneumatomachi” literally means “spirit-fighters.” Perhaps you don’t resist or deny the Spirit’s deity but are instead fighting against...

To be disregarded or rejected is painful. It can be devastating in so many ways. We all want to be regarded—to be accepted. But life is not always like that, and most of us can relate to the sorrow of being rejected. The greatest disregard that...

Luke’s Gospel is particularly burdened to show us that Jesus was a man of prayer. When his disciples saw him praying, they asked him to teach them to pray. He taught them to pray corporately, humbly, believingly, and fervently.

God dwelling with his people is a major theme that runs right through the Bible. When God dwells with his people, it is glorious—because he is glorious. But when God does not dwell with a people, his glory is not present, and those people will live...

Othniel is an example of the ideal judge. Everything about him screams “deliverer.” By comparison, Ehud comes out of left field. Commentators have called him “a bit of a shock after Othniel” and “a devious assassin,” which is...

Humans are, by nature, self-focused creatures, and when we think of the need to do better in certain areas, the first thing that comes to mind is often ourselves. But what if our New Year’s resolutions were others-centred? What if we committed,...

The branch was symbolic of a person: a servant of the Lord who would come to restore life to God’s beleaguered people. As you look closely at the character of the branch, it is clear that no servant or the Lord could fulfil this prophecy but Jesus...

This text is designed to help us wait for God’s full and final salvation. It serves to help us persevere through times of hopelessness. It equips us by scripture’s encouragement, and by the Spirit’s empowerment, to faithfully anticipate the...

In the text before us, we see the fulfilment of God’s promise of the good news of the birth of the Saviour. It was one thing to promise the incarnation, and another thing to believe that promise, but it was an entirely different thing for the...

Mary was a woman of faith, who believed God’s promises to her. But as with all believers, she found it helpful when others affirmed her faith. That is what happened when she went to visit Elizabeth, and the result was exultation: what would become...

The concepts of manhood, womanhood and marriage are under increasing attack in the age in which we live. Many sceptics of Christianity declare that Jesus said nothing about these matters, but in fact Jesus directly addressed this subject in the...

Christmastime is upon us. For many in South Africa, this means warm weather, an extended break from work or school, time for family, opportunity for catching up on household chores, lots of eating, and, of course, gift-giving. There is nothing wrong...

Conflict between people who love each other and who live in relationship with each other is inevitable. How do Christians overcome these inevitable conflicts in a God-honouring way? We do so, according to 1 Peter 4:8, by continuing to love one...

As with the majority of the pre-exilic Old Testament prophetic texts, we are again exposed to the besetting sins of God’s chosen nation, that resulted in them being taken into exile. We can learn from their thoughtless offences and see that we have...

No matter what age of man’s existence we look into, we will always find the struggle between lies and truth. From humanity’s beginnings in the Garden of Eden till today, and no doubt until Christ returns, this sin has plagued, and will continue...

The passage before us serves, among other things, to prepare the Christian for life and ministry in our world, particularly in our world of familiar relationships. It is one thing to have your integrity rejected by those who do not know you. It is...

The Philippian church, like ours, was made up of redeemed sinners. In this passage, Paul exhorts them to live together, not according to the flesh, but rather to follow the example of Christ: in humility, putting one another first.

William Cowper once wrote, “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face.” In Job’s final words in the book that carries his name, he talks about the importance of working...

One of the temptations we face when we face difficulties is to retreat inward. This is particularly the case in our age, which is characterised by individualism. Practically, we are tempted to stop serving when we suffer. Peter understood this, and...

We need hope. Mark 5 is designed to give us hope—hope that Jesus has power over the demonic (vv. 1–20), over disease (vv. 25–34), and even over death (vv. 21–24, 35–41). Jesus Christ alone can offer hope in the face of the mountainous...

What gospel does our life together preach? If the church were a body—and it is—what message do the relationships among us communicate? Is there a disconnect between the gospel we preach and the lives we live together? In 1 Corinthians 12:25 Paul...

Othniel, Israel’s first judge, serves as a flesh-and-blood example of the summary offered in 2:11–23. There, the writer gave the general pattern of events during the days of the judges; now, as if to underscore his point, he gives a living...

Revival is the need of the church, not the world. Sinners need regeneration; saints need revival. Revival is divine intervention in the normal course of spiritual things. In revival, human personalities are overshadowed and human programs are...

Opposition to the gospel is real in the Christian life and to those who are faithful to the gospel. It can be tiresome. It can lead to despair. But the gospel is unstoppable, and God is true to his promises. We should therefore be committed to...

Building one another up is rooted in the gospel message—the hope of salvation we have in Christ Jesus. Paul exhorted the Thessalonian church to build one another up in the gospel, and through his letter to them he exhorts us to do the same.

When Jesus encountered the demoniac as recorded in our text, the event proved to be no contest. Mark highlights for us the supreme authority of the Jesus Christ. He is indeed the Son of the Most High God, and sinners therefore have hope of salvation.

The Roman church had many difficulties to deal with. One of them was the way in which Jews and Gentiles were to relate to one another in Christ. Paul exhorts them to not pass judgement on one another any longer. They are rather to consider how their...

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul addresses an assembly of conflicted Christians who gathered for an important ritual (the Lord’s Supper) while denying its message. One manifestation of this denial was a refusal of members to wait for each other before...

Have you ever wanted to just give up? To just throw in the towel and quit? Perhaps you have faced temptation to quit a relationship, or a ministry, or even your faith. When things don’t go as we think they should, we are tempted to quit. We face...

Readers familiar with the book of Judges don’t necessarily spend too much time in the opening sections. We want to get straight to the action—to read about God working mightily through Gideon’s shaky faith, Jephthah’s rash vow, and Samson’s...

Many of the one another commands are warm instructions that we are eager to obey, even if we find it difficult to do so. The command to forgive is one against which we sometimes bristle. We know we should obey it, but we don’t always want to....

What does Christian maturity look like? Are there definitive elements of Christian maturity, lacking which one cannot be called a “mature” Christian? In the text before us the Apostle Paul answers this question and in doing so lays down a marker...

James has been called the wisdom literature of the New Testament. It is filled with the practicals of the Christian life. One of these practicals is the good work of prayer. In chapter 5 James makes it clear that those who believe the gospel will be...

God’s work usually progresses inauspiciously, invisibly, and imperceptibly—and yet inevitably. It is precisely because it is God’s work that it will come to pass. God expects us to believe this. He expects us to please him by having faith in...

In the command to greet one another with a holy kiss, the kiss is of secondary importance. The command is actually to greet one another, and the kiss was simply the way in which that would ordinarily happen. The burden of the command is upon the...

Christ has commanded his disciples to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Believers, therefore, have a responsibility to the world around them—without distinctions of race, language or class—to communicate the gospel of Jesus...

If church revitalisation is like raising the dead (a difficult task by anyone’s standard—except Christ’s!), church planting is like giving birth (easier, perhaps, but still painful and labourious). Still, like childbirth, church planting can be...

Pastors Conrad Mbewe (Kabwata Baptist Church) and Phil Hunt (Kitwe Church) detail the history of the Reformed Baptist church planting initiatives in Zambia in recent decades.

Pride causes us to divide. It makes us place one preacher, one church, one brand above another. It keeps us from working together, because it makes us feel that we are either superior or inferior to others. The result: There are areas of our world...

We live in a day in which the church has become so seeker-sensitive that churches exist to serve men rather than God. As a result, the spiritual growth of churches often remains stagnant and, in some cases, even declines. Many Christians are not...

We live in an age in which God’s glory was must be driven through gospel-centred, Christ-centred, God-glorifying churches. For this to happen, the gospel must go to people in word, power and the Holy Spirit—and with full assurance. Our churches...

To be faithful in the mission that Christ has given to his church, we need to be deliberate and intentional in planting self-governing churches. It is one thing to respond to requests from people to plant works where there is need, but there is need...