Tag: 1 Thessalonians

Does prayer achieve results?

Each person who believes in Jesus as the Son of God has different reasons for doing so.  I’ve summarized mine here and discussed them at length throughout the blog.  For some people, their personal experiences with prayer provide support for their belief in Jesus.  For others, such as myself, the relationship works more in the reverse.  I believe in the power of prayer because I believe in the authority of Jesus (on other grounds).  As such, I do not consider myself especially qualified to write about prayer.  Nonetheless, Continue reading “Does prayer achieve results?”

Last updated on August 23rd, 2024

Why did Jesus die for us?

For me, this is one of the most mysterious issues in Christianity.  Like many of the other posts on this blog, this one is not going to provide a precise answer, but rather some possibilities to consider.

Nevertheless, while I’m unclear as to the why and the how of it, I affirm that Jesus did indeed die for us. This is not a peripheral part of the Christian message. It does not at all appear to be something added on by the biblical writers or later Church leaders, nor is it something where Jesus has been misunderstood. Rather, it seems to be the abundantly clear teaching of the New Testament that Jesus gave up his life for our sake.

It is true that Jesus taught a lot about morality. But He didn’t present Himself as a moral innovator, but rather as one who illustrates (and calls us back to) timeless moral truths that we already knew inside our hearts. For example, Continue reading “Why did Jesus die for us?”

Last updated on August 23rd, 2024

Did early Christians expect the end of the world in their own lifetime?

Many of them probably did.  Clearly, throughout all of the Christian centuries, we find many examples of individuals or groups thinking that the “end is near”.  The clear teaching of the New Testament is that each Christian should be prepared for the end to come at any time.

There is one passage in the Gospels that might seem to suggest that Jesus predicted that the world would end within the lifetime of the first disciples.  Some skeptics point out that the world is still here, and claim this as evidence that Jesus was a false prophet.

The verse in question is “truly I tell you, this generation will Continue reading “Did early Christians expect the end of the world in their own lifetime?”

Last updated on August 23rd, 2024