When I was a teenager in Winston-Salem, someone laced chunks of meat with poison and threw them to some of my neighbors’ dogs. The dogs died and the owners cried and the rest of us were shocked. Who would commit such a senseless act? What had those dogs done to deserve death? That was 40 … Continue reading We cannot remain silent about this
Author: jmarkfox
If God’s grace is the Pacific Ocean, most of our life is spent happily paddling around a 3-foot plastic kiddie pool. It doesn’t have to be that way. In his book, Transforming Grace, Jerry Bridges expounds on 10 proofs that we don’t understand God’s grace. Here are five of them, with my comments. First, you … Continue reading Make sure you understand God’s grace
Following Jesus is not complicated. In his final instructions to Titus, Paul wrote, “When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.” The first simple truth we see in this is that leadership is important. Titus had been … Continue reading Simple truth in action
Last week in this column I talked about the importance of steering clear of divisive doctrines, as we are instructed in Paul’s letter to Titus. One of the main reasons we must do that is because those who embrace divisive doctrines in the church will become divisive people. We are to be “eager to maintain … Continue reading Church discipline remains vital
Do angels have wings? And speaking of angels, how many of them could dance on the head of a pin? Did Adam and Eve have a pet? Will there be baseball in heaven? You’ve heard the story of the two men who argued about that, and then one died. A week later, he visited his … Continue reading Avoid foolish controversies
Paul wrote to Titus that Jesus Christ gave Himself for us for three reasons: to redeem us from sin, to purify a people for Himself and to make us zealous for good works. He could have said, “make us zealots for good works,” because it’s the same Greek word. Zealots in that time were crazed … Continue reading Do good works for the right reasons
J. Mark Fox 