Category Archives: Authority

Questions on the Divine Pattern

Questions Is there a “pattern” in the NT that God wants us to follow? Will God judge us based on how closely we follow this pattern? If so, how close is close enough for salvation? Will sincere believers who think … Continue reading

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Acts 15 and Congregational Autonomy

Author : Keith Sharp Let’s examine Acts chapter 15 and it’s bearing on the autonomy (independence, self-government) of each local church. (Why not read Acts 15 now?) Paul and Barnabas had been sent out by the church at Antioch on … Continue reading

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Are Second Century Christians Our Standard?

Author : Keith Sharp David W. Bercot is an attorney in Pennsylvania who attends Shippensburg Christian Fellowship, an Anabaptist church. His hobby is early church history, and he has written genuinely well-documented, challenging books on the subject. His first such … Continue reading

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The Justice Of God

Author : Keith Sharp Background Three great Old Testament prophets were contemporaries with differing roles: Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. Jeremiah (ministered 627 B.C. – ca. 586 B.C.), the eldest of the three, was the prophet to the Jews in the land of Palestine. … Continue reading

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Liberty

Author : Keith Sharp Americans have been blessed by the blood of our forefathers with the freedom for which countless millions of people around the globe yearn. The boldly defiant words of Revolutionary firebrand Patrick Henry captures the American spirit: … Continue reading

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How the Lord Expresses His Will

Author : Keith Sharp The New Testament plainly teaches we need authority from the Lord, as expressed in the New Testament, for all we believe, teach, and practice (Colossians 3:17; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 John 9). But how does Christ … Continue reading

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How to Tell What the Lord Requires

Author : Keith Sharp IntroductionThe New Testament is a binding pattern of authority (2 Timothy 1:13). Yet, those who deny this fact are quick to point out that Christians generally do not deem it necessary to follow many New Testament … Continue reading

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Gay Marriage, Polygamy, and the Authority of Christ

Author : Keith Sharp Last month (February 2004) the President responded to the widening fracas over “gay marriages” by proposing a constitutional amendment to ban them. He did not mention specific language for such an amendment but endorsed the 1996 … Continue reading

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The Authority of Christ

Author : Keith Sharp Early in Jesus, ministry those who heard Him teach were amazed “for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:29). The scribes taught by appealing to the authority of the … Continue reading

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What Is Truth?

Author : Keith Sharp “… any given thing is to me such as it appears to me, and is to you such as it appears to you.” (Protagoras, 5th century B.C., quoted by Copan). “There is one thing a professor can … Continue reading

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