Is it wrong to argue and quarrel with your siblings? This question is asked many times by young people. Today, I want to look at some scriptures that could help shed some light on the subject.
First, we must make one thing clear, and that is that the word “brother” in the Bible often refers to all Christians. That doesn’t matter, though, because out siblings should be under that category anyway.
The first verse that I want to look at is a rather confusing one. It is Proverbs 17:17. Does it mean that we are intended to quarrel with our siblings? No – in this passage, the “brother born for adversity” is just being used as a contrast to show how much a friend loves. Take a look at Psalm 133:1. It pretty much shows that God wants us …
Yesterday, I had the opportunity of kayaking on a local lake with my family. As we paddled, I looked around and saw the stunning beauty of the world in which God has placed us. It is incredibly complex in even its most basic parts (i.e. sub-atomic particles), yet we often take it for granted, not giving it a second thought. That needs to change.
Glorifying God through Creation
God created the human race to glorify Him in all it does. However, lest we puff ourselves up, we must remember that we are not the only thing that God created for the increase of His glory. He created the entire universe around us for the sole purpose of bringing him pleasure and glory! Creation reveals God’s personality to us. Romans 1:20 says “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have …
I’ve heard a lot of sermons and read a lot of articles lately about evangelism and everything mixed up with it. Some people say that we should all be out on the street handing out tracts as often as possible, while others think that we should just lead quiet lives and set good examples for our neighbors. I’m not going to side with either of these views in this article, but I’d like to give you a basic overview of both sides of the issue.
The Two Views
The most important place to look for answers and insight is the Bible. Who would be better to look to besides the Creator of the universe Himself?
Take a look at Matthew 28:16-20 with me. It says this: “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is what many call “the Great Commission”, and most actively evangelical Christians use it as a reason for their work. It’s hard to get past those words: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” Is this definite proof that we should all go “make disciples of all nations”, or was Jesus only addressing the Apostles? There are reasons for both sides, which I will mention below.
Sola Fide. Those words, said by the famous Reformation father Martin Luther, describe how we are saved as Christians: by faith alone. This faith is often erroneously viewed as something to be proud of. However, as seen in Ephesians 2:8, faith is purely a gift. We deserve no accolades for being saved. This gift was given for the main purpose of bringing God, the Giver of the Gift, glory.
So what exactly is faith? Fortunately, this is not a definition that is much debated over. In fact, Scripture provides us with a very clear answer in Hebrews 11:1. There it states that faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” This is as good a definition as we can ask for.
Why are we saved by faith alone? Romans 3:10-12 tells us that “there is no one who does good, not even one.” Because none of us can do a good work on our own, we cannot save ourselves. This leaves us completely dependant on God for our salvation. The fact that our faith in His ability to save us is not misplaced shows that He is a truly great God. This brings Him glory. So, really, the purpose in God’s setting up the salvation process so that it happens by faith alone is so that God is glorified by saving us.
Hello, and welcome to the Arrow Up blog. Arrow Up, or AU for short, is a blog devoted to encouraging and teaching Christian teens around the world to stand up for what they believe and draw closer to the Creator of the Universe. We the authors, Ben and Jayan, are just average teens from the USA trying to “run the race” (Hebrews 12:1). This blog is a way for us to share our discoveries from the word of God and other sources, and to hopefully help other teens in their Christian walk.
In this article, we hope to clarify what this blog is about, and to tell you more about our vision and mission.
The first question in the Westminster Larger Catechism is this: “What is the chief and highest end of man?” The answer is what we want to do with this blog: “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”
The name “Arrow Up” is an analogy of what we should be to the world. Instead of wanting to get all the praise for what we do and have others look up to us, we should be “arrows” that point the world to Christ. Now I’m pretty sure that we won’t be reaching the whole world with this blog alone, but if everyone works together with us, the sky is the limit to what we can do.