Old Jerry

The reason that the performance of legalistic requirements is so attractive to people is that you can turn off your brain and just follow the sayings of the leader. Another reason is that we can see that somebody is not doing the right thing according to the standard taught and we know that they are sinning. I don

The reason that Paul reminded Timothy of predictions concerning widespread apostasy was that he wanted him to be prepared for the worst. He didn

According to you text, I do see the differences in qualifications between overseers/elders and deacons. The elders/overseers are the ones that are to teach and instruct and the deacons are to be the ones that help in all matters of the church.

The reason that anger, intimidation, force and pride are so important to consider in selecting church officers is that you get a church that do not trust their officers. Probably they will leave the church and either not go any more or will look for a new church. The worst would be not to attend a church.

Leaders should be observed carefully and tested before placing them in office because we need to know how they are going to act in office. If we don

I think that the leader that Paul is indicating for us with the phrase

I believe that women should be allowed to teach and lead in the church. If they have the gift then how could we be the ones to say that they should not use that gift? But if they want to be leaders of the church or teachers just because it would boost their ego or break with tradition, then it is for the wrong reason and should not be done. But this is also true for the men of the church.

The way a women dressed in fancy clothes threatened to compromise the church

The problem among the men of the congregation that Paul is referring to in this verse is that they are praying but they are not doing it from the heart. They are doing it as a show thing. The thing that is so serious about worshipping with the opposite of love in your heart is that you really don

In the context of the salvation of all, I think that Paul was emphasizing the roles of Mediator and Ransom to Jesus. The way that Christ is fulfilling both of these roles is that he died on the cross for us and now He is at the right hand of God mediating for us.

The reason that Paul emphasizes salvation of all mankind in this letter is because that was what he was sent out to do. When he was reformed and accepted Jesus he was told at that time he would be going to the gentiles. This suggests that the practice of evangelism in the Ephesus Church did probably not exist or that they were trying to get the Jews to convert.

I think that the reason that Paul needed to remind Timothy about the prophecies spoken over him is because he might become big headed and think that he was doing all the things that he was accomplishing. In practical terms,

From the doxology we learn the God is forever and ever and that He would always be glorified. We learn we should be praising him at all times. The effect that the doxology has on the speaker it lets him know that you are agreeing with him and that he should continue on with that line of thought.

I think that Paul comments on his own life after a paragraph on the law because he has been there and done that and he wants to warn others about the pit fall. Sharing this helps get the church back on center because they will listen to him now that they know he has already been through the experience.

Some of the results of the false doctrine in the church at Ephesus were Leadership crisis among the elders, desire for wealth, destruction of the faith of some, and confusion and controversy that is disturbing the peace and unity of the church. The way that doctrinal controversy hurts the spirit of the church is by dividing it and eventually splitting it. This prevents growth because others see what is happening and they don

The call to the Great banquet sounds like evangelism when we extend the invitation to those around us. But we also must make it sound urgent that they get on board otherwise they will be left behind. The sense that I the servants are told to

I think that the reason that Jesus was so harsh with those who made excuses when called to follow him was that they had not put God first. The call is so urgent because if we want this age to end and have Jesus come again, then we need to be doing all that we can to bring people to Jesus. Maybe we can rush the coming of Jesus. Our excuses seem so trivial when offered to Jesus because Jesus gave it his all. He even died on the cross for us while we were still sinners.

The way that the Parable of the Great Banquet is about grace is that the servants are going out into the country side and asking people to come to the banquet. They are not asking them to do anything except to go the banquet. That is all that grace about, we have to accept that Jesus died on the cross for us. The way that it is judgment is that the original people that were invited are not to come at all. Their actions have judged them. It is about evangelism because the servants are asked to go out and find these people that want to come to the banquet. The End Time event that the great banquet points to is the wedding that we are going to have with Jesus Christ. That will be the greatest banquet that there ever was.

In the Parable of the Great Banquet, the original guests represent the teachers of the law who were Pharisees. The later invited guests represented everybody that the Pharisees didn

I am not sure how Jesus will hold me personally accountable on Judgment Day for using my

When we are successful the fruit of our labors belong to God. I don

The factors that make up a person

I think that the

According to these parables in this lesson, the way that the Kingdom is small is if we don

The guests from all over the world will be those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their saviors. The ones that will be