Alva Review-Courier -

In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached an infamous sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Edwards was guilty of propagating a common falsehood: namely, that God is angry because of sin. This misrepresentation continues in our day. I rem...

At the beginning of a new year, we naturally think about new things. Christians sometimes go further and project this kind of thinking onto God, imagining that God is going to do something new just because a calendar page has turned over. It is true...

In his first epistle, the Apostle John has a lot to say about our relationship with God, which he describes as a relationship based on love, specifically God’s love for us. He writes that “we love him because he first loved us.” Our love for God i...

In his first epistle, the Apostle John has a lot to say about our relationship with God, which he describes as a relationship based on love, specifically God’s love for us. He writes that “we love him because he first loved us.” Our love for God i...

We are born with an instinctive, but incomplete, knowledge of God. This is demonstrated by the religious impulse that has been a common characteristic of mankind throughout all ages and in all parts of the world. What all religions have in common is...

Having recently passed through a presidential election, everyone is aware of the fact that a change of administration has taken place, and we understand what it means: a new leader with new policies and new ways of dealing with old problems. While th...

The Apostle Paul knew something about living with uncertainty. His entire ministry took place in a time of political turmoil in the Roman Empire, during the turbulent reign of the violent and unpredictable Emperor Nero. Paul’s personal life was a...

Epidemics, pandemics, plagues and pestilence are nothing new, and have appeared repeatedly throughout history. When the Black Death (bubonic plague) appeared in Europe in the 14th century, 25% of the population was lost. In the 15th century there wer...

Blaise Pascal was a 17th-century French philosopher grappling with a question that had troubled many philosophers before him: how does one rationally prove the existence of God? Pascal decided that God’s existence cannot be proved. Instead, he p...

As everyone knows, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. But the baby in the manger is not really the most important thing for us to consider. The more important question is, why did Jesus need to come into the world at all? It was not...

In the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he wrote, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face.” Naturally, Paul would have preferred to see those... Full story

The short answer to this question is “no,” but a longer explanation is necessary due to nearly universal misunderstanding on the subject. The primary source of the confusion arises from casual reading of an incident recorded in Matthew 24 in which Je...

Blaise Pascal was a 17th-century French philosopher grappling with a question that had troubled many philosophers before him: how does one rationally prove the existence of God? Pascal decided that God’s existence cannot be proved. Instead, he p...

We are born with an instinctive, but incomplete, knowledge of God. This is demonstrated by the religious impulse that has been a common characteristic of mankind throughout all ages and in all parts of the world. What all religions seem to have in...

The title of a popular book once asked the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" The short answer is merely an observation: there are no good people. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3 that "there is none righteous, no not one." He...

At the beginning of a new year we naturally think about new things. Sometimes Christians go further and project this kind of thinking onto God, imagining that God is going to do something new just because a calendar page has turned over. It is true t...

Matthew’s gospel presents this invitation from Jesus: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” This indicates that Jesus intends that the Christian life should not be a life of duties, burdens and obligations. In fa...

Jesus was asked this very question in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel. The people asked him, “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” The Amplified translation makes their question even more clear: “What are we to do to carry o...

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God …” he is suggesting that it is possible for us to imagine things that are incorrect – we are capable of m...

In Titus 3:5 the Apostle Paul writes, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…” The word “saved” used in this verse is a word that implies rescue. Imagine for a moment that you are on the Titanic....

In the 11th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For...

Christianity is not about you and your work. It is about Christ and his work. The Apostle Paul seems to have felt it necessary to constantly re-orient his readers towards this fundamental truth. For example, this is what he wrote to the Colossians:...

In his first epistle, the Apostle John has a lot to say about our relationship with God, which he describes as a relationship based on love, specifically God’s love for us. He writes that “we love him because he first loved us.” Our love for God,...

Jesus did not come into the world to bring another religion. Christianity, in fact, is not a religion at all. Religion is all about rules, laws and codes of conduct. In other words, religion tells you what you must do to make yourself acceptable to...

The first Christians had no Bibles at all. In fact, the New Testament had not yet been written, and many years would go by before it was compiled. Even then, the average Christian did not have a personal Bible at all. Though the first Christians did...