I was recently asked the following question; Do other "gods" answer prayers too? The reason I ask, is because I personally know people from different faiths who are convinced that they have had their prayers answered by the god whom they worship. This makes it difficult for me to make a case for Jesus in front of them, because they are being delivered from their difficulties without Jesus' help. This is a great question, and a scenario that many of us will have to face at some point in time, if we are to be faithful in sharing the gospel with others. A central truth found throughout all of Scripture is that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). In fact, this is the first of all the commandments. Meaning, when we approach the Bible in an attempt to know God, the very first thing He reveals about Himself to us, is that there are no other gods but Him. When speaking through His prophet Isaiah, the Lord says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; ther...
Serving God in a remote corner of nineteenth-century England was a man who had made it his great aim “to live Christ.” He was a man of God that made such an impact upon the world he lived in that it was said he would have letters mailed to him from overseas, which included nothing more than, “R.C. Chapman, University of Love, England” on the outside of the envelope, and it would find its way into his hands. He became known as “The Apostle of Love” to the generation that God had called him to minister to. This article is a lengthy one, due to the fact that it is an article on one of my heroes of the faith, R.C. Chapman. This man's life has greatly impacted my philosophy of pastoral ministry, and encouraged me enormously to follow his example as a man of God. R.C. CHAPMAN’S ANCESTRY Robert Cleaver Chapman (1803-1902) was born January 4, 1803 in Elsinore, Denmark. He was born into a wealthy family who had made their fortune for many generations from the...
I was recently asked by someone if demons die. Specifically, " When Jesus cast the demons in the swine & the swine went into the sea, did the demons die?" I think this is a great question, and one that the Bible clearly addresses for us. Demons are actually fallen angels (Revelation 12:7-9), who were created by God (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3) as spiritual beings (Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 1:14) and therefore are not subject to death, at least in earthly terms. It might be helpful to remember that before the particular demons in question possessed the pigs, they possessed the man from Gadarene (Mark 5:7-9). When Jesus came near, they confronted Him and asked if He was there to “torment” them before the time (Matthew 8:29). After this they begged and pleaded for Jesus not to send them out of that particular “country” (Mark 5:10), or into “the abyss” (Luke 8:35), but into the herd of swine (Mark 5:12). Jesus consented (Matthew 8:32), and they went into the...