Posts by Jim Elliff
Cremation or Burial? (with “Reducing the Cost of Funerals”)
There is no sin in cremation, that is for sure. And there is no inability on God’s part to raise a cremated body from the dead. But is cremation, a practice most often seen in Eastern religions, the best for the believer in Christ? It is clarifying to note that burial was God’s preferred method of disposing of the body of Moses. God had the power to cremate Moses’ body on the spot, but rather, this gentle and loving phrase…
One Another Commands: the Heart of Christian Fellowship
Be at peace with one another. Mk. 9:50Wash one another’s feet. Jn. 13:14Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Jn. 13:34Love one another with brotherly affection. Rom. 12:10Outdo one another in showing honor. Rom. 12:10Live in harmony with one another. Rom. 12:16Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. Rom. 15:7Greet one another with a holy kiss. Rom 16:16, 2 Cor. 13:12Wait for one another. 1 Cor. 11:33Comfort one another, agree…
A Different Style of Evangelist: Laborers on the Loose
The disparity between what Christ and Paul did in evangelism and what we do, at least in the West, is dramatic. Let me explain a few of those differences: 1. The first radical departure from Jesus and Paul is our concept of time-specific, meeting-oriented evangelism. You will read in vain in the New Testament to find so many days of evangelistic preaching scheduled for Jesus or Paul and conducted at 7 p.m. in a certain location. You do not find…
The Staying Power of Mental Images
I will only use a short section of Matthew to illustrate the way John the Baptist spoke, which was characteristic of the prophets before him and of Jesus as well as Paul, and almost every other writer or speaker in the Bible. There is something to learn here from him about speech that is crafted to be remembered. Almost all you will memorize and quote supports this proposition: literary images are retained in the mind when mere argument is too…
Light Without Sun
There was light without a sun throughout eternity past, for God, though omnipresent, has always manifested himself in his throne room in unapproachable light. There was light without a sun called forth by God to shine on the watery dark world after it was created. Only later would the sun be given to govern the light. God once gave the world a vivid display of light without sun in the dwellings of the children of Israel on a dark night…
Review of Studies in Perfectionism by Benjamin Warfield
Warfield, Benjamin B., Studies in Perfectionism. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958. 464 pages. B. B. Warfield is known as one of the major exponents of the Reformed view of theology. He studied at what is now Princeton University and Seminary, graduating from the later in 1876. He taught first at Leipzig, Germany but was later the successor to Archibald Alexander Hodge as professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Seminary. He died in 1921. During his life he earned several distinguished degrees.…
Not Much to Be Thankful For
Table Mountain reigns over Cape Town, South Africa. When we first got sight of it from the highway, we were unable to take our eyes off of its stately, presiding presence. Its abrupt cliffs, rising up out of Cape Town on the oceanfront etched its postcard beauty in our minds. As you see, I can get rather poetic about it. But . . . Not everybody sees it this way. My first child was with us in the back seat…
The Elderly Mr. Phipp
James, the youth: Is affection necessary for true spirituality? I mean, can’t a man be Christian, yet cold as a stone emotionally? Mr. Brockton: Affection cannot be separated from true religion. James: But are we to strain to be affectionate toward God when it is not natural? Brockton: We are to strain to know God, and that is enough. Mr. Phipp will make my point for me. Hear his story: When the elderly Mr. Phipp lost his wife, he cried…
The Law of Love: New Covenant Primacy
The Law of Moses and the Prophet’s admonitions are all fulfilled in the law of love. “Treat others the way you would have them treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 7:12). The New Covenant responsibility for the believer is similar: “Bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). Or, put another way, “Do not look out for your own personal interests, but for the interests of others” (Phil 2:4). Love…
But I Don’t Feel Thankful
“But I don’t feel thankful.” I can hear this perfectly logical complaint coming from my kids when I make them say “Thank you” for some act of kindness done toward them. Should we really act grateful when we are not? But perhaps the better question is, “How could we be so blind to all that God has done that we would ever be ungrateful?” When the Pilgrims ate the first Thanksgiving meal in 1621, they were being thankful even though…
A Simple Bible Discussion Guide: Five Hard Questions
Me? Lead a Bible study with lots of spiritually helpful interaction? The answer is “yes!” This is a simple Bible Discussion Guide for any group. Using this approach, your study can be as deep as you wish to make it, and cover as much time as you are able to give. Most Bible study groups will want to go through a complete book of the Bible, or a well-defined portion of a book, such as “The Sermon on the Mount”…
What About the Relatives?
For many of us, the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year season is a time not only to think about Jesus’ incarnation but also to enjoy our relatives and friends. Perhaps we see them only at this time of the year. Some time ago I wrote this short article to guide us about speaking the gospel to those relatives we love. Take a few moments to ponder these ideas: Can you find Jimmy in this photo? Some of you may see Tommy and Billy,…
What It Means To Love Christ
Do you love Christ? Let’s start to answer that question by asking another: Is love something you feel, or something you do? Love is undoubtedly seen in action, even when feelings are fugitive. We all believe we should obey the Lord even if our heart is not necessarily warm toward him. Surely we are living in love when we rule against our negative emotions in order to obey. A missionary says he loves Christ as he goes to serve others,…
My First Unmistakable Answer to Prayer
My first clear and dramatic answer to prayer came in the early years of my ministry life. I was a college student at Ouachita Baptist University, attempting to pastor my first church in Washington, Arkansas, the historic Civil War capital of Arkansas. There were four hundred people in this town which is now a beautiful State park. Shortly after I began pastoring I read a small book in my dorm room called The Power of Positive Praying by John Bisagno,…
The Cross: the Character of Our Christianity
The cross is the character of Christianity. As the self-appointed spokesman for Jesus’ handpicked coterie, Peter says the right thing at the right time: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But Peter cannot leave good enough alone. As Jesus goes on to explain for the first time that He will go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and be raised again, Peter rebukes Him for such an outlandish notion. “Never! Not you! God forbid it, Lord!” Within moments…
This is WHAT Day the Lord Has Made?
This Is WHAT Day the Lord Has Made? Jim Elliff When we quote or sing “This is the day the Lord has made,” we aren’t saying that this very day, the day we are in presently, is the day the Lord has made. That is true, of course, but it isn’t what Psalm 118: 22-24 is about. Rather, something much more important is being said. Read it closely: “The stone which the builders rejectedHas become the chief corner stone.This is…