What Does It Mean to Be ‘Above Reproach’? | Daniel McCoy

Who is Jesus in Hebrews 3 and in Islam? A Biblical and Islamic Perspective | Tim Orr

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/jesus-in-hebrews-3-and-in-islam/ [https://renew.org/jesus-in-hebrews-3-and-in-islam/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Jesus Christ is one of the most talked-about—and argued over—figures in all of religious history. Both Christianity and Islam respect Him, but they tell very different stories about who He is and why He matters. When you put Hebrews 3:1–7 next to what the Quran says about Jesus (Isa), the differences don’t feel small—they feel sharp and unavoidable. These aren’t just two perspectives that slightly overlap. They’re moving in completely different directions. To really understand the tension, you have to look at how Hebrews describes Jesus, how Islam understands Him, and why Christians can’t accept that Islamic picture. In Hebrews 3:1–7, the writer tells believers to focus their attention on Jesus, calling Him both an apostle and a high priest. That already sets Him apart, because it shows He was sent by God and also stands between God and people as a mediator. Then the passage compares Him to Moses, which would have grabbed the attention of any Jewish audience. Moses was deeply respected, but the author makes it clear that Jesus is greater. He uses the image of a house—Moses is part of the house, but Jesus is the one who built it. And if God is the one behind everything, that puts Jesus in a very unique position. By the end, the point is unmistakable: Moses is a servant, but Jesus is the Son. That distinction is much bigger than a minor theological detail. It changes the entire way Jesus is understood. A servant can be faithful, honored, and entrusted with important responsibilities, but a servant still operates under another person’s authority. A son—especially an heir—occupies a completely different position. It’s the difference between someone who works within the household and someone who ultimately possesses it as his inheritance. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew.org/app-download/ [https://renew.org/app-download/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Peter on the Hot Seat | Brian Brophy

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/peter-on-the-hot-seat/ [https://renew.org/peter-on-the-hot-seat/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] If you ever find yourself in Rome, wander about a half mile northeast from the Colosseum along the Via De Fori Imperiali, and you will find yourself about a stone’s throw from the Mammertine Prison. One of Rome’s most infamous dungeons, it was originally carved into the bedrock 700 years before Christ as a subterranean water cistern. It’s a cold, damp, circular room just over 20 feet in diameter and no more than 6-7 feet from floor to ceiling. Prisoners were lowered in by ropes through a hole in the ceiling and left there to shiver through the cold Roman winters. Some Christian traditions suggest that both Peter and Paul were eventually held here awaiting their executions. It is unlikely that Peter was in Mammertine when he wrote his first epistle, but he was in Rome, and he would have been well aware of the horror stories of those who had dared to stand against the Roman imperial machine. Against this backdrop, Peter writes his letter, knowing that every word could become evidence against him in Rome’s quest to stamp out the new “Christian” movement. We should not take Peter’s words lightly, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:14b-15a, NIV) If you ever find yourself in Rome, wander about a half mile northeast from the Colosseum along the Via De Fori Imperiali, and you will find yourself about a stone’s throw from the Mammertine Prison. One of Rome’s most infamous dungeons, it was originally carved into the bedrock 700 years before Christ as a subterranean water cistern. It’s a cold, damp, circular room just over 20 feet in diameter and no more than 6-7 feet from floor to ceiling. Prisoners were lowered in by ropes through a hole in the ceiling and left there to shiver through the cold Roman winters. Some Christian traditions suggest that both Peter and Paul were eventually held here awaiting their executions. It is unlikely that Peter was in Mammertine when he wrote his first epistle, but he was in Rome, and he would have been well aware of the horror stories of those who had dared to stand against the Roman imperial machine. Against this backdrop, Peter writes his letter, knowing that every word could become evidence against him in Rome’s quest to stamp out the new “Christian” movement. We should not take Peter’s words lightly, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:14b-15a, NIV) Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew.org/app-download/ [https://renew.org/app-download/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

What Does the Sovereignty of God Mean? | John Whittaker

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/the-sovereignty-of-god/ [https://renew.org/the-sovereignty-of-god/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] The best way to frame up our discussion of God’s sovereignty is to ask this question: Are there things that happen in the world that are contrary to the will of God? Most of us would instinctively say yes. Jesus’ model prayer, what we call the Lord’s Prayer, seems to indicate that there are. Otherwise why would he teach us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10b)? But Calvinism answers the question of whether anything happens contrary to God’s will with an emphatic no. Everything that happens in the world is ordained by God and part of his sovereign will. Here’s the way the Westminster Confession puts it: “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.”[1] [https://renew.org/the-sovereignty-of-god/#_ftn1] In answer to question 7, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, says, “The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.” Notice that all things are ordained by God and are therefore according to his will. Everything that happens is what he planned and decided would happen. A. W. Pink explains that God “has determined in Himself from all eternity everything which will be.”[2] [https://renew.org/the-sovereignty-of-god/#_ftn2] So, everything that happens in the world is according to God’s will, and there is nothing therefore that is not according to his will. This perspective is essential to how Calvinism understands God’s sovereignty. According to Calvinism, anything less than this would mean God is not sovereign. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew.org/app-download/ [https://renew.org/app-download/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

3 Ways to Support a Missionary Well | Jay Greer

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/3-ways-to-support-a-missionary-well/ [https://renew.org/3-ways-to-support-a-missionary-well/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] “Hey, we’re supporting a missionary. How can we help? What are ways that we could support you?” I love that over the 18 years I’ve been living cross-culturally, so many people have wanted to support us and have asked how they could help. Anyone who has been on the mission field for any amount of time knows there are things people do that are really helpful—and some things that are not so helpful. Let me just give you three ways to support a missionary that I promise will be helpful no matter what. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Courage in a Secular World | Virgil Hurley

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/courage-in-a-secular-world/ [https://renew.org/courage-in-a-secular-world/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] In a span of thirty-five years that Congress spent six trillion taxpayer dollars in a failed attempt to upgrade American economic life, an astonishing decline occurred in our social life. In the time U.S. population increased by 41 percent, violent crime leaped by 560 percent and welfare spending by 630 percent. While spending on education increased 225 percent, SAT scores dropped 76 points. And a generation of sex education, designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies, staggers in disgrace under a 419 percent increase in out-of-wedlock births![1] [https://renew.org/courage-in-a-secular-world/#_ftn1] An unsettling anxiety besieges our future. For the record, Americans have often felt gloomy about the future. By 1736, settlers in Dedham, Massachusetts had hit the wall. What would become of them, the settlers worried? Kenneth Lockridge, in The First Hundred Years of a New England Town, noted that a limited amount of land in the town’s grant, communities breaking away from the original grant, and improvident farming methods were three of several more reasons for the negative feelings. John Quincy Adams also expressed doubt about America’s future in 1839, a mere fifty years after Washington’s inauguration. In 1901, his grandson Henry Adams gave America 50 years to live. Then, in 1914, he noted that “no one anywhere expects a future.” In 1963, with Camelot awhirl with the superficialities of the Kennedy years, 59 percent of Americans said they were “dissatisfied with the honesty and standards of behavior of our people.” That was before JFK’s amorous sexual appetite became widely known. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]