Articles

What Kind of Church is This?

01/29/08

Matt Payne

One thing is certain - there is no shortage of churches. You can take your pick among the hundreds of different kinds, from the proud old denominations like the Episcopalian and Presbyterian to the newer, more energetic Assembly of God or Seventh Day Adventists, to say nothing of those amazingly numerous and various cults that keep springing up. In the midst of such diversity, what is special about our church? What kind of a church is it, anyway?

How God's Word Has Come to Us (Part One)

01/28/08

The Bible did not drop out of Heaven with a black leather cover, printed in English on paper, with 66 books bound in one volume. How did the Bible originate? How has it come to us? Knowing how we got the Bible can strengthen our faith in the Bible as God's Word. This series investigates the Bible's origin and how it came to be in its present form. This article will explain how the Bible was written through God's revelation to prophets and apostles whom he guided to write it.

How God's Word Has Come to Us (Part Two)

01/28/08

What are we to think about books entitled Lost Scriptures and Lost Christianities? Who decided and how did they decide which books would be included in the Bible? Was the decision of human or divine authority? These questions concern the canon of Scripture. The word canon comes from a cane or measuring rod, and came to be used for a standard. In regard to Scripture, canon means a list of authoritative, normative books of Scripture. When God's Word was written it became Scripture. God's people recognized the inspired Scriptures and later collected them together.