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Whatever Became of Sin?
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by David F. MaasJesus Christ did not preach collective salvation and did not remove the responsibility from any of us for overcoming or qualifying for His kingdom.
Facilitating Lawlessness
CGG Weekly by Richard T. RitenbaughWe are too eager to display our permissiveness in face of all we know to be against it, from traditional, biblical morality to plain old common sense.
Nothing But Ashes
Sermonette by Bill OnisickCarnal fear puts us into terror, but fear of God brings security. We dare not try to replace the fear of God with the love of God; both are foundational.
Euphemisms and Today's News
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)If we soften the effects of our sins through euphemisms and equivocation, we are yielding to the evil one, threatening our spiritual lives.
The Continuing Slide Into Liberalism
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)The urban spirit converts people who had conservative values into liberals. The church of God will stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of perversion.
Avoiding Detrimental Assumptions
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe world's religions have attempted to cast Almighty God into their faulty images, crafting an evil and destructive situational ethics.
Overcoming (Part Two): Self-Justification
Bible Study by Richard T. RitenbaughSelf-justification is a common impediment to overcoming sin. We tend to excuse ourselves for what we say and do, making it harder to become like God.
The Same Plumb Line
Commentary by David C. GrabbeA former president was sexually immoral, lied with impunity, and misused his position. The same is true of the current one. Will we apply God's standard equally?
Has Humanity Reached Total Depravity? (Part Three)
CGG Weekly by Richard T. RitenbaughGod in us by His Spirit accounts for any real good that we may do. Otherwise, we would be just like everyone else: altogether evil continually.
God Will Understand
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsGod pays attention to the small things we may excuse in ourselves, sins we commit in weakness. God's patience does not constitute approval of our sin.
Anger (Part One)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsUnrighteous anger, whether explosive or smoldering, can lead to high blood pressure, migraine headaches, or can ultimately lead to our spiritual demise.
Does Doctrine Really Matter? (Part Eleven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJustifying sin emerges as a central error when doctrines separate grace from law and portray obedience as unnecessary or opposed to salvation. This teaching began with Gnostic antinomianism in the first century, which permitted believers to select comfortable beliefs while rejecting God's revealed standards of righteousness. It developed further through dispensationalism during the Protestant Reformation, which divided history into separate periods and claimed that law governed earlier ages for salvation while grace alone applies now, rendering commandments irrelevant after Christ's resurrection. Proponents inserted adversative wording into passages such as John 1:17 to imply conflict between Moses and Christ, then extended the idea to assert that principles from one era cannot apply to another, thereby freeing people to construct personal systems of worship and conduct. These views portray law as a burden or cause of sin rather than an aspect of God's gracious guidance, leading adherents to turn grace into license for unrestrained behavior. Biblical warnings identify the resulting lawlessness as rejection of both the Father and the Son, since Christ upheld the commandments He gave and lived without sin. Justification by faith produces not only right standing before God but also the obligation to walk in newness of life after baptism, dying to sin and yielding members as instruments of righteousness. True grace therefore reinforces rather than cancels responsibility to keep God's law, preparing participants for the Kingdom through overcoming and glorifying Him by ceasing from sin.
The Mystery of Goodness
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsBecause even Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, we must be careful not to assess goodness by surface appearances. God's goodness is our pattern.
Abraham (Part Ten)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughLot equivocated with God's instructions, looking for escape clauses, showing him to be self-centered and worldly wise, compromised by the values of the world.