From the Archives: How to Have Personal Standards Without Being a Legalist

By Aaron Berry

“Your skirt length is a heart problem.”
“Music with a 2-4 beat is demonic.”
“Christians should never step foot in a movie theater.”

Maybe you remember hearing things like this in your church.

Some young Christians, when they look back on their upbringing, only remember a Christianity of “dos and donts.” They only remember their pastors preaching against rock music, clothing standards and movie theaters and the guilt they felt when they violated these commands. And the first chance they get, they flee.

Searching for an “authentic” Christianity outside of the realm in…

The Tightrope of Separation: Worldliness

By John Miles

Read the series.

Worldliness defined

What is a definition of the term “the world” or “worldliness?” Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed to this world.” That passage of Scripture really describes the whole matter. In 1 John 2:15 we find, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” In both passages, God is saying there is something out there which we as Christians are not to love. A true Christian is contrary to it. We are not to love the world because we are contrary to it…

How to Preach the Kingdom Today

By M.R. Conrad

Preach the kingdom? Is that the same as preaching the gospel? What about the gospel of the kingdom?

The Great Commission is clear: preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). But when the early church obeyed this command, they also preached the kingdom of God (Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom as He offered the kingdom to Israel (Mark 1:14). Yet, He also spoke of the gospel of the kingdom being proclaimed in a future Tribulation (Matthew 24:14). What should we preach today? How should we preach it?

Preach the Gospel Today…