I often get questions about the unpardonable sin and blasphemy against the Holy Ghost as recorded in Matthew 12:31-32.
Many a misguided believer or critic who opposes the death penalty will quote the well known sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13) as the basis for their argument.
There is another Bible doctrine that some call Spirit baptism. But it is not Spirit baptism. The scriptures never call it a baptism at all. That is the filling of the Spirit.
What is a conviction? One person says that it is no more than a personal opinion. Others define it as those things for which you would be willing to die; all else is a preference. Some teach that convictions are based on direct scriptural teaching. Others teach that convictions are not even scriptural. Why all the confusion? What is a good biblical approach to the concept of convictions? Let us see if we can make any sense out of it all.
The purpose of this article is to give a biblical answer to these and other questions about apostles today and in the Bible. We will begin with a survey of those who were called apostles in the New Testament.
Men have been “handling the word of God deceitfully” (2Corinthians 4:2) ever since the devil first taught Eve how. From Cain to Balaam, from Jehudi to the scribes and Pharisees, from the Dark Age theologians to present-day scholars, the living words of the Almighty God have been prime targets for man’s corrupting hand. The attacks on the Word of God are threefold: addition, subtraction, and substitution. From Adam’s day to the computer age, the strategies have remained the same. There is nothing new under the sun.
