One Verse Podcast | Liberating Scripture From The Shackles Of Religion ... One Verse At A Time

When John writes in 1 John 3:14 that we know we have passed from death to life because we love our brethren, he is not talking about how we know we have eternal life, but how we know we are in fellowship with God and one another.

Frank Viola, author of Insurgence, joins me to discuss the Gospel of the Kingdom and what it really means to seek the Kingdom of God in our lives here and now. They also look at Luke 17:20-21 and Matthew 11:12 and what these passages teach about the kingdom of God.

When James writes about dead faith in James 2:14-26, many people think he is referring to faith that does not exist. But this is not the message of James. What is dead faith? It is useless faith. It is faith that does exist, but is not accomplishing what God wants or desires for it.

Is Paul teaching in Ephesians 2:1 that unbelievers cannot even believe in Jesus for eternal life unless God first regenerates them? Must God give unbelievers new life (regeneration) before they believe and so that they can believe? No. This is not what it means to be dead in trespasses and sins.

Most Christians are doing more harm than good with how they attempt to share Jesus with others. Many of the modern evangelistic efforts of Christians only do harm to the cause of Christ and the message of the gospel. If you want to see what I mean, I explain it all in parable form through my new book, Adventures in Fishing for Men.

In Romans 5:12, Paul writes that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. Almost everybody thinks that Paul is referring to the event in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But is this what Paul has in mind? It doesn't seem so ...

The Crown of Life is not eternal life. Eternal life is a free gift. The Crown of Life is special reward for a special act of service and dedication to the King. Just as you win an award for winning a race, so also God gives rewards to people who run well in this life. This article looks at the crown of life and what we learn about it in James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10.

There are several verses in the Bible which seem to teach that you need to make a public confession of Jesus in order to be saved. One of these is Romans 10:9-10. Many people interpret this to mean that if you do not let others know that you are a follower of Jesus, then you do not truly have eternal life and will therefore not spend eternity with God in heaven.

Does 1 John 1:9 mean that if we do not confess our sins to God, He will not forgive us? No, the truth is that God has already forgiven you for all your sins, past, present, and future. So what does 1 John 1:9 mean? This article explains more.

The titles Christ or Messiah refer to someone who has received a special anointing by God to perform a specific task or purpose. Such a definition is true of every anointed person, whether it is a king, a prophet, a priest, or Jesus Himself. This article defines the word Christ and considers John 20:31 and how a proper understanding of the title Christ helps us understand the offer and invitation of the Gospel.

The reason that some people wonder if they can be blotted out of the book of life is because passages like Revelation 3:5 seem seem to indicate that this is a distinct possibility. However, when you understand what the Book of Life actually is, you will also come to understand what Revelation 3:5 actually means.

According to 1 John 1:7-10, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin by exposing sin for what it is and then calling us to no longer live in the way of sacred violence. The blood of Jesus is not a spiritual antidote to sin which somehow removes the polluting presence of sin from our lives. Instead, the blood of Jesus exposes our sacred violence to us so that we can see in our own lives how we make scapegoat victims out of others, and then calls us to no longer live in this way.

You and I can forgive others without requiring them to shed their blood. So why do some Christians teach that God requires the shedding of blood in order to forgive us? One reason is because of Hebrews 9:22 which says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. But the text does not teach what most people think it teaches. This post gives 10 reasons why Hebrews 9:22 does not teach that the shedding of blood is required for the forgiveness of sins.

In Ephesians 1:7 and Ephesians 2;13 we learn that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus because He redeemed us from our sinful and violent way of living and revealed to us God's way of living. His bloody death released us from addiction to sin and scapegoating, and showed us how to live in the way of love and forgiveness.

Some people say that Jesus died to buy forgiveness from God, and they use passages like Matthew 26:28 to defend this idea. In this study, I provide a different explanation of Matthew 26:28, showing you that the blood of Jesus was NOT shed to purchase forgiveness from God.

Why is the Bible so bloody and violent? It is not because God is violent and bloody. Jesus reveals quite the opposite. Through His life, death, and teachings, Jesus reveals that God is not violent at all, but always loves and only forgives. So why is the Bible so violent? Jesus explains why in Matthew 23:29-35.

When you were baptized, what words were said? Do you remember? Some people look to Matthew 28:19-20 as the proper words for baptism, while others look to the practice of the Apostles in Acts. In this post, I dispel this entire baptism debate with one crazy suggestion. Read it and let me know what you think!

In 1 Peter 3:21, it appears that Peter is saying that we must be baptized in order to be saved. He writes that baptism saves us. But if this is true, then how is eternal life by faith alone and not of works?

First Corinthians 9:27 is sometimes quoted to show that not even Paul was certain that he would go to heaven when he died. Paul writes that he keeps close watch over his body so that he does not end up disqualified (adokimos). So what does this verse mean?

Several years ago, I was interviewed by Jason Wiedel for his podcast. For some reason, he never aired this interview. I don't know why. But I am airing it now. Enjoy!