Author: Richard Lucas

Have you heard it said that someone is “too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly good”? Perhaps that’s true of someone, but I’ve never encountered that person. I think that the opposite is often the case for most of us. We don’t think enough about heavenly realities but instead focus too much on what we can see in the here and now. However, the Bible actually commands us to think about heaven. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” Our ability to be maximally helpful here on earth now is connected to our efforts to think often and think rightly about heavenly realities. To help you “set your mind on things above,” here are seven words that you can remember. Each word answers a different question we often have about heaven. God:...

What Does Not Happen When You Die? There are so many future realities Christians are looking forward to in the afterlife, such as every tear being wiped away (Revelation 21:4), all sin and death being done away with (1 Corinthians 15:26), receiving our new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-55), and seeing Jesus face-to-face (1 Corinthians 13:12; Revelation 22:4). Christians are right to put their hope in Christ and eagerly await all of those glorious future realities that God has promised will come to pass. But all those specific truths, among many others, will not actually come to pass when we die. They will not be our experience right away when we die. Those specific promises aren’t fulfilled until Jesus returns! Some believers will still be alive on the earth when Jesus returns (1 Corinthians...

Names mean something. They help you identify what you are looking for. I don’t go into Chick-Fil-A looking to eat a hamburger, because they clearly communicate in their name that they serve chicken. Churches also identify what kind of church they are by their names. Some churches don’t use the word “church” in their name, but identify as a “chapel” or a “fellowship” or simply “ministries.” Other church names have become so creative at times, that it’s hard to even tell they are a church. Some church plants or rebranding efforts have resulted in church names like “Reality”, “Refuge”, “Catalyst”, or “Oasis”. Our church, on the other hand, is unmistakable in identifying who we are with our name. We are the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. However, there are lots of other churches...

Christianity is an experiential religion because a convert must be born again (John 3:3-8). This conversion involves genuine faith and repentance in Christ which creates a new love for Jesus in the heart of the believer (Romans 5:5). Someone can’t simply claim to be a Christian, you have to experience Christ. You are saved not only when “you confess with your mouth” but also when you “believe with your heart” (Romans 10:9-10). Yet, that experience of new life does not happen in a vacuum. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We must hear the word of Christ to be saved! Where do we find the word of Christ? How can we continue to hear the word of Christ? This answer is simple for every Christian because we have rightly been called “People of the...

Sunday school originally began at the end of the 18th century in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Working-class children spent long hours in the factories six days a week and had no time for education. Sunday School was developed to teach basic literacy on the only day they had available. It was quite literally a school. Today, we have long dropped the aim of teaching reading and writing to children during Sunday school, but we have maintained the goal of religious instruction. But in our adult Sunday school classes, our aim is even broader than basic Bible facts. We rely on Sunday school to be our main forum of discipleship and care in our church. In many churches in America, of which the average size is less than one hundred people, you wouldn’t necessarily need something like...

Shouldn’t Christians just focus on studying the Bible and the truths of Christianity? Why should Christians worry about what other religions and cults believe? Here are three reasons why Christians should examine the claims of other faiths. To Grow in Understanding the Claims of Our Faith Contrast is a great revealer of truth in lots of areas of life. This is especially true when it comes to the truths of our faith. One of the ways to understand the true claims of Christianity is to contrast them with the false claims of other religions and other faiths. Paul does this in the book of Galatians. He is writing to the Galatians to teach them about the true gospel over against a false gospel, what he calls “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6). We see him doing this especially in Galatians 2:16:...

Sadly, much of the discussion regarding the topic of spiritual gifts among Christians is fraught with tension and division. Fights break out over which gifts, if any, have ceased or continue today. This division is especially evident with respect to the so-called miraculous spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and healing. In response, Christians can develop pride, jealousy, or even spiritual depression when comparing gifts or being confused about the matter. All of this is so very counter to the emphasis in the New Testament around the subject of spiritual gifts. Correctly understanding spiritual gifts according to the Bible will actually lead to caring for one another. As a church, we want to reclaim love and learn how to be people of compassion in a world full of hate....

When suffering comes into our lives, whatever form it takes, we can often respond by wondering, “where is God?” We often question that if God is good, why does he allow this difficulty to come into our lives? Or we respond the other way; we question if our good God is really in control. If God was in control, there’s no way that he would permit painful suffering in our lives. In our last post, we saw two truths about suffering from the opening chapters of the book of Job. Those chapters teach that even though suffering is Satan’s attempt to destroy our faith in God, we also learn that this same suffering is also God’s purpose to strengthen our faith in God. Satan uses suffering for his evil purposes, but God uses suffering for His good purposes in our lives. In order for us to trust God...

Suffering comes into our lives in many different forms. The difficult loss of a loved one, especially a spouse or child. Debilitating and chronic physical pain. Financial strain from losing a job, bankrupting a business, or making a terrible investment. Relational strain from an estranged family member or former friend. We also face cancer diagnoses and natural disasters, not to mention any hostility or outright persecution for simply being a Christian. Suffering is inescapable this side of heaven. The goal is not to avoid all suffering (as if that was possible) but to be prepared for suffering. The Bible calls us to trust God through our suffering and provides us the message of Job to help teach us that lesson. Job’s Suffering The opening two chapters of the book of Job describe the horrible...

Baptists are thankful for our rich and deep heritage. But sometimes, even in Baptist churches, people can be confused as to why we baptize. In this post, I am describing three reasons that people often think are the reasons that Baptists baptize but are actually not. 1. Not Because Baptism Is Required for Salvation  This is a vitally important clarification to make. Baptists obviously think that baptism is very important; it’s in our name, after all. However, we want to be crystal clear that we do not believe that baptism is required for salvation. Sadly, many even in Baptist churches are confused about this. I do not think it’s because they were directly taught it, but somehow they have picked up this doctrinal confusion. I have interacted with many children who have expressed a desire...