Who Sinned First, Adam Or Eve?

There is sometimes confusion over who committed the first sin.  Was it Adam or Eve?  

(1 Timothy 2:13-14)"For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." (ESV) 

This verse shows plainly that it was Eve who sinned first.  Eve was deceived and became a transgressor.  She was created to be a helper for Adam, but she usurped his role as head and leader and was deceived.  

(Romans 5:12)"Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (ESV) 

Sin came into the world through Adam even though Eve sinned before Adam did.  Adam had a leadership role with humanity that Eve did not have.  Death came into the world through the sin of Adam.  In a sense all humans were in Adam when he sinned, therefore all humans sinned and so death spread to all mankind.  All humans are born sinners, therefore we sin because we are sinners.    

Being Your Authentic Self

Today we hear a lot about being your authentic self, especially in relation to the LGBTQ community.  To be authentic is to be true, genuine, or real.   

(Genesis 1:1)"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (ESV) 

God is the Creator and everything else is the creation.  God is God and we are not.  Therefore God is the ultimate authority in all matters, including what is actually authentic.  

(Genesis 1:27)"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (ESV) 

God created man in his own image, therefore we are to be God's representatives on earth.  God created humans as male and female.  You are who God created you to be and you have no authority to change that.  A man is a man and a woman is a woman.  

(Genesis 2:24)"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (ESV) 

Sexual relations are to take place between a man and a woman who are married.  People of the same sex cannot be married.  

Those in the LGBTQ community are actually being inauthentic because they are not being true to the way God created them.  They are in rebellion against God's creative design and have embraced falsehood instead of truth.    

Why Is John 5:4 Missing From My Bible?

 (John 5:3b-4)"waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had." (NKJV) 

Many modern translations do not include the end of John 5:3 and all of John 5:4.  This verse is included in the KJV and the NKJV, while the LSB and NASB 1995 include it but put it in brackets.  Most translations such as the ESV, NIV, and CSB do not include it in the text, instead they have it in a footnote.  So what is going on here?  

The New Testament was originally written in Greek.  The KJV and NKJV use a Greek text known as the Textus Receptus (received text).  The Textus Receptus is mainly based on late Greek manuscripts and sometimes on the Latin Vulgate.  

On the other hand most modern translations are based on what is called the critical text.  It takes into account earlier Greek manuscripts which were not available to the King James translators in 1611.  

The earliest Greek manuscript to contain John 5:4 is Codex Alexandrinus (5th century).  The earlier Greek manuscripts do not include this verse.  They include P66 (around A.D. 175), P75 (around A.D. 200), Codex Sinaiticus (4th century), and Codex Vaticanus (4th century).  

It seems that John 5:4 may have been an explanatory note added by a scribe, that was later included in the text of the manuscripts by a copyist who mistakenly thought it belonged there.   

A Tribute To John MacArthur

John MacArthur (1939-2025) long time pastor of Grace Community Church died recently.  Dr. MacArthur was one of the finest Bible teachers of our time.  I did not know John MacArthur personally but I learned much from him through his books and sermons.  

Dr. MacArthur held strongly to the authority, sufficiency, and inerrancy of the Bible.  He proclaimed the truth and behaved with dignity (if only modern evangelicalism would follow this example).  John MacArthur went to heaven because Christ was his Savior and Lord.  

Books And Reference Works By John MacArthur

*The Gospel According To Jesus

*The Battle For The Beginning

*Hard To Believe

*Strange Fire

*The Inerrant Word

*MacArthur Study Bible

*Biblical Doctrine 

(For More gty.org) 

Three Views On The Bible

We will look at three different views of the Bible.   I have categorized them as conservative, moderate, and progressive.  

Conservative- This view holds to the inerrancy of Scripture.  Inerrantists believe the Bible is without error in all that it speaks to, including the areas of science, history, and geography.  Inerrantists believe God is truth, therefore he only speaks what is true.  Since the entire Bible is the Word of God, it is without error and entirely true.  

Moderate- Those in this category reject the term inerrancy and instead speak of the infallibility of Scripture.  Infallibilists hold that the Bible is true in all that it teaches.  By this they mean that the Bible is without error in matters of faith and practice, but not necessarily in the areas of science, history, and geography.  

Progressive- Those in this category reject the inerrancy of Scripture all together.  They do not believe the Bible is the Word of God.  They view it as a book that contains wisdom and inspirational stories.  Progressives believe the Bible may contain errors in all areas, including matters of faith.  Liberals often reject essential doctrines such as the deity of Christ.  

The conservative view is the traditional, consistent, and correct view of the Bible.  The moderate view is inconsistent, compromised, and a potentially harmful view of the Bible.  The progressive view is rooted in unbelief and is not a Christian view of the Bible at all.  

Was The Apostle Peter The First Pope? (A Biblical Response)

Roman Catholics claim that the Apostle Peter was the first pope.  They base this assertion on several passages in the Bible, but primarily on Matthew 16:16-19.  

(Matthew 16:16-19)"Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (ESV) 

When Peter said Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, he was speaking on behalf of the other apostles as well.  The rock on which the church is built is Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, not Peter himself.  This is the confession of all true believers.  Jesus says, "on this rock" referring to the confession of Peter.  He does not say on you Peter I will build my church.  

Also Catholics believe the giving of the keys of heaven was meant for Peter alone as pope and not for the other apostles.  But in Matthew 18:18 this authority is given to all the Apostles, not just Peter.  

Peter never refers to himself as the pope, in fact in 1 Peter 5:1 he refers to himself as a fellow elder.  Peter also refused to be worshiped and said I too am a man (Acts 10:25-26).  The apostle Paul never refers to Peter as pope and he actually rebuked Peter in Galatians 2:11-14.  This would be strange conduct from Paul if Peter was the infallible Pope.  At the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 Peter functions as one of the apostles and not as pope, while James seems to direct the meeting.  

The office of pope is found nowhere in the Bible.  The papacy is not Biblical and therefore has no authority.    

God Told Me

 It has been said that one of the most dangerous things a person can say is, "God told me." That is most definitely true.  When a person says, "God told me" he is claiming to receive direct revelation from God.  This person is actually making himself equal with Scripture itself.  This is a very foolish and dangerous assertion to make.  

You should be skeptical of anyone claiming that, "God told me." It is likely only the person's own imagination, not a word from God.  The Lord does lead his people but he does not give them additional revelation.  

The Bible is the ultimate authority because it is the actual Word of God.  If you want to hear God speak, open your Bible and read it.  The modern church needs to recover the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone).  

(Proverbs 30:5-6)"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar."  (ESV)