Christian Doctrines

Why were the Holy Spirit Given to the Disciples Twice? Collin Leong. 14/10/2023 Two scriptures in the New Testament indicated that the disciples receive the Holy Spirit twice within 50 days.  In John 20:19-23, it says:    On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,  “Receive the Holy Spirit.   If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” In Acts 2:1-4. it says:  "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly...

Practicing Divine Forgiveness (Genesis 45) Collin Leong.   11 December 2015 1.       Forgiveness and Reconciliation are key themes of the Bible and foundation of the Gospel. True forgiveness is often misunderstood and even less practiced even among Christians. Understanding true biblical forgiveness is crucial as it is a core theme of the Gospel and the whole Bible.  “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them” - 2 Cor 5:18-19; Col 1:22-23 Accurate understanding helps us to appreciate Christ's work on the cross for us, and enables us to forgive others in the way Christ wants us to. To understand forgiveness we must also put repentance and reconciliation in its proper perspective 2.        Biblical Doctrine of Forgiveness + Repentance (from unbelief) = Reconciliation 2.1.     Forgiveness:  Divine Forgiveness is an act of Grace and independent of th...

Frame of Gold Promise (Eph 1:3-10) Karen Tan, 3 July 2015 Scripture Passage:  Ephesians 1:3-10 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed (ASV – bestowed) us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Synopsis: Ephesian 1:3-14 is one complete sentence in the original Greek...

Amazing Grace, Awakening Grace (Titus 2:11-14) Collin Leong.  15 January 2016 Scripture: Titus 2:11-14:  11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. I. Introduction What is so unique about Christianity compared to other religions? This was the question that stumped a team of theological experts during a British conference on comparative religions.  Is it heaven, hell, sacrifices, prophecies, miracles, incarnation, resurrection? You can always find at least one other religion having similar concepts. After hours of debate, CS Lewis wandered into the room. Learnin...

A Tale of Two Lineages - Cain and Seth (Genesis 4,5) Collin Leong. 6 March 2015 Scripture Reference:  Genesis 4 and 5 Synopsis: Genesis chapter 4 records the first ever murder committed by man. It happened just one generation after Adam and Eve - their son, Cain, killed Abel - his brother - over jealousy that God preferred Abel's  gifts over his own. God later gave Eve another son, named Seth. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of Genesis list the descendants of Cain and Seth, respectively. Our study compared the description of these two lines of families and made the following key observations: The descendants of Cain were described with many worldly success - they were the inventors of urbanisation, agriculture, music & the arts; industrial & military technology.  In Seth's descendants, no achievements were mentioned, only their age and that "they died". While rich with material and in pleasure, Cain's descendants produced people filled with moral poverty and corru...