Category Archives: Bible

White Paper: Biblicist Grounds for Re-Baptism When Conversion Occurs After an Earlier Baptism

Executive Summary This white paper examines whether Scripture provides grounds for a Christian to be re-baptized if he or she believes true conversion took place after a prior baptism. A strictly biblicist approach reveals that Scripture neither trivializes baptism nor … Continue reading

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Before Me:  Living In The Presence of God

[Note:  The following is the prepared notes for a sermon given to the Dalles, Oregon congregation on Sabbath, December 6, 2025.] Introduction: The Depth of Hebrew Words and the Challenge of Translation The Hebrew Scriptures are composed in a language … Continue reading

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White Paper: The Authority Paradox: Why Those Who Struggle to Respect Authority Often Seek Authority Themselves

Executive Summary Across institutions—families, churches, workplaces, governments—one repeatedly encounters a persistent paradox: individuals who resist, resent, or reject legitimate authority are often the very individuals who most desire to be seen as authorities themselves. They frequently fail to perceive the … Continue reading

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White Paper: Giving an Answer for One’s Faith—A Biblicist Framework for Ordinary Believers

Executive Summary This white paper examines what Scripture itself expects of ordinary believers in giving an answer for their faith. Rather than constructing requirements from later systematic theology, ecclesiastical structures, or philosophical traditions, this paper relies solely on the biblical … Continue reading

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Fruit and Fruitfulness in the Bible: A Biblicist White Paper on Terminology, Imagery, and Theological Function

Executive Summary This white paper examines the Hebrew and Greek vocabulary, literary contexts, and canonical theology of fruit and fruitfulness in Scripture. In the biblical canon, “fruit” functions in multiple senses: agricultural, biological, moral, covenantal, spiritual, missional, eschatological, and judicial. … Continue reading

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Two Measures of Gratitude — The Pharisee’s Pride and the Giver’s Cup

[Note:  The following is the prepared text for a sermonette given to the Tampa, Florida congregation of the United Church of God on Sabbath, November 29, 2025.] Introduction: The Measure of the Heart As we have just celebrated Thanksgiving, it … Continue reading

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White Paper: The Meaning of “Willing to Yield” in Biblical and Extra-Biblical Literature: A Biblicist and Literary-Grammatical Analysis

Executive Summary The expression “willing to yield” (Greek: eupeithēs) appears centrally in James 3:17 as one of the qualities of the “wisdom from above.” Although often translated as “submissive,” “open to reason,” or “compliant,” the word does not imply gullibility, … Continue reading

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Fruit That Cannot Hide: A Sermonette on the Inevitable, External, and Public Nature of Biblical Fruit

[Note: This is the prepared text for a sermonette given to the Tampa, Florida congregation of the United Church of God on Sabbath, November 29, 2025.] Introduction Fruit is one of Scripture’s most powerful pictures of the life of a … Continue reading

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Hur in the Exodus Narrative: A Biblicist White Paper on His Role, Identity, and Notable Absence After the Golden Calf

Executive Summary Hur appears only a handful of times in the biblical text, yet he is placed beside Moses and Aaron at key moments in Israel’s early wilderness history. He functions as a stabilizing elder, a supporter of Moses’ God-ordained … Continue reading

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A Biblicist White Paper on Mary, Joseph, Their Children, and Their Social Status

Executive Summary This white paper (1) compiles all direct biblical information about Mary and Joseph, (2) evaluates the textual evidence for Jesus’ siblings, (3) reconstructs the probable social status and household composition of the family in first-century Galilee, and (4) … Continue reading

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