Marv Wiseman

Christ Saves the Worst Among Us

      Christ Saves the Worst Among Us - Pr. Marv Wiseman

While the Scripture throughout reveal that Christ died for the entire world, it is implied that the world needed dying for, and that death would have to be accomplished by One not tainted by sin Himself. He could not die substitutionally for others if He had sin of His own to contend with. Man, in his spiritual naivety would like to think that Christ died for those who were worthy and deserving of Him. But, human worthiness and deservedness negates the need for a Savior. Continue reading “Christ Saves the Worst Among Us” →

Marv Wiseman

Are You Saved or Merely Savable?

The question is: Are you saved or merely savable? Jesus Christ died for the sins of the entire world, meaning all of humanity who ever lived or whoever would live. But, how could He do that as a solitary figure? His ability to redeem the billions constituting humanity is found in His identity. Jesus Christ was and is the God-man, the theanthropic combination of deity and humanity, representing both entities in His own person. Continue reading “Are You Saved or Merely Savable?” →

Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Christ’s Reconciliation (Part 2) 

      The Scope of Christ´s Redemption (Part 2) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The scope of Adam’s transgression still bears all its telltale signs throughout the world and is best described as our last enemy, death.  It’s everywhere, and it will, in one way or another, claim us all.  This is a result of Adam’s transgression referred to in Romans 5.  If death is a result of Adam’s disobedience, what, then, is the result of Christ’s obedience?  Life, the very opposite.  In direct proportion to what the sin of Adam produced, death, the righteousness of Christ produced the opposite…life.  Continue reading “The Scope of Christ’s Reconciliation (Part 2) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Christ’s Reconciliation (Part 1) 

      The Scope of Christ´s Redemption (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The scope of Adam’s transgression has been described as universal, that there was no aspect of creation not impacted and altered by it.  Adam’s transgression turned the entirety of creation into something God had not created it to be when He pronounced it very good after the sixth day.  Not only did man and all his progeny, including us, fall with him and in him, but, also, all over which Adam had been given dominion fell also.  Continue reading “The Scope of Christ’s Reconciliation (Part 1) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 2) 

The scope of Adam’s sin reached much farther than just our first parents.  The moral contaminant called “sin”, though not a physical entity but a moral one, somehow affixed itself to the psyche, or the human spirit, or Adam and Eve, and was, then, passed on to every succeeding generation.  How this could be without having physical characteristics such as we see in the genes and chromosomes, we do not know.  Continue reading “The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 2) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 1)

      The Scope of Adam´s Transgression (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

We would be the first to admit that there is much we do not know nor understand about our first parents’ initial disobedience and rejection of their Maker’s authority.  We do, however, know something firsthand of the consequences thereof.  And, what are those consequences?  Well, for starters, we are going to die.  Yes, die.  We are all infected with a terminal moral disease called “sin”, and it will kill us all, just like it has already killed the billions who have gone before.  Continue reading “The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 1)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Alternative to Substitution 

      The Alternative to Substitution - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The principle of substitution has been briefly examined and has its origins in the early chapters of Genesis.  It was in chapter 3 that God Himself provided a substitute to answer to the guilt of Adam and Eve.  He did so in the innocent animals He obviously slew so as to provide coats of covering for the nakedness of our first parents.  But, why should there be any substitution?  Continue reading “The Alternative to Substitution “ →

Marv Wiseman

The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 3) 

      The First Revelation of God´s Grace (Part 3) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

While we cannot be dogmatic about our understanding of human composition, it does appear to best fit the biblical model.  To repeat from an earlier session, it was noted quite clearly in Genesis 2:7 that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.  The equation would, then, appear to be the physical body plus the breath of life God breathed into it together comprise the human soul.  Continue reading “The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 3) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 2) 

      The First Revelation of God´s Grace (Part 2) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Adam and Eve, because of their willful sin and disobedience to God, not only hid from Him but attempted to cover their nakedness with an assortment of fig leaves.  There’re multiple things here we do not understand.  Their anxiety over their exposure of their private parts caused them to fashion the fig leaves to cover their nakedness.  Continue reading “The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 2) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 4)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 4) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The first man, Adam, was the father of us all.  He alone, by primogenitor, became the federal head of the entire human race.  It is not an exaggeration to note that the entirety of Adam’s posterity was literally in his loins.  The genetic cessation that began in this one man, Adam, is now realized in every living human being, as well as every human who has ever lived that is now deceased.  Does the Bible actually teach this?  Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 4)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 3)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 3) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The biblical record of the making and creating of man in Genesis 1 and 2 is thoroughly engrossing.  God made Adam physically and created Adam spiritually.  His body was the material, and His spirit was the immaterial.  Together, they constituted the human soul.  This combination, and it alone, is peculiar to human beings, separating humans from all other biological life produced by God.  Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 3)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 1)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The disastrous results of the original rebellion of our first parents is incalculable.  Their sin resulted in the moral and spiritual contamination of themselves and all their descendants.  Disease and death are the predictable and inevitable realities every generation since the first have suffered.  The question almost automatically surfaces: If God knows everything, Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 1)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Holy Spirit’s Position in the Trinity 

      The Holy Spirit in the Trinity - Pr. Marv Wiseman

In this present series, we undertake the doctrine of the Holy Spirit of God.  He… and He is referred to in the masculine gender… is not a “thing”, but an “it”, a person.  Not only a person but a divine Person and one who is a full-fledged equal member of the Triune Godhead.  Because the Holy Spirit is commonly referred to as the third Being of the Trinity, as in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, He’s frequently relegated to a role of lesser authority and importance than the Father and the Son, and this is a grievous mistake.  Continue reading “The Holy Spirit’s Position in the Trinity “ →

Marv Wiseman

Christ – His Second Coming (Part 2 )

      Christ: His Second Coming - Part 2 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Those familiar with the subject of biblical prophecy will recall the many times the coming of Christ is mentioned, but, what many do not realize is that both the first and the second comings are referenced multiple times, scores of times, and the Second Coming is prophesied in much more detail many more times than the prophecies concerning His first coming to Bethlehem as the Babe in the manger.  Continue reading “Christ – His Second Coming (Part 2 )” →

Marv Wiseman

Christ – The Necessity of His Death 

      Christ: The Necessity of His Death - Pr. Marv Wiseman

In Romans 3, the Apostle Paul speaks of the death of Christ as revealing the righteousness of God.  How is that?  How could Jesus dying on a Roman cross possibly have anything to do with God being righteous?  It did serve to prove that man was unrighteous by carrying out the cruel crucifixion of the One utterly undeserving of such an end.  But how did Jesus Christ on the Cross demonstrate the righteousness of God?  Herein lies one of the most critical yet least understood aspects of biblical Christianity.  Continue reading “Christ – The Necessity of His Death “ →

Marv Wiseman

Christ – His Baptism and Temptation 

      Christ: His Baptism and Temptation - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Why was Jesus Christ baptized by John, the Baptist?  John, the Baptist, preach to His audience of Jews that they were to repent of their sin and undergo ceremonial water baptism to have their sins remitted.  Little wonder, then, that John refused to baptize Jesus when He arrived on the scene.  Christ simply didn’t qualify for John’s baptism since He was holiness personified and devoid of sin.  Nevertheless, Christ insisted because, as an obedient Jew, He wished to identify with the godly remnant of Israel, saying, “Allow it now to be so, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.”  Continue reading “Christ – His Baptism and Temptation “ →