Tag Archives: Death

“THE BODY OF SIN” (ROMANS 6:6) — PART THREE

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

[Continued from Part Two] [QUESTION. What does Paul mean by the phrase “body of sin” in Romans 6:6? Is he referring to the physical body? And if so, in what sense is it a body “of sin”?] ANSWER. In Romans six the Apostle Paul presents us with some very good news about what happened to us when we were baptized into Christ. In that moment, he says, our sin-corrupted souls died with Christ and were raised up to walk in new spiritual life. One great benefit of this is that our physical bodies, which in this life are under the … Continue reading →

SIN-EATER — OR SIN-BEARER? A COMMUNION MEDITATION

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

SIN-EATER – OR SIN-BEARER? A Communion Meditation – Jack Cottrell QUESTION: Do you think it is acceptable for someone giving the communion meditation to just read or otherwise relate what someone else has written? ANSWER: Of course it is! That is why someone like me goes to the trouble of writing and publishing such meditations! In fact, here is one I just prepared and shared with my congregation recently: From time to time in modern fiction we see a character called the “sin-eater.” One story that many remember is a 1972 episode from “The Night Gallery” called “The Sins of … Continue reading →

Saved by Grace #13 — ORIGINAL SIN–OR ORIGINAL GRACE?

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

What about babies—when they are conceived, while in the womb, at birth? Are they under law, or under grace? This question is actually raised and answered in Romans 5:12-19, where Adam’s sin is contrasted with Christ’s cross. The issue being settled here is simply this: which of these is stronger? Which prevails over the other? At least since the time of Augustine (d. A.D. 430), the Christian world has tended to focus on what this text says about Adam more than what it says about Christ. Most see it as teaching the doctrine of ORIGINAL SIN. What does this phrase … Continue reading →

Homosexuality and the Biblical World View

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW © Jack Cottrell – July 17, 2015 [NOTE: I preached this as a sermon at First Church of Christ, Greendale IN, on July 19, 2015. There I gave it the title, “The Sermon I Don’t Want To Preach.” That title was literally true, since I would actually have preferred to preach on something else. But recent events in our country’s history have led me to conclude that we as a church need to know what the Bible says about gay marriage, and about homosexuality as such. That is the rationale for this message.] It … Continue reading →

YOUR WORST ENEMY: DEATH

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

YOUR WORST ENEMY: DEATH! (A sermon by Jack Cottrell — October 2014) INTRODUCTION. We all know about villains: Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, Freddy Krueger, Godzilla, the Joker, the Penguin—to name a few fictitious ones. In real life we could name Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Sadam Hussein. The worst villain of all, though, is DEATH! The event of death may be defined simply and briefly as the loss of life. As a state, death is simply the absence of life (where life is the normal state). It is a state of separation from the source of life. We … Continue reading →

THE ATONEMENT AND PHYSICAL HEALING

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

QUESTION: I have friends who believe that the healing of physical diseases is one of the results of the atonement. They believe that Jesus died to bring us healing of our bodies. Thus if we are Christians, we should receive physical healing and should not be sick. What does the Bible say? ANSWER: This view is found in a variation of the modern Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. It is sometimes called the Word of Faith (or Word Faith) Movement, or the Health and Wealth Movement (or Prosperity Gospel). Worldwide, it is one of the largest and fastest-growing forms of Christendom. … Continue reading →

A TRIBUTE TO SAM GONZALEZ

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

ABOUT MY FRIEND AND FELLOW-LABORER IN CHRIST, SAMUEL GONZALEZ (1949-2013) By JACK COTTRELL JULY 31, 2013 [The following is the tribute I was privileged to give at the memorial service for Sam Gonzalez, one of the founders of the Yucatan Peninsula Christian Mission, who died on May 31, 2013 at the age of 63.] In one of his newsletters, Brother Sam quoted Jeremiah 48:10: “A curse on him who is lax in doing the LORD’s work!” Then he said, “With this verse in mind we want to start the year making plans for serving the Lord to the most of … Continue reading →

What Happens to Us When We Die?

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

What Happens to Us When We Die? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 12:25pm QUESTION: What happens to us when we die? Do believers go directly to heaven at the moment of death? What is the relation between our death, on the one hand; and Christ’s second coming, the resurrection, and the final judgment, on the other hand? ANSWER: The answers to these questions require a lot more space than is available here. I have discussed them fully in my College Press books, The Faith Once for All (see the final chapters) and Bible Prophecy and … Continue reading →