Last week's sermon was on 1 Peter 3:18-22. During the adult Sunday school class, we looked in some depth at 1 Peter 3:19-20 because it’s one of the most controversial and difficult to interpret passages in the New Testament. But 1 Peter 3:18 is a very important passage in establishing the doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement through the Death of Jesus Christ. Th...

Last week in our adult Sunday school class, we looked in-depth at 1 Pet. 3:19-20, which is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to understand. Some interpreters take this passage to mean that Jesus descended into hell after his death and before his resurrection to preach to spirits held in prison there. These spirits are understood by some to be the souls of a...

On May 1, 2011, Pope Benedict of the Roman Catholic Church granted beatification status to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. The next step in the process is for John Paul to be granted the status of sainthood. With the practice of the Roman Catholic Church as a backdrop, what is the teaching of the Bible on sainthhod?...