In Defense Of Church Discipline
I suspect that when some people talk about discipline they’re only thinking of local, unaccountable pastors. In Reformed churches it isn’t so or at least it ought not be.
In the Reformed churches our process is laid out in church orders that have their roots in the 16th century. I don’t know much about the polity of the Acts 29 churches but in the Reformed churches officers are accountable to broader (or higher) assemblies and courts. Our process to excommunication takes months and years.... Continue Reading
Is Rachel Dolezal a New Caitlyn Jenner?
Why is Jenner brave and Dolezal a coward? We should not fail to see the absolute parallelism of these two biographies.
Even if we were to fault Dolezal for lying, would we fault a transgender woman for identifying herself as a woman if she moved to another state, checking the “female” box on forms or using the women’s restrooms, or would we expect her to reveal her old gender in every conversation? Would she be lying... Continue Reading
Christians Need To Stop Playing The Self-Flagellation Game
Christians shouldn’t blame their sisters and brothers when, as Jesus predicted, the world doesn’t love Christ and therefore doesn’t love his Christians.
When Christians play the self-flagellation game and insist that all of Jesus’ disciples need to spend some time reflecting on their own sins, they tend to forget that the secular world is made up of sinners, too—sinners who enjoy fornication and cruelty and selfishness and who will gladly enact laws that allow them to feast... Continue Reading
5 Most Abused Christian Terms
The Christian faith is regularly abused and misused, as are key Christian terms and concepts.
Matthew 7:1 is perhaps the most abused verse in the entire Bible. The idea that Christians should never judge is as unbiblical as you can get. Everywhere Scripture commands us to judge, to discern, to assess, and to make moral pronouncements and judgments. Not to do so is a sign of disobedience and rebellion. All... Continue Reading
Pray Like a Child
When I do seek God in prayer, I often think I need to do some work on my life first. Rather than coming before him as I am.
There are many things about childhood we ought to leave behind. But when it comes to dependence and complete reliance upon our Abba, our Father, we need to be just like little children. This is never more true than in our prayer life. We need to come to him just as we are, empty handed,... Continue Reading
Sanctification and Union with Christ
The indicative of our sanctification is established through union with Christ. The imperative of our sanctification is enabled through union with Christ, and is exercised through abiding.
I think it is as simple as this. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is saturated with all that is ours “in Christ.” From that ground, Paul gives us our identity and our call. We are to walk (imperative) in a manner worthy of our calling (indicative) in Christ (Eph. 4:1). We are light in the... Continue Reading
The Prospects for Polygamy
I feel safe predicting that polygamy will not be legally recognized, with fanfare and trumpets, in 2025. But it might be recognized in 2040, with a shrug
So it’s hard to imagine polygamy being embraced as a major progressive cause or hailed as the next great civil rights movement. (I’m doubtful that most of Gallup’s pro-polygamy 16 percent see it that way now.) And the courts, being political entities, are unlikely to redefine marriage further merely because the logic of past rulings... Continue Reading
How Christians Walk in the World
Christians belong to the kingdom of God and therefore have a new loyalty to the King
“Christians are in the world in the sense that they occupy the same space, go to the same markets and interact in the same society as non-Christians. They are not people who form their own sub-cultures or ghettos to avoid the world.” Near the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus prayed to the Father... Continue Reading
Time to Address the Issue of Hatesport
Women’s rights and the demands of the LGBTQQ etc. lobby are on a collision course
“It also makes me wonder if it is time to abolish the anachronistic distinction in sport between men’s (sic) and women’s (sic) competitions. Given that this rests upon outdated cisgender and heteropatriarchal categories, the very existence of such would seem to go well beyond a mere microaggression and to be a rather hate-filled and oppressive... Continue Reading
5 Errors of the Prosperity Gospel
The prosperity gospel turns prayer into a tool believers can use to force God to grant their desires
“Over the years, however, the message being preached in some of the largest churches in the world has changed—indeed, a new gospel is being taught to many congregations today. This message has been ascribed many name, such as the “name it and claim it” gospel, the “blab it and grab it” gospel, the “health and wealth”... Continue Reading
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 552
- 553
- 554
- 555
- 556
- …
- 1243
- Next Page »