Reasonable Reasoning Together from the Scriptures
We are better together, even when it comes to understanding the Bible.
We must admit that we all bring our backgrounds and biases to the Scriptures. But, that does not change the truth of the Scriptures. Our biases and backgrounds simply mean we must ask for humility and illumination from the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit to help us see what’s really in the text. It... Continue Reading
The Spirit’s Presence from the Old to the New Testament
Whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament the Spirit indwells believers.
Perhaps when Jesus said that the Spirit was with the disciples He did not actually mean that the Spirit only hovered around them but rather the Spirit was with them in a special way because He was with Jesus. There is an interesting view that circulates around the church about the Holy Spirit. It... Continue Reading
How to Pray Against Satan
May we never forget, in all our prayers, that “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
What are we to pray when it comes to our war with Satan and his demonic hosts? How does prayer factor into our obedience to the command that if we “resist” Satan “he will flee” from us (James 4:7)? There is, admittedly, a lot we don’t know or understand about prayer. How it is... Continue Reading
The Struggles of the Christian Life
You have an opportunity each day to glorify God in the way you respond to the struggles you face.
As you face struggles in your life today, whether they be great or small, know that God has a purpose and plan behind each of them. We are never at the hand of fate or chance. The Christian has a loving heavenly father who is testing, correcting, and building our faith by the situations of... Continue Reading
The Two Popes, Rahner, and Divine Immutability
Even while maintaining immutability in the essence of God, some theologians have recently sought to locate change in the divine persons.
God exists, yet he does not change. He is immutable in his essence as well as in each of the three persons. Certainly, creation changes in relation to God, and we may speak about that change in certain ways (e.g. we once were children of wrath but now are under grace), yet God remains unchanged.... Continue Reading
The Spiritual Ontology of the Church
What we are in Christ defines what we are in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the communion of saints.
The Bible’s simple but unequivocal response to the idea that the church is nothing more than a spiritual version of the Rotary Club, Boys Scouts or any other voluntary organisation is captured in Paul’s words to the Corinthians. “You are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). For the apostle... Continue Reading
Is There a Place for Priscilla in Our Churches?
Should women teach theology to men?
I do understand the concerns with upholding the qualifications for ordained leadership, but in our zeal to defend qualified male ordination in our churches, we need to be careful not to restrict women beyond what Scripture teaches. All men and women in the church have gifts and talents that should be used to bless the... Continue Reading
No, Complementarianism Is Not Inherently Misogynistic
Just as complementarian leadership is nothing like how egalitarians portray it, so too complementarian submission isn’t what it has been made out to be.
Just as Jesus’s submission to his Father’s didn’t diminish Him, so too our own submission—whether as a wife to her husband (Eph 5:22) or a congregation to our spiritual leaders (Heb. 13:17)—isn’t about inferiority. It is, instead, an opportunity to imitate Christ! Complementarianism is the belief that God made male and female different and... Continue Reading
A Letter to the Weary Pastor
Sometimes we expect things from ministry that God alone is meant to provide.
Often our ministries will not grow and mature as quickly as we might like, but remember that God’s hand is upon it, pushing it forward at his pace. His slow pace is deliberate. Why? Because God wants us to slow down, to pause, ponder, savor, and celebrate all that he is doing in the world... Continue Reading
Christians Need Not Fear Scientific Inquiry
This does not mean that we should uncritically accept all pronouncements and pontifications of scientists.
When we oversimplify theology or oversimplify science, we encounter many difficulties between the two. Science is a complex enterprise. So is theology. Their relationship is to be studied closely and deeply if we are to discover an ultimate harmony between them. There is a sense in which the Christian should be the most passionate... Continue Reading
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