[Book Review] The Courage to Be Protestant
The evangelical movement has not remained unaffected by the spirit of the age, but has in many ways submitted itself to its dictates under the false guise of relevancy and reaching the culture.
What is the church to do? “It is time for us to recover our lost universe. What we need to do is to think, once again, with an entirely different set of connections. The connections are not primarily in reference to self, but to God. The connections that have to be reforged in the moral... Continue Reading
Why Evangelicals Need to Stop Saying ‘It’s a Relationship, Not a Religion’
While God's essence and divine character may be holy and fixed, His relatability to humanity is capable of being swayed.
To put it differently, God’s actuality adapts to humanity’s actions, prayers, sins, and cultural changes. He is divine, yet He is also relatable and personal. It is precisely this thinking that provides a foundation for the well-intentioned, but cringe-worthy, Christian catch-phrase, “It’s a relationship, not a religion”. There are movements within Evangelical Christianity that are... Continue Reading
What to Do When the New Testament Quotes the Old
If we read our Bibles only like 21st century students at institutions of higher education, we will not be reading them like 1st century commoners, or even nobility, receiving these remarkable works of literature from the hands of Jesus’ first followers.
When a NT author quotes the OT, he believes the OT passage has an argument to make that he now commandeers for his own use. The quotes are not window dressing, with the real argument coming before or after the quote. No, the quotes are a fundamental part of the argument. The quotes contain the... Continue Reading
No Ordinary Mercy
The gift of salvation is no ordinary mercy.
Lazarus was dead. His heart had been motionless and his brain dead for four days. His body could neither move nor will to move. The supernatural power that raised him from the grave is the same omnipotent power that raises us from our spiritual deadness. If you are a Christian, you have been raised from... Continue Reading
The Spirit and Union with Christ
Our Spirit-wrought union with Christ is now the defining feature of our lives.
Ferguson reminds us that “union with Christ by the Spirit is grounded in his union with us in our humanity.” In other words, Jesus became flesh in order to become the firstborn of a saved humanity. Therefore, the Spirit’s work of uniting us to Christ is equally a work of returning and restoring to us... Continue Reading
Christian Fire Chief Receives $1.2 Million for Violations of His Religious Liberty
Fire Chief Cochran’s victory reveals—once again—that freedom of religion and freedom of speech are often intertwined.
In December 2017, a federal district court recognized that the city of Atlanta’s actions were unconstitutional. The court struck down Atlanta’s policy that requires government employees to receive permission before engaging in free speech outside of their jobs, the very policy the city used to justify firing Cochran. The Story: A fire chief that was fired for... Continue Reading
The Pastor’s Job Isn’t to Fix Things
The pastor’s job—and his great delight—is to minister.
A father who cuddles his hurting daughter is ministering comfort, a doctor who tends to a wound is ministering healing, and a pastor who carries out his calling well is ministering truth. His unique role is not to solve problems but to minister the Word to the people under his care. He ministers the Word... Continue Reading
Dangers of Non-Christocentric Preaching: Misapplied Sermons
Our goal must be to seek to know how, through Christ, we can walk in line with the gospel and render the obedience of faith.
There are various saviors in the Bible who serve as types of the promised skull-crushing Savior, and Judges is no different. The Holy Spirit records that, although these warrior-saviors were often flawed in action, they were not so flawed in faith (Heb 11:32-35). Applying one’s life to the truth of a biblical text can never... Continue Reading
Are Science and Faith Compatible? Concept 2: The Cosmological Conundrum
Good science says the best conclusion about the origin of the universe is it had a beginning—thus a beginner, a creator.
God created everything out of nothing in such a way that nothing can be made from nothing. Such is the truth pointing to the glory of our Creator God as Paul wrote in Romans 1:21 – “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in... Continue Reading
How and Why Do Christians Imitate Christ?
We look first to Christ’s merits for us and then only should we talk about imitation.
According to Paul, when Adam sinned, we all sinned in him and when he died spiritually, so did we. By nature, after the fall, we are incapable of doing anything toward salvation. We are utterly helpless. To blur the line between Jesus and his people then creates the impression that if we only pull a... Continue Reading
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