The Comfort of “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”
We can only imagine what a comfort these words were to the troubled disciples.
Those who belong to Christ and follow him are the only ones who know the way to the Father, and there is no other way to the Father. Consequently, all those religions—including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and others that claim that by following their way we can reach heaven—are all wrong. There is only one way,... Continue Reading
“Christianity and Liberalism” and Hermeneutical Presuppositions
Before the liberal even opens the Bible to see what it says, he is committed in principle to explaining away its miracles.
The differences between Christianity and liberalism continue to propagate in biblical studies, and are, if anything, more pervasively influential than in Machen’s day. The hermeneutical presuppositions of liberalism are the presuppositions of modernity and secularity—a vision of a world that consists of matter and human beings without the presence and activity of God. In... Continue Reading
“A Form of Killing That We Need to Be Able to Defend”
"Okay, so it’s killing, but we need to defend this kind of killing because it’s 'a life worth sacrificing.'”
As pro-lifers have increased the strength of their case that abortion kills innocent human beings, we’ve seen pro-choicers engage in less and less hiding from this truth and more and more convoluted and desperate justifications of abortion. Feminist Sophie Lewis has a series of videos promoting her new book, Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against... Continue Reading
What We Lose When We Collapse the Four Gospels into One
Each Gospel also has its own style and pace that communicate truths about Jesus.
Many people read the Bible a verse or two at a time, simply looking for a quick dose of inspiration. They might think they’re faithful Bible readers, but they’re barely scratching the surface. They’ve been trained to read small sections—not entire books—of the Bible, and this practice negatively affects their reading experience. The ordinary... Continue Reading
Evangelical Evolution?
Evolution requires that Genesis 1 is teaching theology but not teaching history.
As a Bible teacher and theologian, my concern is the necessary beliefs that flow from the Word of God. For the ultimate issue involved with evolution is biblical authority: must the Bible submit to the superior authority of secularist dogma? Or may the believer still confess together with Paul: “Let God be true though everyone... Continue Reading
Avoiding an Eskimo Theology of Jesus
Do we have a robust place for understanding and appreciating the life of Jesus Christ in the heart of our theology?
Proof-texting or systematic theologies have particular purposes and evaluating the detailed events of Jesus’ life may not naturally fit with those purposes. But is it possible we could grow in integrating the life of Jesus Christ into the articulation of our theology? Would our theology be different if Jesus had lived among the Eskimos... Continue Reading
Virtue Signaling and Historical Presentism
The recognition that our heroes were also sinners should lead to historical humility and vigilance.
I am aware that mediating positions on difficult subjects are not popular in our social media environment, but I would recommend one anyway. We should be candid and forthright about the failings of people in the past, but we should not flatter ourselves by assuming we would have done better in their situation. One... Continue Reading
Stop Praying “Be With” Prayers
Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28 v 20).
If you were to record my prayers, I have a sad suspicion you’d hear a lot of “be with”: “Dear Lord, I pray you will be with Tom as he goes to work, and be with Mary also, who’s having her wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday, and be with… and be with… and be with…... Continue Reading
Do You Have to Go Twice?
The Benefits of Evening Worship
Will one service strengthen our faith? Sure! Will a morning service feed our souls with spiritual milk? Absolutely! But a second service, whereby Christ and his glories are set before us, provides even more food to fatten the sheep. In addition, the evening service gives more opportunity to hear the “whole counsel of God.” More... Continue Reading
Maybe There’s Too Much Rain
Sometimes a brown lawn doesn’t mean there’s been too little rain; it means there’s been too much.
Rain, we tend to think, is about life. It’s about growth. It’s about prosperity. It’s about plenty. And most of us live in a state of rain, for we indeed have plenty. And perhaps that is part of the problem. At the first sign of adversity, we might tend to throw our hands up in... Continue Reading