The Only Topic More Controversial Than Religion or Politics
Bridging divides is going to be much harder than we want to think.
We are all dependent on parenting to wean us off of immature thinking. The world we are looking at right now, however, is in large degree a reflection of a major shift in parenting. In The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff make a compelling case that callout culture—the punitive... Continue Reading
Difficult Last Days
When blatant godlessness predominates in society and religious hypocrisy characterizes many in the church, it is a bad day.
In the midst of the normal brokenness and trials that characterize the groanings of creation (Rom. 8:20–22) there will emerge seasons of unusual peril, which Paul calls “times of difficulty.” Christians should expect them, take note of them, and respond appropriately to them. Sometimes Christians must live and minister through unusually difficult seasons. But... Continue Reading
God Is Faithful to Forgive Your Sins
You don’t need a priest, pastor, or any other mediator outside of Christ to do this.
When we sin, we experience a disruption in our fellowship with God through the defilement sin brings. Sin is alienating and disruptive to proper fellowship with Christ. As saints who still sin, we regularly have need to be restored in the knowledge that we are forgiven and cleansed before the Lord. If we confess... Continue Reading
The Danger of Loveless Discernment
Jesus had a whip for false teachers, but he wept for the deceived.
If we are to practice discernment in love, we must discern with precision, humility, and sorrow—not to temper the truth, but rather that we might bolster the truth with our love that we might more honor Christ and persuade the erring. Turbulent times call for bold Christians. In days like these the church of... Continue Reading
The Christian Light in This Present Darkness
Our hope is never in the person on the throne or in the oval office, but the One who sits enthroned above them.
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Four simple sentences. Hard to do, but if we were governed by these principles, our world would be a better place and our witness would shine all the brighter. Headed into 2020, we knew this would be a trying year for America. A presidential... Continue Reading
Jesus in the Gospel of John—the Bread of Life
When Jesus describes Himself as the bread of life, He is pointing to Himself as a staple for sustaining life. But He is saying much more.
We feed on Christ who literally became flesh and blood and literally poured out His life unto death. We feed through faith and that as a gift of God (John 6:36-39, 65; cf. John 1:12-13; 20:31). In other words, it is through participation in Christ’s saving work that we have eternal life and will never... Continue Reading
Who Are the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6?
The flood narrative itself is often regarded as mythological but the intermarriage of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of man,” is seen as blatant myth.
The assumption in this interpretation of Genesis 6 is that “the sons of God” refers to angelic beings. Why do some biblical interpreters make this assumption? The simple answer is that the Scriptures sometimes refer to angels as sons of God, and it is assumed that the reference in Genesis 6 means the same. This... Continue Reading
Resurrection in the Old Testament
The Old Testament has a powerful message about resurrection that speaks to our lives today.
Job is the book of the Bible that was written first, and as such it asks important questions that the rest of the Bible will answer. One of those questions comes from Job himself in Job 14:14, “If a man dies, will he live again?” Job knows that death is permanent (14:10–11) and that once... Continue Reading
Groaning for Justice: The Theology of What is Happening
The people in the streets protesting don’t even know it, but their groans and cries for justice are part of the desire for the great revealing.
When Paul writes “the glory that is to be revealed”, he is writing about the apocalypse. The apocalypse does not mean an end, as so many people presume. It means a revelation. We are headed toward a great revealing. The things unseen will become seen. Every day moves us closer to that revealing. We do... Continue Reading
Salvation in Christ Alone: What Is “The Great Exchange”?
Christians know Christ paid their debt on the cross, but he did even more for every believer.
In his humanity, Jesus is the “last Adam.” He was born under the law, kept it perfectly, and was qualified as the perfect Adam (man) to save God’s people (Rom. 5:15-19). The apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear in Romans, chapter 5, that Jesus succeeded where Adam failed, and as death came to all through... Continue Reading