What About Divorce And Abuse?
No matter what one’s view on divorce is, all faithful Christians must be absolutely clear that abuse is a sin and a crime.
When it comes to abuse, one’s view of divorce is not the immediate issue. Those who hold the 2-exceptions view and those who hold the “no divorce ever” view must agree on this: No matter what one’s view on divorce is, all faithful Christians must be absolutely clear that abuse is a sin and a... Continue Reading
What Does It Mean That Scripture Is Inspired?
Scripture is God’s inspired word, but what exactly does that mean?
The biblical word for inspiration is the Greek word theopneustos, but it appears only once in Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). There is no OT word for “inspiration”; one will search the Septuagint in vain for theopneustos or any word like it. Even so, I argue that Scripture teaches its own verbal plenary inspiration. What that means is best... Continue Reading
One Great Difference Between A Covenantal Piety And The American Conversionist Alternative
By conversionism I mean the view that unless one can remember a specific time, event, or experience during which one became a believer, one is most likely not actually converted
“Suffice it to say that the biblical picture of salvation is rather different. Our Lord in no way implied in Revelation 3:20 that humans have the ability to will the contrary. The same God who sent 10 plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt, who parted the Red Sea, and who delivered his people through it on... Continue Reading
Why Deprived Communities Need More Than A Social Gospel
The main issue with the social gospel is that it doesn’t save anybody
“Nobody is ushered into the kingdom because we put on some nice social services for them. Nobody came to Christ because we were really nice to them without bothering to share the gospel with them. Any social work we might do is only of any value if we actually use it as a vehicle for... Continue Reading
Show Up. Do Something. See What God Does.
God seems to bless us with fresh opportunities when we live expectantly
“Part of expecting God to do something is learning that, whatever you do, he will probably bring the opportunities and the fruit indirectly. He delights to work in ways that prevent us from claiming the glory for what he has done. That frees us up to go forth with confidence, even if our plans are... Continue Reading
What Judges Teaches the Church
Churches have seen sudden decline from one generation to another. How can we understand and prevent this kind of calamity?
The book of Judges provides a very clear answer to our questions. Its answer does not say everything that might be said in general, but it does say specific, crucial things that we must ponder to understand both Israel’s situation and our vulnerability. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the... Continue Reading
How Are You Reshaping God Based on Your Fears?
Like the Israelites, our counterfeit gods always grow out of distrust and fear.
We feel like we need something beyond God and his promises. We don’t want to get rid of God per se, but we aren’t willing to accept him on his own terms. So instead of completely walking away from God, we just reshape him into a form that guarantees he gives us something in the way... Continue Reading
The Apostle’s Creed: In Jesus Christ
Jesus is a real person, the Son of God incarnate. We confess his name.
First, the believer is making a confession in the person Jesus Christ. The Creed will go on to confess the uniqueness of his birth, his suffering death by crucifixion, he descent into hades, his resurrection, and his ascension and session at the right hand of God. We begin by confessing his identity: his name is... Continue Reading
False Teaching Out There and In Here
We need to take heed to ourselves and our teaching even as we seek to protect God’s people from errors.
God’s Word is the best means for growing solid Christians. Our calling as pastors and teachers is to equip our people so that they are able to discern the right path, the God-ordained path, and to walk in it. We know that heretics always appeal to the Bible, so we have to equip our people... Continue Reading
11 False Assumptions About Christianity
Christianity is always being challenged; here are some answers to false assumptions.
All Religions teach the same thing. Many people today attempt to dismantle the claims of religion before they even hear them by asserting (not arguing) that all religions teach the same thing. In truth, each religion makes very different claims and assumptions about reality. There may be superficial agreement about the Golden Rule, but the gospel of the... Continue Reading