The Uniqueness of Christian Service
Christian service is unique for three reasons
“Christian service is about how our redemption in Christ comes into flower in this world. It is what puts hands and feet and lips to God’s holy-love. Once we had as our life’s goal only ourselves. Our self-interest defined our worldview. Now this has changed.” Serving is not, of course, uniquely Christian. Indeed, the... Continue Reading
6 Reasons Catechisms Make Truth Stick
A catechism is a collection of theological questions and answers
“The catechisms are excellent tools to focus like a scope of a rifle. They give us clearer insight into who we are, who God is, how we respond, and how to live life with others. Because of the many faithful pastors who have gone before us, we have at our disposal a collection of confessional,... Continue Reading
The Achilles Heel of the New Perspective on Paul
If it can be shown that some first-century Jews did believe in salvation by works, then the foundation of the NPP would begin to crack.
If so, then these passages prove, argues Cara, that at least some first-century Jews did, in fact, believe in works righteousness. Even if Paul didn’t write these books (though Cara thinks he did), they still show that a works-righteousness mentality was a problem in the first century. It was a big enough problem that the author... Continue Reading
What Advantage Has The Jew? Much In Every Way.
Most American evangelicals seem unaware of the ways the Abrahamic covenant unifies redemptive history
Paul’s question, “what advantage has the Jew?” comes immediately on the heels of his distinction between those who are Jews inwardly and those who are Jews outwardly. He knew that the moment he made that distinction that he faced the same sort of problem he would address in Romans 9: if it is all down... Continue Reading
No, Eternal Subordination of the Son is not a Baptist Cabal
The Reformers left a void, having written so little to reaffirm Patristic and Medieval doctrines of God.
To be sure, Grudem, Ware, and others have taken the error of Eternal Subordination of the Son to new heights (or lows). And Southern Baptist seminaries have failed in many ways to train their seminarians in “classical categories of theology developed in Patristic, Medieval, and Reformed orthodox thought.” But much more troubling to me is... Continue Reading
How to Interpret Your Life Events to Experience Peace and Joy
It is not the facts of our lives that bring us trouble or blessing, but our interpretation of them.
We can interpret a painful trial in various ways. Interpretation #1: God is not good. He doesn’t care about me. This interpretation will not bless you, but bring you trouble. Same trial, Interpretation #2: Though this is extremely painful, God is sovereign, loving and good. He has ordained this trial ultimately to display his glory and conform... Continue Reading
When Suffering Doesn’t Make Sense
God providentially controls our suffering. But why He sends suffering is not always obvious to us. How do we handle such situations?
There can be an apparent disconnect, at least in the short term, between a person’s spiritual life and their outward circumstances. Sometimes evil people prosper while godly people may face enormous suffering (Psalm 73). Turning to the Lord is not a quick fix for all our difficulties. It may bring on greater difficulties. Ultimately, the Lord... Continue Reading
It’s Not the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone that Saves—It’s Christ Who Saves
The doctrine of justification by faith alone does not save—only Jesus saves.
If there’s anything that would refute the idea that you can be saved by believing in the doctrine of justification by faith alone would be the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Because the doctrine of justification by faith alone precludes the idea that you could be saved by believing other than believing in... Continue Reading
Are Evangelicals Responsible for the Post-Truth Culture?
The author argues that we are in a “post-truth” climate created by a shift in truth values, and holds Evangelicals responsible for this shift.
Worthen characterizes this [presuppositionalism] as the idea that although all people view the world through inbred preconceptions, only Christians have access to absolute truth. The result, she concludes, is that “if this sounds like the forerunner of modern cultural relativism, in a way, it is.” Rephrased, the evangelical contention that only a biblical worldview affords... Continue Reading
The Bottle Dungeon
The Bible describes hell as a place of punishment, reserved for those who rebel against God.
No one can really know what hell is like. While we can affirm certain characteristics, we cannot be dogmatic about it, but we must acknowledge it is real. It relates to the justice and wrath of a holy God, inflicted upon all those who reject the One who suffered its torments on Calvary’s cross. ... Continue Reading