Purposeful Suffering: There are God-Ordained Reasons Behind Our Pain
Christians believe God has spoken to the issue of suffering within the pages of Holy Writ.
Importantly, as we read Scripture, we find that God is not surprised by suffering and evil, nor has he lost control of his creation. Instead, everything is being worked out according to his providential purposes (e.g. Eph 1:11). In our deepest and darkest pain there are amazingly God-ordained purposes (cf. 2 Cor 4:17). Stunningly, these... Continue Reading
Argument from Culture
It's an attempt to undermine the legitimacy and primacy of Scripture for Christian living, while claiming to honor the Scripture for what “it really says.”
This argument states that since Christ (or Peter, or John, or Paul, etc.) addressed people bound by a certain place, time, and culture, the message’s proscriptions and prescriptions are likewise bound by a certain place, time, and culture. Scripture does not utter statements once and for all authoritative; rather, it records statements held to be authoritative once... Continue Reading
Avoid Legalism: Emphasize the Law
Recovering the gospel alone isn’t enough to keep legalism at bay.
One passage of Scripture that teaches the distinction between the law as a covenant and the law as a rule of life is Romans 7. Romans 7:4 says that believers have “died to the law through the body of Christ,” showing that we are no longer in a marriage covenant with the law (Rom 7:1-3)... Continue Reading
The Next Generation Needs the Gospel Rather than Another Cheap Pragmatic Trick
When pragmatism takes priority over theology, the church is driven to do all sorts of things in the name of reaching people for Jesus in ways that Jesus would never approve.
Every Christian motto is built upon a theological foundation. It’s either fueled by low theological conviction that takes a backseat to pragmatism or it’s fueled by a high theological conviction that drives decision making and functionality. We want the latter rather than the former. “We must be willing to do whatever it takes the... Continue Reading
Did Jesus’ Ministry Last 3 Years?
Don’t allow your familiarity with the tradition to blind you from careful observation of the text!
We could explore a number of such traditions that Protestants ought to be willing to reconsider in light of the biblical data. In this post, I’ll tackle the typically unexamined maxim that Jesus’ ministry lasted for 3 years. A related assertion is that Jesus was 33 years old when he was crucified. Careful observation of... Continue Reading
Many Hear the Gospel with Joy but Don’t Continue in the Faith
Those who are genuinely saved are those who prove themselves to be doers of the Word.
I once saw a report about a massive international evangelistic campaign in which millions of people supposedly had made decisions for Christ. When I read that, I wondered how many of those decisions for Christ were true conversions and how many of them were spurious. People like what they hear at these events and can... Continue Reading
Is the Attractiveness of Sin Enticing You Right Now?
The people and things we allow into our lives can be tremendous blessings on one end of the spectrum—to horrible disrupters on the other end.
If you are in Christ, you can rest in the fact that Jesus died on the cross for every transgression you have ever committed or ever will commit. Yet, God has also called you to live a holy life, striving to honor him in all things. Believers should never be okay with sin but rather need... Continue Reading
The Scars of Heaven
Glory has glimpses of the suffering that preceded it, but those ‘deep wounds yet visible above’ are now ‘in beauty glorified’.
The scars I bear in my body, my mind, my soul, the adversities and setbacks, the pains that may yet await me before I get to heaven, the relational wounds, the memories from which I struggle to recover, the darkness of doubt and the battles with unbelief, will not necessarily be removed when I get... Continue Reading
Spiritual Warfare (2)
Against Satan’s tactic of temptation, we are to stand firm in Christ’s strength.
Dependence on Christ through whom we can do all things is the lesson learned by Paul through the instrumentality of Satan (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Pride is an ally of the evil one and brings us to resist God rather than the devil. Humility gives ear to God and finds strength in the grace of God... Continue Reading
How Do We Become Spiritually Mature?
The only activity that catalyzes the ongoing sanctifying process is taking in the truth of Scripture.
Cognition—knowing and understanding the truth—is the first step in pursuing spiritual growth through the Word of God. After cognition comes conviction. As we learn the truth of Scripture, we must begin to develop beliefs into convictions. Our lives are controlled by our convictions. As the truth of God’s Word begins to occupy our minds and... Continue Reading