Reverse Engineering the Logic of Scripture
Undertaken in a considered and textually respectful way, reverse engineering actually serves to preserve rather than pervert meaning.
Particularly in the New Testament epistles it is vitally important to remember that these were originally documents designed to be read, and also studied. This means that the line of logic would be preserved in the worship of the church precisely because they would often be conveyed in their entirety, with their holistic concerns being... Continue Reading
“Christianity and Liberalism” and the Old Testament as History
Mercifully, gloriously, this God of the Bible is eager to be known, and is generous in his self-disclosure.
If the events that the Old Testament narrates really did happen in time and space as it records, then we see a God who exists independent of man’s imaginings, who acted on his own initiative and according to his own plan, who is, in fact, real! That is something that is relevant to all people... Continue Reading
When Old They’ll Still Bear Fruit
Growing old is really hard, but there are unique benefits that come to the friends and family of those who age well in Jesus Christ.
Unless Jesus returns or we die young, all of us will grow old. The Lord gives us examples to show us the way. How do we endure through pain? How do we navigate the loss of close friends? How do we continue to serve even as our bodies give way? Praise God for those who... Continue Reading
Are You Receiving Biblical or Biblicist Counseling?
In biblicism the interpreter, not Scripture, becomes sovereign.
The biblicist counselor isolates a verse of Scripture that appears to speak to the issue at hand and then applies it wrongly to the counselee, in part because the counselor is not reading Scripture with the church, its confessions, or its most trusted theologians and scholars. Instead, they isolate Scripture from Scripture (a most important... Continue Reading
The Most Attractive Quality in a Leader
The inside is bigger than the outside.
You can hear it in their prayers. You can see it in their homes. You can tell by hearing the jokes they make (or decide not to make), the controversies they avoid, the judgments they pass (or don’t), the way they interact with their families, the things they spend their money on, the way they... Continue Reading
Why You Should Not Let Hollywood Catechize Your Children
Today TV is selling us on the third wave of the sexual revolution.
That children’s programming is now deliberately seeking to instruct young children in the sexual revolution, is clear evidence that it is being driven by an alien and hostile understanding of God and nature. It is teaching children than disorder is order, that what is unnatural is natural, that what is sin is righteousness. Had... Continue Reading
The Test of True Worship
True worship continues to worship God when the storms of life are raging.
The Bible teaches three facts of life: God is good. God is all-powerful. Terrible things happen. Any two of these facts make sense together if you exclude one. It does not matter which one you exclude. To embrace all three makes no sense. But faith involves believing all three truths at the same time. And... Continue Reading
Why We Must Keep Seeking Forgiveness from God
Our Father in heaven is always ready to forgive his beloved children.
Despite our right standing with him, God our Father doesn’t always approve of the things we do—things that are not right to do. We stumble in sin daily, and we grieve the Spirit when we intentionally sin against our own God-given conscience (Jas 3:2; Eph 4:30). Even though the Father loves us always and won’t... Continue Reading
Spiritual Narcissism, Spousal Abuse
Are churches an unknowing co-conspirator?
Paul tells us not “to boast” in our church work. Jesus tells us that husbands were ordained to emotionally bond with their wives, to serve created yearnings for intimate relationships both with spouse and with God. To substitute something else instead (like relishing in the accolades from church volunteerism or even relishing in the success... Continue Reading
A Better Vine
Jesus claims, “I am the true vine”, i.e. the one to whom Israel pointed, the one that brings forth good fruit.
In John 15:1, Jesus spoke his seventh and final “I Am” (εγω ειμι): a self-identification of all that he is and all that he came to do as the true Israel of God. In saying “I am the true vine,” Christ drew from Old Testament language concerning the old covenant people of God. Of... Continue Reading