Salvation by Propitiation
The death of Christ is—not over and above these images, but inherent and essential to these images—a propitiation.
Propitiation is used in the New Testament to describe the pacifying, placating, or appeasing of God’s wrath. The easiest way to remember the term is that in propitiation God is made pro-us. Unlike expiation, propitiation has a relational component to it. Christ’s death not only removed the moral stain of sin; it also removed the... Continue Reading
Across Continents and Centuries
Why Church History Is Our History
Christ’s family, which he has adopted us into, is everlasting and spans continents and cultures and all the centuries past. We are bound to the living and reigning Christ with all other believers — past and present. We’re family with every saint in the Bible! It is a mystery of grace that in this big,... Continue Reading
Sometimes The QIRC Leads To Rome
A big part of the answer to why evangelicals and others convert to Romanism lies in the acronym QIRC or the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty.
Roman Catholics place implicit trust in the Roman communion, in its synods, its councils, its popes, and in an alleged unwritten Apostolic tradition to get things exactly right. Newman claimed that it was his study of church history that drove him to Rome. As a church historian, I doubt his conclusions and his methods. After... Continue Reading
When Is the First Time We See a New Testament Book Used as Scripture?
For many modern scholars, the key time is the end of the second century.
I think there is evidence that NT books were regarded as Scripture much earlier. And some of this evidence is routinely overlooked. A good example is the widely neglected text tucked away in 1 Tim 5:18: “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and ‘The laborer deserves... Continue Reading
A Tale of Two Religions: Liberal Theology Without Illusions
Jones reduces the death and resurrection of Christ to an emotive experience, recasting the empty tomb not as Jesus’ triumph over sin and death but a symbolic expression of unquenchable love.
From the outset, Jones just dismisses the Bible’s consistent truth claim of the bodily, physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and its centrality to the gospel. The empty tomb in Mark’s gospel clearly suggests that the dead man who once resided in the tomb is now alive—furthermore, the other three gospels and the entire testimony of the... Continue Reading
The Problem of Pain
Right now counts forever.
Whatever else evil is, it is not illusory. We experience the pangs of its impact, not only in an individual sense, but in a cosmic sense. The whole creation groans, we are told by Scripture, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. The judgment of God upon the human race was a judgment... Continue Reading
Paul and Timothy: A Prime Example for Discipleship
The age difference made for a natural father/son discipleship relationship.
There seems to be enough from Scripture to say that Timothy at least knew who Paul was by the time they met in Acts 16. Paul had previously made disciples in Lystra towards the end of his first missionary journey in AD 47–49 (Acts 14:7–23; cf. 13:1–14:28), which probably included Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother... Continue Reading
No private matter – Pt.2
For Paul a public contest between Christians meant both parties were already defeated regardless of rights or wrongs.
There is undoubtedly a place for healthy discussion, for a forum in which issues of major and minor, congregational and personal, concern can be worked through. But to wade into the marketplace with vitriol and vindictiveness against a brother or sister is never the gospel way, and is always a loss for the cause of... Continue Reading
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
He is the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or could even think.
After Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to inspect the temple, only to find it not in working order, He left to spend the night in Bethany. On His return to the temple the next day, Jesus paused by a fig tree. Looking for figs, He found none. Mark makes clear the reason why. It was... Continue Reading
Power of Problems vs Power of God
4 spiritual lessons we glean from David’s insight so that we can learn to trust god in our trials.
David moves his attention from the power of his problems to the power of his Savior. He doesn’t minimize the problems, he doesn’t ignore the difficulty; he merely puts them in perspective, next to a towering vision of God. God’s protection is a shield: God can and does provide physical protection for his children. In... Continue Reading