The Christian Life as Death and Resurrection
The New Testament makes clear that no one can belong to Christ who does not give himself fully as a sacrifice to him.
Yet Paul’s command also includes not being conformed to the world in its “morality.” Many are motivated to be “nice” or to be a “good person” because of its benefits in this life—to be liked, to gain the accolades of man, to be popular and ultimately to be successful. Some even attempt to be good... Continue Reading
The Least Mentioned Sin?
From the catalogue of sins and injustices we hear about in our day, bribery is almost entirely absent.
Do I gravitate toward and surround myself with those whom I believe will help my own cause and build my own kingdom, or do I seek to love and care for those in God’s Kingdom who bring me no personal advancement or gain? Do my private dealings reveal a heart of justice? If they were... Continue Reading
Distraction Can Cost You Everything
One of Jesus’s most repeated sayings in the Gospels is some version of this: “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
God’s ways truly are not our ways. None of us would have written the story of redemption the way God has. The story itself points to a Personality and intentionality behind it. And if we’re paying attention, we can detect the same Personality and intentionality in the strange way Jesus communicates the kingdom of God... Continue Reading
The Church and Israel in the Old Testament
Since Jesus Christ is the new Israel, those united to Him by faith are incorporated into the Israel of God
“Being part of this new covenant Israel is, thus, not a matter of physical descent from Abraham, but rather sharing Abraham’s repentance and faith (Luke 3:8). The new people of God includes Jews and Gentiles together (Gal 3:28), as both are grafted into the new olive tree, Christ/ Israel (Rom. 11:17–24).” In the beginning,... Continue Reading
It’s Not Until…
It's not until we go through the trials of life commensurate with those of the Psalmist that will we ever draw strength from the imprecatory Psalms and the Psalms of lament
“God opens the comfort and hope of certain portions of His word to our souls, when we suffer some particularly difficult trial. Such was the case for me when my mother passed away. Those Scriptures that spoke of the reality and sting of death and the hope of the resurrection were all experientially theoretical, so... Continue Reading
Heaven on Earth?: Where Do I Go When I Die?
There is an existence beyond this one. No one fails to slip the surly bonds of earth.
“If we’re not happy with the things of Jesus, the gospel, and the glory of God on earth, we most certainly won’t be happy with Heaven. Heaven isn’t the perfection of what WE want on earth in our sinful flesh. No. Heaven is all about Jesus.” Where you going, Dad? This question, above all... Continue Reading
Taste Test: Experiencing God in Trials
If you have tasted that the Lord is good and experienced his grace, you won’t want to offend him by sinning and breaking his commandments
“If a slab of Lindt Swiss chocolate came with a warning label that it could cause mild lead poisoning, I’d still eat the whole thing. Why? Because I have tasted it. And it is good. In Psalm 34 David uses this line of theological reasoning too.” There are important pros and cons to weigh... Continue Reading
The Church and Israel in the New Testament
There is only one good olive tree, and the same olive tree exists across the covenantal divide.
God does not cut the old tree down and plant a new one (replacement theology). Neither does God plant a second new tree alongside the old tree and then graft branches from the old tree into the new tree (traditional dispensationalism). Instead, the same tree exists across the divide between Old and New Testaments. That... Continue Reading
The Good We Never Ask For
What God Does for Us in Suffering.
If asked, “Do you want to be closer to Jesus, and more like him?” we all know what we should say. Yet, if God answered all our prayers for relief from suffering, he would be delivering us from the very thing we say we want. Christlikeness is something to long for, not be delivered from.... Continue Reading
The Only Intoxication the Bible Advises
God intends intoxicating delight for every married couple, but it’s only possible when we do it according to the way of wisdom.
The Song of Solomon appropriately celebrates the only kind of intoxication that the Bible advises, which is that we should be drunk on the love of our wives and husbands, but it celebrates that intoxication with a clear-eyed, morning-after sobriety. It doesn’t present the unimproved, unexamined, sophomoric, sickly sweet cotton candy goo of immature infatuation. Last... Continue Reading