The Glorious Inefficiency of Prayer
How inefficient to linger in prayer -- unless God is on His throne. Unless He hears.
“Inauspiciously, a prayer meeting in Antioch in Acts 13:1–3 became one of the most important moments in the history of the world. With their prayers and fasting, the church leaders said, God, we want your provision, not our small plans.” Has there ever been greater pressure not to pray? Not just in private but... Continue Reading
How Do You Choose A Bible Translation?
With so many possibilities, which should you choose?
“In general, you could say that Bible translations exist on a kind of continuum or spectrum. You start at one side, you go to the other, and each one of those could be plotted in there somewhere. On the one side of the spectrum, we have what we might call word-for-word translations. On the other... Continue Reading
God-Centered Sacraments
Throughout history, God has confirmed His covenant promises by sacraments, material signs pointing to the reality of His promises.
The sacraments are, first, signs for God — of what He does rather than what we do. Thus, in the Noahic covenant He announces, “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant” (Gen. 9:14–15). The Noahic sacrament, the rainbow, is a sign first... Continue Reading
An Interview with the Author of the Definitive Treatment on Christian Universalism
“Important issues require important books, and McClymond has produced what I suspect will be the definitive treatment of Christian universalism for years to come.”
From my study of historical theology, I was well aware of the intense controversies in the early centuries over Origenism, and of the pushback against Karl Barth’s position on universal election from Emil Brunner and others in the 1950s. This seemed like a question worth exploring: How and why had attitudes changed so decisively in... Continue Reading
Are Good Works Necessary for Salvation?
To answer this question more fully, we need to consider what happened with Adam, our first father.
The original relationship man had with God required much of both parties, just like a marriage. Demands, promises, and curses were attached to the agreement (i.e., covenant) made with the first Adam. These obligations were broken, and the curses of the betrayal (like in marriage) had not only relational effects but legal ones as well.... Continue Reading
Natural Disasters—Chance or God?
What is the reason or motive behind these destructive storms, floods, and fires?
This is not a discussion in the abstract. The power, terror, physical destruction, and psychological fear these events bring upon us are real—they can be seen, they can be felt, and they change us. Unless one has “ridden out” the terror of howling wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and fire, or lost a family member or... Continue Reading
D. A. Carson on the (Ambiguous) Claim ‘This Is a Gospel Issue’
I wonder if we might be having more clear and productive conversations these days if we had taken to heart Carson’s careful definitional distinctions.
“Because of the complex entanglements of theology, with a little imagination one might argue that almost any topic is a gospel issue. At one level or another, everything in any theology that is worth the name is tied to everything else, so it is possible to tie everything to the gospel. In that sense, well-nigh... Continue Reading
Retribution and Redemption
The death penalty has its origin in God's dealings with Noah and those who stepped off of the Ark with him immediately after the flood.
Jesus was in the loins of Noah, so to speak. The nations were also in the loins of Noah. Noah stood as a second Adam, the head of a newly created humanity standing in a typical new creation–though far from being the consummated new heavens and new earth. In order to secure the populating of... Continue Reading
The Idol of Idolatry
As we focus on identifying and smashing the idols in our lives, we sometimes forget to pause and marvel at God’s sufficiency as He uses these fears and struggles for our sanctification.
The problem with the vigilante Christian life was that I concerned myself more with being an expert idol smasher than with seeing God as sufficient in what He was using to sanctify me. Instead of wrestling with matters like my fears, my doubts about God, my love for nature and art, my career plans or... Continue Reading
False Alarms And The Impending Judgment of God
A message more urgent than a nuclear warhead and more inescapable than being trapped on an island with an inbound missile is the coming judgment of God.
Like the proverbial “boy who cried wolf,” many are so accustomed to false alarms they don’t take heed when a warning is actually true. Our warnings of God’s judgment is often met with indifference and sudden attempts to change the conversation. Likewise, the words of the prophet Ezekiel were not heard as he warned of... Continue Reading