What Does Prophecy Offer That Scripture Does Not?
As we consider that possible confluence between two streams of theology that to this point have remained largely separate, a key issue that must be clarified is the relationship of Scripture and prophecy.
As Protestants we are convinced that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, sufficient Word of God. We rightly proclaim the doctrine of Scripture alone (sola scriptura) which assures us that the Bible is our sole authoritative rule for faith and practice. When we introduce prophecy, we must grapple with how to practice it in such... Continue Reading
The 10 Commandments of Progressive Christianity #6: Is Christianity Just about Being on a Spiritual “Journey”?
The sixth progressive commandment is “Encouraging the personal search is more important than group uniformity.”
In his sixth chapter, Gulley laments the fact that Christians are so concerned about protecting the church from aberrant views that they stifle free thinking and are even kicking people out who don’t conform. To make his point, he proceeds to tell stories about people he knows who were “disfellowshipped” or “shunned” by their churches... Continue Reading
It’s Not Enough to Have Your Sins Forgiven
Why the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness Is Essential
Paul refers to the righteousness from God, that is, the righteous status God graciously and freely gives to condemned sinners who receive Him by faith. This righteousness, Luther realized, is an alien righteousness. It’s not a righteousness from within the sinner, but rather the perfect, stainless righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to the sinner’s account upon faith.... Continue Reading
A God Thing
Even in the adrenaline pumping retelling of an amazing story, does dubbing the event a “God thing” actually offer the praise due our Sovereign Father?
When Christians take on a new life in Christ, we learn a new vocabulary. Words like “grace,” “forgiveness,” “justify,” and “redemption” grip us with their newfound meanings. But the vocabulary lesson does not end there, and sadly not all Christian-ese is thoroughly Christian. Common church speak can even unintentionally distort the gospel message. Though tempting to many... Continue Reading
Is Anything Impossible with God?
With God, nothing is truly “inconceivable.”
Sarah, by faith, conceives a child. What is truly “inconceivable” is the fact that when Sarah conceives Isaac, she is an old woman. The way of women had ceased to be with her (Gen. 18:11). If that were not enough to startle us, Abraham himself is one hundred years old when he and Sarah conceive... Continue Reading
Yawning at Majesty
How to Fight Boredom with the Bible
The Bible is the most amazing book in the world. And when we’re tempted to feel bored with it, we may need to step back and remember how marvelous and unique and powerful this piece of literature is. The Bible is simply unequaled in its influence, audacious in its claims, and unrivaled in its power... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know About God’s Creative Power
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).
Most of us wake up and go through our day without ever taking note of the sun, except perhaps to complain about it either being obscured by clouds or too hot to stay outside very long. What we rarely if ever consider is the fact that hundreds of billion billion billion billion (that’s 10 with... Continue Reading
The Spirit Who Proceeds
The Son can send the Spirit because He proceeds from the Son just as He proceeds from the Father.
The Father sends the Holy Spirit in the name of the Son (14:26), and biblically speaking, to send in the name of a person is to send someone on behalf of that person. This would mean that the Son agrees in the sending of the Spirit, that the Spirit is His ambassador. In turn, theologians... Continue Reading
Vos, True Religion and General Assembly
The intimate fellowship of the covenant bond between God and man, secured in the Christ of history for his people, is "the essential character of the Christian religion."
Throughout his writings, Vos urges us to join him in scaling the heights of God’s loving purpose across covenant history in order to survey the beauty and richness of the divine glory before that final Day. But he also calls us to make our sin-killing, rejoicing-in-righteousness, child-like fellowship with the Father, in the Son, by... Continue Reading
Why We Need to Talk About Sin
“Talk of hell, damnation and even sin has been replaced by a nonjudgmental language of understanding and empathy.”
The Reformation doctrine of justification helps us to see that our salvation is the work of Christ for us. It also delivers us from a life of doubt and fear that causes us to wonder how God could possibly love sinners like us. It shows us that we have peace with God objectively because Christ... Continue Reading