Sexual Consent in a Confused, Confusing World
The problem with so much of today’s talk of consent is that it studiously avoids grounding it in the only appropriate context for sexual activity.
Sex—with its nakedness, its vulnerability, and its intimacy—is very powerful. It is risky, even, and this is why God has set it in a particular context. According to God, the creator of human sexuality, marriage is the only appropriate context for sexual activity of any kind. Within marriage, sex flows out of the commitment formalized... Continue Reading
Don’t Expect a Spectacular Christian Life
I suspect one reason we struggle with public and private spiritual disciplines around the Word and prayer is because we expect them to be extraordinary.
We seem to think our discipline issues are due to some sort of discipline defect—and yet we execute spiritual disciplines every day. Even if you rarely touch your Bible, you’re always disciplining yourself toward certain activities you believe will open the door to spiritual vitality and joy. How are your spiritual disciplines? Take a... Continue Reading
Lest There be any Confusion as to Grace, Works, Faith, and Salvation
C. Hodge: "Salvation is in no sense, and in no degree, of works"
“That the guilty should stand before God with self-complacency, and refer his salvation in any measure to his own merit, is so abhorrent to all right feeling that Paul assumes it (Rom. 4:2) as an intuitive truth, that no man can boast before God. And to all who have any proper sense of the holiness... Continue Reading
Eight Dangers of Pursuing Applause
John Brown lists the rancid fruit of “indulging in ambitious inclinations” which leads us to “hunt after vainglory and applause from men”
As I read Brown’s counsel I not only try to apply it to my life as a pastor but also as a pastor who uses social media. A lust for platform—whether it’s being able to brag about baptism numbers or Twitter followers—will always take you further than you wanted to go. You might even succeed... Continue Reading
Parallelomania
It is quite the fashion these days in scholarly circles to find parallels between biblical texts and either Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) texts, for the Old Testament, or Greco-Roman texts, for the New Testament.
One could argue, I suppose, that God could somehow use already existing human materials in a new way in the process of inspiration. However, that is not how parallelomaniacs argue. They argue that the biblical text is fully derivative. They start from an assumption that the Bible could not possibly be breathed out by God. It is... Continue Reading
A Christianity So ‘Cool’, It’s To Die For
To suggest, as the headline of the Vice.com article does, that Christianity must somehow be made palatable as to be acceptable (cool) to the masses, is to completely misunderstand Christianity.
To you who may consider yourselves among the generation of ‘woke’ young Christians who desire to make Christianity cool again, as if following Jesus were a fad that comes and goes as the culture shifts, I challenge you to look beyond the comfort zone of your peer group and remember that Christ did not die... Continue Reading
Victims and Victimizers and a Sin-Sick World
Life continues to give me opportunities to reflect on the abhorrent nature of sin
Sin begets sin and victimization begets victimization. I think back to the “creep” that Kohl saw in the woods, and can’t help but wonder whether he was a potential victimizer or a victim himself. Perhaps he was a pervert eager to act out. Perhaps he was a violent offender waiting for a victim. Aileen... Continue Reading
4 Reasons You Should Visit the Museum of the Bible
The Museum of a the Bible (MOTB) is a new 430,000-square-foot museum located near the National Mall
“Had the MOTB been nothing more than an exhibit hall for its nearly 4,000 Bible-related objects, it would have been enough to make it a world-class museum. But in its presentation of the world’s most important cultural artifact—the Bible—the MOTB is an amazing cultural artifact in its own right.” At the age of 10... Continue Reading
The Rift Between Exegesis and Systematic Theology
The gulf between academy and church is particularly huge and disturbing
“Even some exegetes who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior also posit a huge gulf between academy and church, thus refusing to love what Christ has loved. I do not understand how believing scholars can do their work for the academy and not for the church, unless they are motivated by the fear of... Continue Reading
Why Christians Should Not Get Angry with the Lost
When we grasp the extent of the human problem, we will exercise this ministry with compassion
“Blaring the horns of condemnation may give vent to Christian frustrations, but it does nothing to solve the human problem. People who are blind, bound, and dead need a Savior who is able to open their eyes to the truth, set them free from the powers that bind them, and raise them up in the... Continue Reading