Good Works as a Light to the World
What made Jesus the light of the world? It was not His mere words, but also His works
“The works we do in Jesus’ name bear witness about us. Our outward, observable, public works make who we are and whose we are manifestly clear. And just as it was for Jesus, our works will cause some to revile us and persecute us and utter all kinds of evil against us falsely on His... Continue Reading
The Illusion of Control
What if the autonomy you seemingly operate under really casts something of an illusion?
Let this text remind you: we’re not as in control as we think we are. Psalm 127:1’s “house” is not merely a brick and mortar shelter. Unless the Lord builds your house, those who build it labor in vain. We build, but we build in dependence upon the Lord. It’s not just that how... Continue Reading
The Surprising Truth About Finding Your Life Purpose
Are you unsure of which direction to go with your life? Here’s my suggestion.
“I think it would be great to have a clear purpose in life, and to run hard after that purpose. But what if you don’t know what your life purpose is? What if you’re like me, a lousy goal setter, easily distracted, easily thrown off course, and very often full of self-doubt?” There are... Continue Reading
A Psalmic Faith
I found my Psalmic faith personally challenged last year when my father died suddenly
So often in times of trial, the church can become moralistic or pietistic. We try to avoid pain and struggle by jumping to correct doctrine, possibly shortchanging the process of sanctification. How can we have a faith like David the Psalmist, a “man after God’s own heart”? What is a Psalmic faith? I learned... Continue Reading
The Trauma of Holiness
Why, to redeem us from the threat of trauma, would we invent a God whose character is infinitely more threatening than anything else we fear?
I can see humanity inventing a benevolent god or even a bad god who is easily appeased. But would we invent a holy God? Where does that come from? For there is nothing in the universe more terrifying, more threatening to a person’s sense of security and well-being than the holiness of God. What we... Continue Reading
The Reformed Tradition on Israel Is Diverse
John Calvin wrote that because the Jews did not “reciprocate” as willing partners in God’s covenant, “they deserve to be repudiated” (Institutes 4.2.3).
Starting at the end of the 16th century, however, some of Calvin’s theological descendants, mostly Puritans, took a different approach. They took seriously the Reformation’s emphasis on the plain sense of the Bible and therefore distinguished between promises made to Jewish Israel and those made to the new Gentile Israel. Is the Reformed tradition... Continue Reading
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Jesus teaches us that he alone satisfies our fundamental need as humans created in the image of God.
Jesus’s words are based on Psalm 107:5, 9: “5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. . . . 9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” Hunger and thirst are powerful, because they are the expression of a lack of a fundamental need. We need to eat and... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know About the Moral Influence and Example Theories of the Atonement
Abelard argued that there is nothing in God’s nature that necessitates satisfaction or prevents him from indiscriminately forgiving all at any time.
Abelard argued that the love of God in giving up his Son was designed to kindle in our hearts a corresponding love and repentance which together become the ground for the forgiveness of our sins. Thus, the object of Christ’s death is not God but man. His aim was not to satisfy the Father’s wrath... Continue Reading
Unapologetically Pro-Life—From the Moment of Conception Until the Last Breath on Earth
Being pro-life goes from the womb to the tomb, and Christians need to be unapologetic about those values.
If you haven’t yet, take a look at the figures sometime—they’re quite staggering. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly releases a surveillance report indicating the number of abortions performed in the U.S. each year. The most recent data indicates that in 2014, 652,639 abortions were performed in the United States; in other words, 186 abortions... Continue Reading
The Nature of Existence: All is One, or All is Two?
The question about existence seems simple, but it can only be answered by faith; none can stand outside of existence to make an “objective,” all-knowing judgment about the nature of things.
There are, probably, ultimately only two possible answers to the question of origins, and they recur at different places in all ages: [either] that the universe is the result of creation by a free personal [intelligent] agency, or that in some way or other it creates itself. The two answers are not finally compatible, and... Continue Reading