What is God Saying to Us Through Natural Disasters?
Trying to make sense of devastating natural disasters; “What is God saying to us?”
What was God saying in that tragedy? Two things. First, we should not think that those who suffered in it are worse sinners than those who did not suffer. Second, in the wake of the tragedy God calls everyone to repent. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Irma and Harvey may go... Continue Reading
Do Blue Collar Workers Fit Our Theology of Vocation?
Our society runs on the strength of those who build and maintain our infrastructure; who go to work every day and build things with their hands.
But if we are not careful we can create a kind of second class system by elevating those whose vocations seem more praiseworthy—white collars or creative such as artists, engineers, lawyers, and CEOs—over and above the blue collar, “dirty jobs” professions that so employ so many of our people. It’s easy to fall into this... Continue Reading
Always Looking; Never Wanting to Find
It’s cool to search, but the last thing many want is to find the living God, or be found by him.
Maybe we need to ask people when they say they are looking for God, “What do you hope to find?” or “Are you ready to find him?” People often want help and will listen to any advice as long as it doesn’t require admission of guilt or personal change. And that’s a shame because they... Continue Reading
Nothing to Complain About
Ingratitude always fosters a complaining spirit of entitlement in the hearts of men and women.
By way of contrast, when believers walk together in humility, thankfulness to God for the least of His mercies, and a willing acknowledgment of how undeserving we are for any good and a longing to be with Christ in glory, the opposite happens. We discover that we have nothing to complain about. There is an... Continue Reading
Thinking Like Jesus
Our minds are fallen, and our very ability to think has been severely weakened by the fall.
I do not think for a moment that any of us, as long as sin is in us, will ever become perfect in our reasoning. Sin prejudices us against the law of God for as long as we live, and we have to fight to overcome these basic distortions of the truth of God. But... Continue Reading
The Most Precious Words Augustine Ever Wrote
"How delectably it happened, all of a sudden: all of those inane delectations weren’t there any longer..."
I initially wrote of this comment by Augustine in my book, One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God (Christian Focus). Recently I picked up the new translation of the Confessions by Sarah Ruden (New York: The Modern Library, 2017), 484 pages. It is described as a “dynamic translation,” and her rendering of this glorious paragraph... Continue Reading
Rethinking “God Hates the Sin but Loves the Sinner”
The good news is that God does love sinners and He’s done everything to keep them from getting what they deserve.
But sin does not exist on its own. It has no moral quality apart from the person who commits it. Sin doesn’t sit on a sidewalk. You can’t find it floating in the air. It’s not a goo that gets on you. Therefore, God is not going to punish some abstract thing called sin. Sin... Continue Reading
The New Perspective on Paul: Justification is Moral Remedy
Justification by faith in Christ is not provisional nor probationary.
Justification in the NPP is not about Christ making a full satisfaction to his Father’s justice on our behalf – it is not about moral standards being met – it is, rather, about one’s status of membership in God’s people. Christ remains at the center of this new perspective, the living Lord uniting the nations... Continue Reading
Is the Bible the Word of God?
The books of the Bible have been subjected to the keenest scrutiny and the most rigorous examination by modern scholars.
First, we must recognize that the biblical books have internal qualities that demonstrate that they are from God. Just as natural revelation (the created world) has characteristics that show God is the author of nature (Ps. 19; Rom. 1:20), so we should expect special revelation (Scripture) to have such characteristics that show God is its... Continue Reading
Loving Discipleship Avoids Condescension
We all know from experience that it’s not very helpful to be told to just wait because life’s about to get so much harder. And yet it’s so tempting to respond this way.
In the church, we encourage discipleship. We believe it is one of God’s primary ways of helping us to grow in sanctification and unity. I’ve been thinking about this as I experience this type of well-intended head-patting that occurs on both sides of my life – receiving it from older folks, and doling out to... Continue Reading