Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word
Bishop John Shelby Spong of the Episcopalian Church in America, is the epitome of a liberal theologian. He is calling for a new Reformation of the Church based upon the following 12 Theses.
What is very disturbing to me is that there are people out there who actually believe this is a man of God. Of course these theses are simply the words of our enemy put in religious form for people to say, “Yeah! Now I can live any way I want!” Do you see the human... Continue Reading
Locusts and Wild Honey
The Old Testament background to John the Baptist's diet.
The intake of locusts and wild honey was not a throwaway detail. The food going into John’s mouth represented the message coming out of John’s mouth. Those who received John’s message with faith would taste its sweetness and experience God’s blessing, like honey. Those who refused John’s message would experience God’s judgment, like locusts. ... Continue Reading
What Spiritual Depression Taught Me About Worship
Grounded in Truth Rather than Experience
In that moment of worship in sadness, you are experiencing some of what Christ felt. He knew He needed to march toward His death because it was worth it. And the joy of bringing many sons to glory overshadowed the pain of the cross upon His scoured back. So it is with us. When we do... Continue Reading
The Center of the Scriptures
The world does not revolve around us, much as we might think it does. It revolves around Jesus.
Until we recognize the centrality of Jesus in all things, we will harbor the illusion that we can serve both God and ourselves, only giving a portion of who we are and what we have to Him. But when this revolution takes place, we come to see that the only logical posture we can have... Continue Reading
On Matthew 18, Broken Relationships, and Reconciliation
Either we forbear and forgive or we go directly to the person who has sinned against us. There is no other option.
We need to admit with a measure of shame that there is a great difference between the Saviour’s dealings with us and the way we often deal with each other. And it need not be! We have a process given us so that wounds may be healed, relationships mended and sins forgiven. We have all... Continue Reading
Sin, Autonomy, and Biblical Critical Theory
Autonomy is the height of folly. It is idolatry on steroids.
If I alone can determine what is right and wrong, true and false, just and unjust, I will always be bumping heads with all the others who also think and act this way. With no higher objective absolutes that transcend my and your judgments and assessments, we will always clash. Real human dignity and community can only come from recognising who God is... Continue Reading
On Images of Christ
The apostles worked hard to preserve Christ’s words and were content to allow his appearance to be forgotten.
The mere natural sight of Jesus, however dear and beloved, did not bring the grace of faith during His days on earth. So, why do we seek instruction or edification through images made centuries later? Mere reflections, however true or faithful, cannot produce a more significant effect than the original. Images of Jesus Christ... Continue Reading
Coerced Confession
A coerced confession is not repentance.
Godly sorrow involves a hatred of sin, includes a fear of God, a longing for holiness, a zeal for the truth, and a willingness to receive appropriate punishment…Such confession and repentance could never be compelled. As Charles Spurgeon famously said when commenting on David’s confession in Psalm 51, “Honest penitents…come to the point, call a... Continue Reading
It’s Not Enough to Be Right
It’s possible to be on the right side of a debate without being "one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel."
“There is scarce anything that gives such mortal stabs to religion among a people as contention. Where contention is alive, there religion will be dead; and there will be nothing flourishing that is good.” [Jonathan] Edwards goes as far as to say that Christ’s wounds “have been as it were opened afresh by the selfishness... Continue Reading
The Good, Bad, & Ugly of Anger
What our anger is directed at determines whether our anger is righteous or wicked.
Anger over an offense should be dealt with swiftly, and that anger must not be allowed to linger. Forgiveness and reconciliation is what anger’s end game should be (Ephesians 4:32). God is slow to anger (Ps. 103:8, 145:8), but the Psalmist also asks the Lord how long “shall thy wrath burn like fire (Ps. 89:46)?”... Continue Reading
