What Did Paul Mean by “New Creation”?
On the day of the resurrection the Lord’s promises to his people will be fulfilled, and the people of God will be restored and unified.
The crucifixion of Paul and all believers to the world occurred when they were crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). A radical disruption has taken place so that the love for the present world has been severed at the cross. Old polarities, such as whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised are fundamentally irrelevant. What matters is... Continue Reading
How to Plan Wickedly Well
Our planning, even our careful and intentional planning, can be quietly wicked.
One way God guards us against arrogance is to remind us of our mistiness. Everything that feels so big, important, and impressive in our earthy lives right now will vanish and vanish quickly. We’re just a tiny burst of moisture, one that will evaporate almost immediately. God, on the other hand, knows everything there is to... Continue Reading
A Proof for God’s Existence
If change occurs, God exists. If anything exists, God must exist, and be upholding all else in existence. God cannot not exist.
Some may not be used to thinking of God as an unmoved mover. Yet is not the first cause of all things God? If God is anything He is that. But many more attributes may be derived from the unmoved mover being pure act, which will show that we are dealing with God. This is... Continue Reading
Already But Not Yet
God can, and indeed already has, conquered sin and death in Jesus. No longer enslaved without hope, Christians pray and fight the “long defeat.”
From 10/21-7/22, our now 43-year-old son Jordan went through great adversities. He responded to ongoing wicked trauma on many fronts by trying to take his life three times. We felt the power of that vortex too. Once, in Mexico, he jumped from a tower, broke his back and smashed his feet. His back required 8-hour... Continue Reading
Did the Angels Laugh?
Because he has proven it through Jesus, we can have every confidence that we and all those who love the Lord will rise to live forevermore.
The Father had said that his holy one would not see corruption and the Son had said they would all see “the sign of Jonah.” There was no version of reality in which Jesus’ body would remain in the tomb to decompose and no possibility he would remain there any longer than Jonah had been... Continue Reading
The Question of Conscience
Whereas God’s principles don’t change, our consciences vacillate and develop. These changes can be positive or negative.
Even within the Christian community, there are wide differences of opinion regarding which behaviors are pleasing to God and which aren’t. One man approves dancing; another disapproves of it. How do we know who is correct? We see in the New Testament that the conscience is not the final ethical authority for human conduct because... Continue Reading
One Reason Preaching Matters
Scripture is the pastor-teacher’s totally sufficient resource for ministry because what Scripture says, God says.
We must be actively depending on God, the Holy Spirit, to grant illumination and understanding to us and our hearers so that in our preparation we are governed by his life-giving word and praying for its impact on all who hear. Equally, we must be dependent on the Spirit who inspired the text to give... Continue Reading
How Do I Serve Without Becoming a Doormat?
Biblical servitude seeks to model Jesus’s demeanor.
Biblical servitude seeks what’s best for the other person over what the other person wants in the moment. To do this effectively, you need to be confident in your knowledge of God’s Word. You need to be seeking to daily grow in wisdom. It doesn’t need to be a “my will versus your will” situation.... Continue Reading
Felling Folly with Wisdom
The path for advance can only be made as wisdom – skillful godly living – fells the trees of foolishness and folly, whose roots have often tripped and ensnared the young.
Wisdom is not the pursuit of the old and gray in hair, but is best found in the formative years of development — from childhood onward. In the pages of the Bible the voice of wisdom cries aloud: “Young Men, Listen!”Parents and churches need to harmonize their voices with wisdom. Boys and men, enlisted in... Continue Reading
Why I Do Not Use the Word Ethnicity
The four common marks of a biblical nation are a common birth, a common border, a common language, and a common religion.
To pursue this objective the word nation was replaced by the word ethnicity. But it won’t work! It may have some success in Christian families, in the church were members of various nations all change their allegiance to Christ, and it may have some success within a common geographical boundary where the Ten Commandments of... Continue Reading
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