Ecclesiastes: God’s Answer Key
To be vain is to be myopic about self — self-glory, self-absorption, self-service
Here’s where we find the genius and hope of Ecclesiastes. Not in denying reality, but in redeeming it, where ‘under the sun’ holds the harsh reality but not the answer. The answer is not found in reformation but in transformation, and that not in ourselves but by the redemptive plan and hand of God. In... Continue Reading
Preaching the Wrath of God
Faithful pulpit ministry requires the declaration of both judgment and grace
The glory of the cross demands it. Christ suffered the wrath of God for all who would call upon Him. If there is no divine wrath, there is no need for the cross, much less for the salvation of lost souls. From what would sinners need to be saved? It is only when we recognize... Continue Reading
The Nicest Man I Ever Knew: Dr. Miles Roland Byrd
Dr. Roland Byrd, who died last Sunday was the nicest man I ever knew
Roland was a man of strong moral convictions but was not self-righteous, arrogant, or condemning. He held strongly to Biblical morality and was bold to say what he believed was right. For him it was never empty words. He lived what he believed, practiced what he preached. But he could do all that without implying that he... Continue Reading
The Michael Sam Case: Is Being Homosexual The Same As Being Black?
The fundamental basis for thinking that race and sexuality are analogous is the assumption that both are equally natural, that neither is a choice.
The incoherence of the popular defense of homosexuality (“it’s a choice” v “it’s natural”) should alert us to what is really happening: a spiritual war against God and creation. The alternating appeal to nature and free choice illustrate how thin the intellectual fig leaf really is. Christians ought to be gracious, kind, patient but firm in... Continue Reading
Update: King University President Resigns Amid Controversy
Dr. Gregory D. Jordan, who has served as president since 1997, has resigned effective immediately
The Board of Trustees named Dr. Richard Ray as interim president while they look for a new leader… “It is with a heavy heart that we accept Dr. Jordan’s resignation,” says Marcia Porter, member of the King University Board of Trustees Executive Committee. “We appreciate Greg’s tremendous contributions to the school during his tenure as... Continue Reading
King University, Bristol, Va., President Still in Charge After Two-thirds of Faculty Vote No-Confidence
30 faculty members voted that they had confidence in Jordan, 62 said they had no confidence and nine abstained from voting
The no-confidence vote by the faculty holds no sway over the president’s employment and cannot force the school’s board of trustees to take action. Voting members, however, said that as long as Jordan remains president, they will continue efforts to have him removed. A day after nearly two-thirds of King University’s faculty members voted... Continue Reading
Flaws in the Well-Meaning but Misguided ‘Imago Dei’ Campaign Concerning ‘Gays’
Affirmation of one's creation in the image of God does not lead to support for all behaviors
It fails to address the crucial point that homosexual activity, like egregious immorality generally, threatens to mar the image of God stamped on people, dishonoring and degrading what God created in his image by treating another’s gender as only half intact in relation to its own sex. On Jan. 27, The Christian Post put... Continue Reading
Which Sins Should We Address?
The church must confront homosexuality because it, together with abortion, is part of the prevailing sin of our age.
If Paul were sent to America in 2014, we would get the Corinthian sermon. He would address our idolatrous fascination with sex – our obsession with pornography, our popularizing of promiscuity, our disregard for marriage, and yes, our fawning over the “courage” of the homosexuals. He would also have choice words about the plague of... Continue Reading
Reflections on “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?”
The church which makes the psalms part of her regular diet provides her people with the resources for truly living in this vale of tears
That which we say and sing as a congregation will over time subtly and imperceptibly inform our thinking about the Christian faith and thus about life in general in a powerful way. That is why an emphasis on the aesthetics of power and youth—perhaps we might say liturgies of power and youth—are problematic. They exclude the... Continue Reading
The Love of God
Thoughts on David Wells' book, God in the Whirlwind
Are we to suppose that in the far midst of eternity, when our calling and redemption were only in the mind of God, Christ was unaware of what this would entail? Was he caught by surprise after he became incarnate? Do we ever hear him reproaching the Father for not having told him what this... Continue Reading