The Problem of Christian Passivity, Part One
The believers I challenged seemed to approach almost any clash of ideas with an attitude of passivity.
The best way to define what I mean by “Christianity passivity” is through an illustration. Imagine you are in a setting in which other Christians are present, and a secular person enters and begins to strenuously denounce Christianity. Suppose that, rather than attempting to make any defense of your faith, you allow the person to... Continue Reading
7 Characteristics of Good Bible Teachers
Teaching scripture is a spiritual gift, but it is also a skill.
Several things come into play that impacts the quality of teaching. The sound of your voice, your cadence, and even the way you dress. There are even more important aspects to teaching scripture than what I will cover below, such as having a clear understanding of the Bible, studying your topic diligently, and most importantly, being faithful to... Continue Reading
The Christian and Philosophy
Protestant theologians recognize that theology is queen of the disciplines and that philosophy is a handmaiden, an ancillary tool that the church may use in the task of doing theology.
For those who believe that we should excise all philosophy from theology do not realize that all of us use philosophical concepts and terms whether we realize it or not. He who believes he is free from philosophy is the likely unwitting adherent to the philosophical teaching of a defunct philosopher or theologian. Rather than run from natural... Continue Reading
Restore Us to Yourself That We May Be Restored
The consequences of breaking covenant with the Lord are dire. And yet, there is still hope for restoration.
The Israelites wondered whether God had rejected them. We may wonder the same. But in Jesus we have an emphatic, definitive answer. No. Because Jesus bore our sin, we are no longer subject to that same awful judgment that he suffered. Though we groan, we can look to Jesus, the Man of Sorrows. Because of him, our... Continue Reading
Does the Bible Limit Gender to Just Male and Female?
This whole attempt to force a non-binary interpretation into the Genesis creation account is anachronistic.
When God chose to remake the world, he only preserved males and females because those two exhausted the gender categories of both humans and animals. The reason behind this decision seems consistent with the reason found in the initial creation of Genesis: The gender binary was directly tied to procreation. Only a male and female... Continue Reading
One Spectacular Person
The "Admirable Conjunction" in Jesus Christ
All the fullness of God is found in this man Jesus. Full humanity and the fullness of deity. We marvel at his bigness and might and omni-relevance, and we melt at his grace and mercy and meekness, and all that comes together in one spectacular person. Not only do books change lives, but paragraphs... Continue Reading
God Scares Me to Death
God's sovereignty is both comforting and terrifying.
Keep turning toward him, whether that process is clumsy, awkward, brief, or a bit chilly. Your soul is close to the breaking point already. The one who now strikes fear in your heart is the only one who can assuage your fears and mend a soul in pieces. God is sovereign. He does as... Continue Reading
Pastors, Fight Against Fear of Man by Fighting for the Fear of the Lord
Ministry is a miserable place for a pastor who needs everyone’s approval.
Future pastor, local churches need unwavering leaders who fear the Lord. They don’t need you to meet their expectations, but they do need to see your hand tremble when you hold up your Bible. They need to know that you would rather have the whole room turn on you than utter one word that displeases... Continue Reading
The Paradox of Freedom
Freedom may not be what you think it is.
Political liberty is a tremendous social good. But it can only work when there is restraint on our appetites, and when we put limits to our cravings. Freedom, in the biblical understanding, is much different than what most folks think when discussing freedom. They believe that freedom means being able to do whatever you... Continue Reading
Judge Others as You Want to Be Judged
The measures we used to assess others will be used to assess us.
The day is coming soon when “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10)—great and small, rich and poor, well-known and unknown. And what will happen when we stand there? The rubric we raised against others will be raised against us. “Judge not.” Few words of Jesus are more familiar,... Continue Reading
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