Truly God, Truly Man: The Council of Chalcedon
Chalcedon was trying to settle the aftermath of the Arian controversy in the fourth century.
The council was condemned in the western, Latin-speaking half of the Roman Empire. Pope Leo the Great thundered against it as the “Robber Synod” (and the name stuck). After the death of emperor Theodosius, a new emperor, Marcian, called a new council at Chalcedon (in Asia Minor) in 451. This time, Eutyches and the extreme... Continue Reading
Are Missionaries Wiping Out The Closer-To-Nature Ways Of Life In Remote Tribes?
A missionary rebuttal to some British newspaper articles, based on a 15-day trip by a Russian photographer, claiming that missionaries are " wiping out" the Korowai tribe in Indonesia.
In the wake of the death of John Chau by the hands of the remote tribe he sought to reach with the Gospel, the internet is alight with criticism that Christian missions are more akin to colonialism, wiping out pristine, innocent societies who are living in perfect harmony with nature. Trevor Johnson, who serves alongside his... Continue Reading
Karen Pence, Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Part of a Christian Ministry?
Karen Pence is a believing Christian woman. She took a part-time job at a private Christian school. And this is a scandal for some in the secular culture.
Immanuel is a church ministry applying the church’s theology. No one is forced to attend the church. No one is forced to attend the school. It’s a voluntary association that is protected by the First Amendment and rooted in the faith that guides the lives of tens of millions of Americans. What’s next? The belief that public figures... Continue Reading
Marching for Life: Countering Roe V. Wade’s Escorts
The “escorts” work outside abortion clinics to ensure that every pregnant mom who approaches the door doesn’t get deterred or change her mind, especially by pro-life sidewalk counselors.
It’s crucial to understand that it isn’t the job of the escorts to take that girl home and help her heal. No, their work is finished. That’s the duty taken up by the pro-lifers. There are many pro-life ministries focused on assisting post-abortive women to recover, such as Rachel’s Vineyard. Silent No More, and the... Continue Reading
Love for Christ & Scripture-Regulated Worship 7: Loving What Christ Loves
Regulating our worship according to Scripture is the way we submit to Christ’s lordship with respect to our worship.
Christ’s apostles not only dictate the doctrine and practice of churches, but the worship of churches (which is an important part of our practice). And we ought gladly allow our worship to be regulated by Scripture because we love Christ. I am forming an argument for Scripture-regulated worship from two pillars: the authority of... Continue Reading
Eschatology Matters
Eschatology, or the doctrine of the last things, is not a mere add-on to our Christian walk.
Neo-Calvinism is especially defective about the nature of the saeculum, which is the age between the advents of Christ. Greenbaggins invoked Vos to explain the peculiar character of the period when the ministry of word and sacrament defines the church, in the words of the Confession of Faith, as “the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the... Continue Reading
Hell: They Have No Bowels
In the ancient world compassion was associated with the bowels.
Take a look at Colossians 3:12. It says, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts…” Now, a literal translation of compassionate hearts will read a bit differently. It will actually translate oiktirmou splanchna as “bowels of compassion.” And that’s not the only place we find this expression in Scripture. I’ll give one further... Continue Reading
“Love Your Bibles”
Here are ways Scripture motivates us to start reading.
Scripture is the words of God to you. Open the Bible anywhere and the words there could be introduced with “the Spirit says” (Heb 3:7). These words are bread for our soul (Deut 8:3). They bring life. Over the past year, I have watched how they bring this miracle of life. I have seen it in... Continue Reading
How a Church Can Care for Former Prisoners
Discrimination against felons is acceptable in the world. Brothers and sisters, it cannot be acceptable in the church.
We ought to accept a person’s conversion as real until and unless he shows us something different. If a person comes into our congregation and he came from prison, we ought not to make him “prove himself” to us. Rather, we must trust that he is converted and wants to worship in a church that... Continue Reading
When Temptation Holds Out Pleasure
When Jesus triumphed over death and sin, he finally cleared the path for our feet to walk into joy.
What’s difficult for me, and perhaps for you, is that though I am a new creature, though I am no longer a slave to loving dead things, I am still tempted to believe at times that they, and not God, will provide the joy I want. That obedience to God would kill, and not increase,... Continue Reading
