5 Things You Should Know about Creeds
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the nature, history, and purpose of creeds.
All Christians have a creed whether they realize it or not. All you have to do to prove this is to ask any Christian (including yourself), “What do you believe the Bible teaches about (pick a topic)?” Whatever the response is, it is a creed. Most Christians have heard of things like the Nicene... Continue Reading
Why Did Jesus Compare God’s Kingdom to a Mustard Seed and Leaven?
Jesus anticipated the misconceptions people would have about the kind of redemption and the type of kingdom he was bringing upon them.
This is the paradox of Christ’s kingdom—a mysterious mix of humility and glory, power and weakness. But why is this the paradox of the kingdom? Because this paradox matches Christ’s cross. Our Lord’s salvation is to save you from death, to free you from Satan’s prison of the grave. When the Lord ushered his... Continue Reading
Committed to Truth
How are we to navigate a world that so wantonly embraces error?
The faith we adhere to contains black and white truths centered on a bloody cross. In our pluralistic, relativistic culture, we need to be prepared to gird ourselves with sound doctrine. As he stood before Pontius Pilate, Jesus of Nazareth faced a question which has echoed throughout the centuries: “What is truth?” (John 18:38).... Continue Reading
I Think We are Killing the Wrong People
The Bible does not sanction the killing of babies in the womb. However, the Bible does sanction capital punishment of adults who are guilty of the crime of murder.
The Bible is clear about ways to love our neighbor that are very practical and not just pious words. The question is not whether someone is going to die, but the question is who is going to die. I am afraid that emotions fueled by modern sentimentality, and prevailing misconceptions of love, rule men more... Continue Reading
Why Did Jesus Compare God’s Kingdom to a Mustard Seed and Leaven?
In our lives and in these times, the growth of the kingdom can be hard to trace, detect, or measure.
A mustard seed and a pinch of yeast—no one would expect the kingdom out of these. No one notices a mustard plant growing; we cannot see yeast at work. This is the paradox of Christ’s kingdom, and it is both wisdom and comfort for our faith, brothers and sisters. When the Lord ushered his... Continue Reading
5 Lies Christians Tell About Money
We need to have an accurate, comprehensive view of biblical personal finance.
God promises to take care of his children (Matt. 6:25–27; Phil. 4:19). But he also instructs us to take responsibility (and action) for our situation (Prov. 10:4–5). When it comes to finances, we have to do our part. In light of his promises, we can be free from worry since we know God will take care... Continue Reading
Translating the N. T. Wright and David Bentley Hart Tussle
The recent New Testament dust-up between big-name scholars reminds us how hard—and important—Bible translation can be.
One notable scholar who does not appear to be particularly impressed by Hart’s translation is Wright, who is probably the closest thing current New Testament scholarship comes to having a celebrity. His review of Hart’s New Testament, published January 15 in The Christian Century, details a lengthy list of disagreements with Hart’s translation choices, and ends... Continue Reading
The Bible – Are You Reading and Understanding It?
The Bible is a collection of sacred texts (66 books) given by divine inspiration as a record of the relationship between God and humans. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” ~ 2 Timothy 3:16,17 The... Continue Reading
Exclusive Psalmody: A Response to Arguments Against Using Psalms Exclusively
Those of us who use only the Psalms of Scripture in worship are not pretending that our worship is perfect; we are seeking to give God our best.
Because I don’t think that man-made hymns are as pleasing to God in worship as words He has given to us, I choose not to sing uninspired hymns when I preach in the churches that use man-made hymns. And I probably won’t sing them until I become convinced that the words of Fannie Crosby, Isaac... Continue Reading
Did the Gospel Authors Think They Were Writing Scripture?
To explore this further, let us just consider just one of our gospels, namely the Gospel of Matthew.
If by the first century Chronicles was regarded as the final book in the Hebrew canon,as some scholars have argued,then Matthew’s gospel would certainly be a fitting sequel. An Old Testament canon ending with Chronicles would have placed Israel in an eschatological posture, looking ahead to the time when the messiah, the son of David, will come to Jerusalem and bring full deliverance to his people.