You Can’t Just Read The Bible
A layperson can read the Scriptures and understand the Scriptures.
Similarly, no one, absolutely no one, can read the Bible without some pre-understanding, for example, of God; even if the person is an atheist, the god whose existence he or she is denying is still some kind of god. So, you cannot approach the text without bringing baggage with you, in terms of what words... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know about the Exodus
The exodus reveals the unity of Scripture and of the work of redemption to which it bears witness.
In the exodus story and the many other stories that share its patterns, the Scripture looks us directly in our eyes in the present day. The themes of redemption disclosed in such narratives resonate with those of the New Exodus that we have been caught up into by the work of Christ. When we hear... Continue Reading
Hearts Set Aflame With Certainty of the Resurrection
The New Testament proclaims the resurrection as sober historical fact.
“The resurrection sets Jesus apart from every other central figure of world religions. Buddha is dead. Mohammed is dead. Confucius is dead. None of these were sinless. None offered atonement. None were vindicated by resurrection.” The life of Jesus follows a general pattern of movement from humiliation to exaltation. The movement is not strictly... Continue Reading
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: The Turning Point in Truth – Part 2
Francis Schaeffer explained the crisis of truth in America
Schaeffer militates against this so-called “grace/nature” dichotomy and insists that Christ is equally Lord in both areas. He suggests that God made the whole man and is consequently interested in the whole man. When the historic space-time Fall took place, it affected the whole man, not merely the will as Aquinas taught. The Truth... Continue Reading
Why We Need To Be Creative In Doing Good
Perhaps you’re waiting for something to be made beautiful. What can you do in the meantime?
“I’m reminded that creative work done in imitation of God is always focused on redemption, for this is his pattern. It’s also fraught with difficulty. When we step out in front of the crowd, willing to lead and communicate and counsel and carry burdens, sometimes we stand alone and, many times, our work will be... Continue Reading
Christian Life You are the Master’s Piece
There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal. — C. S. Lewis
The human becomes immortal because he derives life from the immortal God. The soul gives him the capacity to relate with God and fellow humans in intimate ways. The Lord also endows the soul with special characteristics that are God-like, such as knowledge, wisdom, holiness, goodness, authority, power, love, humor, and language. This extraordinary vessel... Continue Reading
The Crown of Life
"We are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ."
The restoration and consummation of life, then, would take place in a second and last Adam, a new royal mediator who would triumph over sin and pass beyond the possibility of death, and in doing so bring his people to reign with him in life over the consummated kingdom of glory forever (Rom. 5:17). ... Continue Reading
Watchfulness: Recovering a Lost Spiritual Discipline
Watchfulness is as necessary to a healthy spiritual life as meditation and prayer.
The Christian life is a journey, a race, and a battle. As pilgrims, we travel the long winding road from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. As athletes, we are called to forget what lies behind and, with eyes fixed on Jesus, to cast aside every hindrance to completing the race of faith.... Continue Reading
3 Ways to Know You Worship the True God
As you come to recognize that the story of Scripture is the story of reality, you can begin to see that God works to bring you into eternal life.
The God of the Bible is a strange God not the kind of God we can manage, manipulate, accommodate, or domesticate to our familiar experience. When God actually confronts us, our speculations are exposed as idols, our experiences judged as little more than a projection of ourselves, and our felt needs give way to more... Continue Reading
In My Place Condemned He Stood
The main burden of McCall’s piece is to show that some popular preaching on the cross is at odds with orthodox Trinitarian theology.
According to McCall, “God against God” theories of the atonement imply (or explicitly teach) that God’s Trinitarian life was ruptured on Good Friday. And yet, McCall argues, God could not turn his face away from the Son, because the Father is one with the Son. “To say that the Trinity is broken—even ‘temporarily’—is to imply... Continue Reading