The book of Hebrews is one of the most Christ-centered, Old Testament-saturated, faithfulness-inspiring books of the New Testament and yet it is also one of the most feared by students of the Bible. Hebrews is a difficult book to interpret. It covers topics like angels, the mysterious Melchizedek, apostasy, the heavenly sanctuary, covenant-mediation, and the nature of the new covenant, and all by the hands of an unknown author. It’s no wonder many Christians would rather spend their time in the Gospels and Romans than do the difficult work of exegetical digging in a book like Hebrews. Continue reading “Why You Should Study the Book of Hebrews”
“I asked the Lord that I Might Grow”
John Newton (1725–1807) is famous for writing Amazing Grace, the world’s most famous hymn. He also composed several other less famous yet equally beautiful hymns. My friend, Pastor Jason Wallace of Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna, Utah pointed me to this one over lunch this week. It’s called “I Asked the Lord” and worth a reflective reading. Continue reading ““I asked the Lord that I Might Grow””
Hip Hop Eschatology by Shai Linne
This is good.
Don’t Waste Your Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
Last week my children all came down with the dreaded hand, foot, and mouth disease. If you have never heard of this illness, it is a nasty bug that causes a fever, sore throat, and red sores on the hands, feet, and mouth. Yesterday I got to share in their suffering—at least the fever part—and it kicked the life out of me! The upside to the whole experience is that lying in bed all day with barely the strength to move is an ideal time for reflection. I thought I would share my thoughts in this post. Continue reading “Don’t Waste Your Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease”
Childhood Baptism and Church Membership
Are you thinking through the issue of when to baptize children? Here is a position paper I wrote on this topic for Crossroads Church. I hope it is of help to parents and pastors.
Childhood Baptism and Church Membership
Crossroads Church
“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them (Ps 127:4).”[1] At Crossroads Church, our quiver is overflowing! God has blessed our church family with many children and the number of children continues to grow. We have been entrusted with the important task of ministering to these little ones with the utmost wisdom, care, and intentionality. We recognize that God has given parents, especially Fathers, the primary responsibility for the spiritual oversight of their children (Deut 6:4–9; Eph 6:1–4). Therefore, we believe it is the local church’s responsibility to come alongside parents to equip parents for this important responsibility. As parents instruct their children in the truth of God’s word, we believe that God will work through this means to convict children of sin and, Lord willing, bring them to salvation. Continue reading “Childhood Baptism and Church Membership”
The Cross: The Persuasion of God’s Love Or the Plan of God’s Love?
Sinclair Ferguson has given Christians a precious gift by writing The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, & Gospel Assurance—Why The Marrow Controversy Still Matters. The book is about a controversy that arose among some Presbyterian churches in 18th-century Scotland. The controversy came to be known as the Marrow Controversy and it pertained to issues involving the nature of grace, the law, legalism and how to present the gospel appropriately to unbelievers. I am not going to summarize the book here, but I encourage you to read the whole thing. I simply want to highlight one of the treasures of the book from chapter 3. Continue reading “The Cross: The Persuasion of God’s Love Or the Plan of God’s Love?”
Three Reasons Why the Resurrection of Jesus Matters
Every year billions of people gather across the world to celebrate Easter. For some, Easter is simply an opportunity to get together with family, paint eggs, and eat chocolate bunnies. Most people, however, celebrate Easter in remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But is the resurrection of Jesus Christ worth celebrating? Is his resurrection anything more than just a neat fact of human history? Perhaps you have thought, ‘Okay I believe Jesus rose from the dead. But what difference does that make for my life?’ Here are three reasons why the resurrection of Jesus Christ matters for you and for me. Continue reading “Three Reasons Why the Resurrection of Jesus Matters”
Why I Trust the Bible (Part 3)
This is part 3 of a series I began several weeks ago. I am on my fifth reason for why I trust the Bible. I am indebted to James White’s excellent book, The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations?, for some of the content of this post.
5. I trust the Bible because of its textual reliability. From the outset, I acknowledge that we do not have the original hand-written manuscripts (autographs) of the prophets and apostles. All we have are copies of copies of copies of copies; you get the point. In fact, we have thousands of these copies of biblical manuscripts. But if we do not have the original hand-written manuscripts of the prophets and apostles, then how do we know that our modern English Bibles accurately reflect the original documents? Continue reading “Why I Trust the Bible (Part 3)”
Why I Trust the Bible (Part 2)
Picking up where I left off in Part 1, this post is Part 2 in a series of reflections on why I trust the Bible.
4. I trust the Bible because the Bible tells me to. Isn’t this a circular argument? Yes, but every appeal to authority is a circular argument. We cannot escape it. If the Bible is the highest authority because it is the Word of God, then there is no greater authority to which I can appeal to justify my belief in the Bible. Perhaps you have heard someone say:
God said it.
I believe it.
That settles it. Continue reading “Why I Trust the Bible (Part 2)”
Why I Trust the Bible (Part 1)
Everyone has a “Bible.” Not everyone has the book containing the old and new testaments that we call the Bible, but everyone has a “Bible.” If by Bible we mean an ultimate source of authority, then everyone has a Bible. Your Bible might be the power of human reason and rationality; it might be your parents; it might be your philosophy teacher; it might be another religious book; it might be the person you see in the mirror, but everyone has an ultimate source of authority. Everyone has a Bible.
I trust the Bible containing the old and new testaments as my ultimate source of authority. Why do I trust the Bible? In a series of posts, I will attempt to answer that question. Continue reading “Why I Trust the Bible (Part 1)”