I am in Austin for the ACCS conference, and while on the plane coming here, I spent some time listening to N.T. Wright on Jesus and the victory of God. His treatment of the parable of the sower was profound, and seeing the prodigal son as Israel in exile is clearly the foundational way to …
What We Need Around Here Is a Good Steak Knife
A friend sent me some links that I would like to pass on to you. James Dobson recently took issue with Obama’s foray into scriptural hermeneutics and cultural applications. You can read about that here. The passage in Obama’s speech that Dobson no like is here. And the full Obama speech is here. The problem …
A Random Recommendation
A few weeks ago, Nancy and I watched a movie we really enjoyed. The cinematography appears to have been done by Andrew Wyeth, with the whole movie powerful and understated. You have the clear and satisfying sense of having been told a story. The good church folks in it are blinkered and provincial, but are …
Saying a Few Amens With Scott Clark
Just a quick response to Scott Clark’s comment about faith and obedience. This is also part of my continued interaction with Lane, since Lane handed this round off to Scott. There are a number of places there where I could cultivate my differences with Scott, as though they need cultivating, but let me take this …
The Secret Motor
Over the last few years, I have learned a lot about the secret motor that makes pretty much everyone go down the road. But God gives more grace, as James would say. Here is a set of messages where I try to condense into manageable form some of what I have learned about this.
False Doctrine Digs Tunnels
The word anatrepo is used in the New Testament twice. It is translated once as “overthrow” (2 Tim. 2:18), and another time as “subvert” (Tit.1:11). In the first instance, the canker from Hymenaeus and Philetus said that resurrection was already past, and this was sufficient to overthrow the faith of some. In the second instance, …
Preach Everything to a Head
“Preach the doctrines of grace, dear brethren, and those who like not your Lord will either be changed themselves or change their minister” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, pp. 106-107).
Church and Kingdom Distinct
“When we envision the kingdom of God on earth we are not envisioning everything under the authority of the church. We’re envisioning everything under the authority of King Jesus . . . Christ’s kingship is wider than His rule over the church” (Steve Schlissel, Christian Culture in a Multicultural Age, p. 8).
A Seven-fold Woe/Amos 7
INTRODUCTION: In this passage, we begin part way through chapter five, and continue on through the entirety of chapter six. Amos eloquently continues to hammer away at the two things that turn God’s stomach—false worship and an opulent, violent stupidity. THE TEXT: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! . . .” …
Bum-fuzzled, Pole-axed, Gob-smacked, and Bewildered
Lane does not believe the chess game is over, as he states here. He says he is not going to “answer every point,” which is fine. I would be content if he simply answered the central one. He says this, “Quite simply put, our response to God’s command to come to faith is God’s doing, …