Lane and I continue on. First, Lane says, “The instrumentality of obtaining the glorified state was works in the first covenant, and faith in the second covenant. This is non-negotiable.” Suppose I were to say something like this — would Lane find it acceptable or not? I am honestly asking. “The instrumentality of obtaining the …
Not the Only One
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 155 He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool Cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage (Pr 26:6). Other proverbs have addressed the difficulty of getting good help. This addresses the same principle, but with a twist. …
Arguing High Theology with the Hot Dog Vendor
One of the testing points of wisdom is the matter of identifying what the real issue is. In ancient rhetoric, this is what stasis theory was about — what is really at issue? What is the hinge upon which all turns? Luther complimented Erasmus at the conclusion of The Bondage of the Will because he …
The Just Shall Live By Faith
The center of the chiasm that is Habakkuk contains the phrase, “The just shall live by faith.” It is the central point of that book, and Paul cites it in a way that shows it to be the central point of Romans. A sermon on all that is found here.
The Importance of Fathers
Most boys growing up need to be taught their strength, as when they are horsing around with their younger siblings. They are bigger, stronger, and much more influential let us say, than they think they are. But this need for teaching this lesson doesn’t disappear when boys get past the horsing around stage. In their …
Mercy and the Divine Warrior
If we talk about “balancing” the attributes of God, we can easily fall victim to our own metaphor. These are not discrete elements that can be placed on a balancing scale, with justice making the left side go down, and mercy making the right side go down. Rather, God intervenes in our story, and He …
The Sin of Threatening
The word apeileo means to threaten, and is used twice in the New Testament. In both instances it is cited as a sinful kind of behavior. When the Jewish leaders were trying to shut down the apostles early in the book of Acts, one of the means they tried was that of threats. “But that …
Though Some Died in the Process
“The human race discovered most of the home truths about nourishment before the nutritionists bored everyone silly” (Robert Farrar Capon, Food for Thought, p. 10).
The Old Corn of the Land
“Trials drive us to the realities of religion. You may feed on chaff until you have real work to do, or real grief to bear; but then you want the old corn of the land, and you must have it, or else you will faint and fail” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, pp. 384-385).
Why There’s 57 Channels and Nothing On
“Only in this century did the techniques of recording, film, television, and video make art, music, and literature in all their forms—from the highest and most cultivated to the lowest and crudest—accessible to virtually every member of society, even teenagers and young children . . . This vastly increased availability of every form of art …