Just a few days ago I finished listening to a recent talk by Sinclair Ferguson on the New Perspective on Paul (NPP) that was simply outstanding. I had some quibbles here and there, but over all the talk was powerful, sane, balanced, and directed the critique where it mattered. The talk is available online, and …
Clouds and Thick Darkness
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! The Lord reigns! You our Lord, our only God Reign over all things! Let the earth rejoice, Let millions of islands rejoice in the sea! Clouds and thick darkness surround You, Righteousness and judgment establish Your throne; The two together are darkness …
Straight Line Power
When Jesus came as the long awaited Messiah, He did not play it out according to the anticipated script. Of course, He fulfilled the prophecies that had been given about Him, but over the centuries those prophecies had been gradually turned into something consistent with something that the religious heart of man dearly loves—straight-line power …
Soli Deo Gloria!
During His earthly ministry Jesus scandalized the proper by sitting down and eating with sinners. Two thousand years later, He is still doing it. That is why He is here with us today, and why He is seated at this Table. I mean, look around you. Look at your own heart, and your own history. …
Their Punishment Is Their Life
I just finished a fascinating book on the disintegration of French culture and national life, but one of the most striking things about the book was a comment the author (Denis Boyles) made in passing on the last page. “I was once a college teacher, and as those who teach know, the politics of the …
Bag of Snakes Seminary
“Suppose a man were to refer to certain respected theologians dismissively as having graduated from Bag of Snakes Seminary. He would instantly be upbraided for his un-Christlike behavior. Unfortunately for the one delivering the rebuke, it was discovered shortly thereafter that the speaker was Christ (Mt. 23:33)” (A Serrated Edge, p. 12).
So Who Believes the Bible In This?
[With regard to the logical distinction between slavery and racism] But we are not positing a separate existence for the two back then. We are positing a separate existence for them in our thinking. A century later, we have a better perspective on some things than they did, and we believe that racism is a …
More Out of the Nail Can
As we sort through the propriety of using satiric speech, there is first the doctrinal or theological aspect of it (what does the Bible require of us?), and after this is the practical or pastoral aspect. I would like to key off several important comments posted under my recent post on The Nail Can of …
The Poet Warrior
The story of redemption is not just a story about forgiveness being bestowed upon us in some heavenly transaction. It includes that, of course, but we must never forget how this salvation unfolds in the greatest story that any man ever told. And that story includes the slaying of dragons, the fall of ancient civilizations, …
Another Source of Strife
Another source of strife is an inability to see a disagreement from the other’s point of view. An ability to do this is not a concession that this other point of view is correct, but it does show the flexibility of heart that is necessary for avoidance of intractable strife. Paul tells us that we …