INTRODUCTION: Recall that we have learned that the wrath of God is revealed in the world, and it is revealed as God “lets go”of a culture, allowing them to run headlong into various suicidal and fruitless practices. In this text, we find a deepening expansion of the point Paul has already made. THE TEXT: “For …
Vegetarianism Involves More Than Liking Your Veggies
Every Christian longs for the day when this sorry world will be put completely to rights. One of the features of that day will be the destruction of our weapons, their transformation to peaceful use, and we will shut down the Naval Academy and West Point, their services being no longer required. As I said, …
Forbear Threatening
We have already consider one word for threatening (apeileo), and we now come to another closely related one (apeile). As before, threatening is something the ungodly do. In one place, the two words are used together, for straitly and for threatening. “But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, …
The Glory of the Obvious/Romans 4
INTRODUCTION: God the Father is prominent in the first three chapters of Romans. God the Son figures largely from the middle of three to the end of five. And then the Holy Spirit is central from chapters five through eight. We have the wrath of the Father, the propitiation of the Son, and the liberating …
Don’t Force It . . .
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 …
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 …
Principles and Methods
The Bible tells us to strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). The many aspects of this require much thought, study and work. One particularly important area is the important distinction between principles and methods. “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes …
The Stimulus Packages Headed Your Way
I was thinking about the financial monkeyshines of the really smart people who have been running our major insurance companies, brokerage houses, and banks, and I was also thinking about the solons who are passing these lunatic bailouts, and a passage of Scripture came to me. It is not talking about high finance, but it …
The Gospel for All Nations/Romans 1
INTRODUCTION: The book of Romans is a first century, apostolic fund-raising letter, and the fact that it almost never strikes us this way simply demonstrates how divergent our practices are from the biblical practices. The apostle Paul was seeking to minister in Spain, and he wanted the help of the Roman church. As part of …
Ten Things to Keep in Mind After the Election
I write at the very beginning of election day, not knowing the outcome. These are things that we should remember regardless, and they will be applicable regardless. 1. God is still Father, Christ is still at His right hand, and the Holy Spirit is still abroad in the world, recreating that world according to the …