Theology That Bites Back
The Bible teaches us that the times of the new covenant are attended with a greater glory than the old covenant, as well as with a greater simplicity. In effect, that simplicity is part of the glory. The arrival of Jesus the Messiah was not a signal for us to lapse into some kind of …
The Bible instructs us on how we are to live together. When we do not follow those instructions, there are two kinds of disobedience. One is flagrant, and knows that it is disobedient. When professing Christians give way to these sorts of temptations, the results are called theft, adultery, fornication, sodomy, false witness and so …
Jesus Christ has ascended to the right hand of God the Father. This does not mean that He is now on the other side of the universe. It actually means that His authority is suffused throughout the entire universe. And this is inescapably political. Jesus is a king. Not only is He a king, but …
Scripture records of the Lord’s teaching ministry that He taught with authority, and not like the scribes. Scripture tells us in another place to beware of those who hold to the form of religion, but who lack the power of it. The words we read, every week, are powerful. The lyrics of our psalms and …
When we live in tight community the way we do, it is not possible for this to happen without some of us becoming indebted to others of us. Scripture says we are to owe no one anything except the debt of love, and this either means no debt or no debt but what is fully …
As Christians who live in history, as believers who occupy time, we want to make sure we understand the tenses of the verbs that describe our salvation. Before the foundation of the world, He has chosen us. That is in the past. His past choice concerns our future—that we should be holy and blameless. Because …
The task before us today, in these times, is that of learning how to live faithfully as Christians in the station to which we have been assigned, and yet to do it with an eye on the big picture. We need to understand that the nation will not be transformed by direct action, aimed at …
The apostle Paul once said that he filled out the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1:24). Clearly, he did not mean that the atonement was somehow lacking—when Jesus cried that it was finished, it really was finished. So what did He mean? The complete atonement established the body of Christ, and because of the completeness and …
The crucifixion was not a bad dream. It really happened. Jesus Christ really was flogged, His beard pulled out, nails driven into His hands and feet, and a spear thrust into His side. It was not something that His disciples thought had happened, only to discover their error and that Jesus was still alive. No, …
God gives us stories throughout the Scriptures, and He does not do this for purposes of entertainment. God tells us the stories of our fathers—in the Garden, in the ark, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the promised land, in the empire, in exile, and in the return, so that we might know how to …
