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Obedience to Jesus is Faith!
“Bro, I gotta tell you… this goes down in history as the first time I have ever been called a Pharisee for saying that Jesus is Lord – because I believe that saying ‘Jesus is Lord’ means we should obey...
View ArticleWhy Did Nero Throw Christians to the Lions?
“Nero did not throw Christians to the lions because they confessed that ‘Jesus is Lord of my heart.’ It was rather because they confessed that ‘Jesus is Lord of all,’ meaning that Jesus was Lord even...
View ArticleLoyal Liars
Years ago, a new term was introduced into church jargon: the Loyal Liar. It was first used in a fictional story about an older liberal professor mentoring a young Pentecostal pastor into giving up his...
View ArticleSo… What is the Gospel?
“Jesus died for your sins, and that’s good news!” So ended the form-letter that my friend wrote, emailed to me, and asked me to read (and edit) for him. My friend wrote the letter so that he could cut...
View ArticleShould the kingdom of God be viewed against the kingdom of the cross? Ummm… no.
Pick up Crown of Thorns today!
View ArticleWhat’s the “therefore” there for in Matthew’s Great Commission?
Before we jump in here, just a reminder that there are actually five great commission texts (at least) in the Gospels and Acts. This post is about the one in Matthew’s gospel. In my post surveying the...
View ArticleSome Thoughts on Communication, Culture & The Gospel
Where there is a distinct language, lingo or even jargon there is a distinct culture every time. Often times communication on every level fails to a greater or lesser extent because this rule is...
View ArticleNon-Confessional Movement
“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16) Some people don’t like doctrinal statements, viewing them as...
View ArticleEntitlement 101: the Wrong End of the Telescope
“This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use...
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No Divisions or Disagreements! Just Gospel Agreement!
There’s been a lot of discussion related to the differences between central or essential doctrines and those that are secondary. Jesus said that a unified church is a testimony to the world (John...
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What are the Privileges of Believers?
Have you ever stopped to think about the privileges that believers in Christ have? Sometimes I think we take what we have for granted, so it’s helpful to have a reminder. Tonight I was reading through...
View ArticleThe Chick-Fil-A Hoopla
So I was going to write a long post about what I thought concerning today’s “Support Chick-Fil-A” reverse boycott. I planned on explaining that I’m sure the intentions of those who started this idea...
View ArticleHeinrich Bullinger on Justification
Heinrich Bullinger, the 16th century Swiss Reformer, wrote a book with a typically long title: “The grace of God that justifies us for the sake of Christ through faith alone, without good works, while...
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Striking the Balance Between Comfort & False Conversion
As an advocate of what is essentially a Reformed perspective regarding issues related to soteriology, I fully subscribe to the idea that those whom God has chosen for salvation shall, in the end, be...
View ArticleCulver on the Purpose of Election
One of my favorite systematician writes: “An examination of some of the relevant passages reaps the following fruit of teaching. Believers have been chosen by God ‘to the praise of his glory’ (Eph....
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The Necessity of Contextualizing the Gospel is Found in the Gospels!
One of the most powerfully convincing statements on the necessity for contextualizing the gospel can be found in The Convergent Church. When answering how we can take the timeless gospel and apply it...
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No! The Old Testament Saints Were Not “Saved” by Works!
It happened again. I was listening to a popular radio preacher and they repeated an idea I have heard many times in my life. He stated that in the Old Testament, people were “saved” by obeying the Law...
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The Problem of Sin is Not the Purpose of the Gospel
Spring is here and one of my favorite things to do is go after weeds with my weed eater. I hate pulling weeds. I also hate killing weeds with weed killer because it makes much of my yard brown, not...
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A Theology Reshaped through Racism and Grace
The opportunity to experience the grace of God is an experience like no other. In this so called post-racial world, I had a run in with a racist old man. I had just let my wife out at the door of the...
View ArticleEmphasize Discipleship Over and Above “Decisionism”
I don’t want to undervalue the necessity of people making a “decision” to follow Jesus as Lord, but I think it’s somewhat true that there’s a prevalent ideology at work in many churches that simply...
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