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In: Bible, Spiritual Formation

Language has a unique way of expressing two different tenses simultaneously. It’s called a “future present” tense. We use expressions such as “I am going to the store” or “We are having hamburgers for dinner” to denote a future action yet the verb tense is in the present.

Likewise, this notion of a future present can carry ethical implications as well. Read More

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In: Bible, Spiritual Formation

God says what we do with our mind matters. Consider (with your mind, of course) just a sampling of passages (in no particular order) that speak to the use of our mental faculties.Read More

On:
In: Bible, Personal

In reading through Proverbs, I found chapter 18 instructive on the nature of the Blogosphere.

v2 “Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.”

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On:
In: Bible, Hermeneutics

Are there any reasons to believe Christ appeared to Old Testament characters?

Some suggest that at least one of Abraham’s three guests in Genesis 18:1-15 was Christ. But is this the case? As for my research and reading from John Walton’s excellent commentary on Genesis, there’s sufficient reason to believe Abraham did not speak with Jesus. Read on.Read More

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In: Bible

Over the years, I’ve become more and more convinced that the most difficult verse in the Bible is John 13:17. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” The difficulty is not in the knowing; it’s in the doing, which happens also to beRead More

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In: Bible

For “Mature” Viewers Only
We live amidst a broken world in broken bodies with broken souls. One need not look past the morning newspaper or an honest look at their own lives to find something in which to despair. Sadly, I know some chronologically “mature” believers who make it their life task to lament this world and its brokenness. They seemingly find no reason whatsoever to rejoice. Sure they know that God is perfectly in control and has only their best interests in mind, but their predominate communiqué tells another story. Paul’s admonishment in Philippians 4:8 apparently does not apply to them as they see only the false, ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, et al. Read More

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In: Apologetics, Bible

A Brief Treatise on Inspiration, Infallability, and Inerrancy

At the outset it’s necessary to define some terms that are are thrown around rather loosely in Christian circles, such as “inspiration,” “inerrancy,” and “infallability,” and zero in more precisely what they mean. As is well known, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “all Scripture is inspired by God [literally, “God-breathed”].” The term “inspired” more precisely connotes expiration rather than inspiration, since the source of Scripture is God and he “breathed out,” as it were, the content of Scripture. The mode by which he chose to communicate was, of course, human agency, but without displacing the writer’s peculiar style, background, personality, et al. In so far as copies were faithfully reproduced from the original manuscripts, truthfulness and accuracy was preserved in the text. Read More

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In: Bible, Hermeneutics

On Having the Right Conclusions But the Wrong Support A few days ago I received an e-mail from a dear friend who was encouraged by a message from John 11. Her pastor took verse 44b, where Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go” (NASB), as a call for ChristiansRead More