I recently came across an argument by a professing Christian who was attempting to refute a fundamentalist (i.e. someone who believes the Bible) with what amounts to a full frontal assault on sola scriptura. It is a weak assault, but an assault nonetheless. It goes like this: “Christ Himself is the Word of God, not […]
We Christians are often guilty of “compartmentalizing”; that is, placing God in his little box while we–living in the “real world”–take care of our own problems and live according to our own devices. But the Bible advances a different view of reality. On this view, there is no ultimate significance to any part of life, […]
Grace is the means by which I become a Christian, and faith is the mechanism that makes those means effectual. Put another way, faith is the hand that reaches up to God to access the grace I must have in order to get saved. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we […]
Proverbs 16:17-25, The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. He that handleth a matter […]
Perhaps one of the saddest trends in the church writ large is the misuse of Scripture to justify means apart from the intended truth of the text. Prosperity preachers often misuse the Scriptures to gain the financial support of their followers. “Emergent” preachers misconstrue the teachings of Jesus by boiling the gospel down to a […]
Peter tells us that grace is a many-splendored thing. (I Peter 4:10)Thus far we have examined two aspects of grace, saving grace – the unmerited favor that results in my salvation, and helping grace – the unmerited favor that helps me to do what God tells me to do. In this post I want to examine yet another […]
Proverbs 16:17-25, The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. He that handleth a matter […]
Sola scriptura is a term first applied during the Reformation period that refers to the acceptance of Scripture alone as the only infallible source of truth, and therefore the highest and final authority in all matters of faith and practice. But as alluded to in a previous post, the term means different things to different […]
“…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Act 1:11). A beloved southern gospel song starts with the words “Jesus is coming soon…” While no one knows how soon, all who read and believe Scripture know he is […]
This is post #2 in a series on Grace. Grace is a gem with many facets. Peter said as much when he admonished us, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10) “Manifold” means numerous or varied, and […]
