The Old Testament and Inspiration
I recently read an article authored by OT scholar and professor Peter Enns in which he discussed the compilation process of the OT (link to article here). This has been of particular interest to me as of late due to my desire to understand the nature of Scriptural inspiration. I believe that understanding the process of inspiration is concomitant with how we understand the very mind and heart of God, a quest which presumably all Christians have embarked upon (cf. Jn 17:3).
Misunderstanding Sin
He is IMPORTANT in the church. When a friend shared with me some horrible sin of a person in the church, I said, “For his sake and for the sake of the church, report him to the police.” My friend responded, “But he is an “important” older person in the church.” I am not blaming my friend, who is a genuine, sincere and passionate Christian. But I am addressing a horrible theology that implicitly says, suggests or implies that if someone is “important” (or older) in the church, then we let his sin slide. Really?? Furthermore, what does “importance” (or age) in the church have anything to do with what is right or wrong?
Why do such shocking things happen in the holy church of God? My contention is that our theology (Bible study) always informs our Christian life. As I am studying Romans slowly and deliberately, I am positing a grossly inadequate understanding of sin as to why sin continues to thrive even in the church and often dealt with rather poorly. Continue reading →
Ten Works of Satan
I’ve heard rumors that some at ubf ministry think I am doing the work of Satan or that I’m even Satan himself. Forests also reported hearing such things in a recent comment. And as MJ pointed out, quite a few people at ubf think that Ben and I are a bad influence. So then, let’s examine Satan’s work. What does the bible have to say about the schemes, works and methods of Satan? Whether you believe there is an actual being called Satan out there (I do) or not is not the point of this article. In any case, we should be able to see that the following ten things pointed out in the bible as being works of Satan are not good ways of interacting with our fellow human beings.
John 10 Testimony
In the 10th chapter of John, Jesus explains he is the good shepherd. He uses a metaphor calling his elect sheep, and calling himself their shepherd. He says metaphorically that although the world and Satan will attempt to steal them away, they will not follow. He says “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” In the next passage Jesus foresees his death, resurrection, and the gospel’s revelation to the Gentiles- “I have other sheep that are not of this pen. I must bring them also… I lay down my life- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”
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How big is your binder?
Three ring, white binders. Remember those? This week my son needed several three-ring binders for High School. Of course, as good and faithful ubfers in the past, we have plenty of those! Many years ago I had packed up all those three ring binders of bible study notes in a huge bin and stored them in our basement. I had thought of having a huge bonfire with them after resigning from ubf, but then I thought, no these are evidence! Who would ever believe I spent over 15,000 hours studying the bible if not for those binders? Well I don’t really care about such things anymore, so I emptied the binders and threw out some of those old notes this week. I even found a “Marriage Preparation” binder :) I took a brief glance through the notes and realized once again how severely shallow our “bible study” was for all those thousands of hours. The answers to the questions were just quotes of bible verses, repeats of SLee’s messages and unthoughtful remarks expressed as incomplete sentences.
Galatians Set Me Free From Legalism – Part 2
As a follow up to an article I didn’t write I think it only apt to say that Galatians Set Me Free From Legalism was the best article I never wrote. That aside, I brought this up with my friend Steven, a seminary graduate. We had a long conversation about my time in UBF and I discussed how I believed that my chapter supported a legalism that was not in line with Paul’s letter to the Galatians. I did not expect him to disagree with me.
Testimony – Galatians 6
A certain someone named BK told me to be direct with my testimony this week. The message this week was on Galatians 6. BK must forgive me, because his book review is still in the works. I know he will forgive me though. I have been hearing very ungraceful things from a certain roommate recently. Multiple UBF pastors I have spoken to share the same concern. This testimony is what has followed many discussions.
Book Review: God and the Gay Christian
In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized to Galileo. 359 years earlier, Galileo and those who listened to his teachings were condemned by the church. The church said the bible clearly taught that the sun revolves around the earth. The invention of the telescope, however, and Galileo’s findings, demonstrated the opposite: the earth revolves around the sun. The centuries old teaching by the church was wrong. I think someday the church will also apologize to Matthew Vines, who steps into the epicenter of the LGBT-Christian debate with his new book, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships.
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Galatians Set Me Free From Legalism
Are you free from legalism? Reading and studying Galatians in 2009 set me free—28 years after becoming a Christian. This freedom and exhilarating liberation came from reading John Stott’s excellent commentary on Galatians. I read Galatians dozens of times since 1980. I knew it was about freedom. I assumed it proclaimed freedom from sin. But I was stunned to discover that the freedom Paul spoke of was freedom from legalism–the idea that you must add or do something else in addition to believing in Jesus in order to be saved and to be regarded and welcomed as a complete Christian of good standing in the church.
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