Don't get me wrong, we all need discernment. I have a love-hate relationship with certain Discernment Ministries. By their very nature they look for fires to put out. Sadly, in their zeal, they sometimes end up being spiritual bullies. In some cases they end up as a vigilante, heresy-hunter industry, rather than a … [Read more...]
What is Justification?
What is Justification? How or when are Christians justified? Is there any difference between Justification and Sanctification? Is there any relationship between the two? These terms and their relationship to each other have confused me in the past. I'm not a theologian or a Bible teacher. I've drawn the following … [Read more...]
Israel Replacement Eschatology
Israel Replacement Eschatology - it kinda sounds awkward and goofy, doesn't it? We know about Replacement Theology and its manifestations. This is different. In the former, prophecies about Israel get re-imagined and woven into the larger organism of the church. I've moaned before about the Reformers not … [Read more...]
Adoption into the Family of God
The other day the topic of our adoption into the family of God came to my attention from several sources. One came via a sermon by Ian Hamilton, in which he cited J. I. Packer's book Knowing God. Hamilton regarded chapter 19, Sons of God, as one of his favorites. Some time later I was reading Mike Reeves' book … [Read more...]
The Devil Goes to Church
Not only is Satan alive and well on Planet Earth, but the Devil goes to Church. My apologies to Hal Lindsey for stealing his line, it was too good to pass up. The concept of Satan and his minions running around causing havoc is generally treated with ridicule in our post-modern society. This is definitely true in … [Read more...]
Pilgrims in a Foreign World
Have you ever gone back to an old childhood neighborhood? Most of us have likely done that. Once, on a whim, I visited my old school. I was eight or nine when we moved. It looked smaller than I expected. Of course, I was a grown up now. There was a time when we could play on the grassy median strip of the adjacent … [Read more...]
A Blessed Christmas 2018
Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas 2018! This is the time of the year when all Christians ought to contemplate on the miracle of Christmas. This is the time when the Eternal Son, by whom all things were made, condescended to be born as one of us, in order to bring redemption to us, and all creation. I often … [Read more...]
A Reformation of Eschatology
Last year (2017) marked the celebration of 500 years of the Reformation. The entrepreneurial-ecumenical Pope Francis seized the opportunity by cozying up to willing Lutherans. The old Reformers wouldn't have approved. Some lost their lives defending the Five Solas. At the time, however, a Reformation of Eschatology … [Read more...]
Asia Bibi the Canary
Most of us have heard the phrase "Canary in the Coal Mine." If it died the miners knew there were dangerous gases around. The term has been used of the Jews. The rise of anti-Semitism and violence against Jews is the Canary. The West should be concerned that Asia Bibi is also the Canary in the Coal Mine. Will we heed … [Read more...]
Beware the Zombie Christians
Beware the Zombie Christians. They're coming to get you! I could be wrong but I think I've only ever seen two zombie movies. One was an old Bob Hope film, while the other was a more modern British comedy. Everyone knows what a zombie is and isn't. They're mindless walking undead. If they get a chance they'll kill … [Read more...]
