When I first began to really understand and experience the first three cornerstones of the Christian life, I was overjoyed and consumed by my new life of grace alone. I realized there was really nothing left to do but relax, enjoy, and watch as God, in His own time and His own way, was at work in my life, just as He promised He would be as my Father. And why not? There is so much to appreciate, to revel in, and to be…
For the past two weeks, we have addressed the theological questions from the Bible of 1.) what God is like (absolutely sovereign) and 2.) what I am like (absolutely, totally sinful). The next obvious question is, what does the Bible say about how this holy, righteous, sovereign God relates to me, this wicked, depraved sinner? The answer is even more surprising and controversial than the answer to the first two questions. God loves me, in spite of my despicable, unrelenting sin. The Bible calls…
After laying the first theological foundation stone for our Christian faith last week—the absolute sovereignty of God in everything—let’s reflect on why many of us have a difficult time accepting that premise. The reason is that we are addicted—and we have been since birth—to the fruit of the forbidden tree that we ate in the Garden of Eden in Adam. We were seduced by Satan’s lie that we can “be like God,” having our own “free will” to decide, for ourselves, what is right…
As I begin to write these next few blog postings on foundational theology, I can’t tell you how excited I am! Knowing that my little group of readers (about 150 of the 1350 on my mailing list open my mailings each week) will be systematically exposed to these ideas brings joy and encouragement to my heart. The word of God is on the march and will not be denied, and we all get to be a part of that march! The first of the…
I have discovered over the years, since my initial encounter with Jesus while in college in the Fall of 1958, that I am particularly interested in theology. Who knew? Jill used to pray for me that I would be “interested in the Word,” a quality she looked for in a husband and found was severely lacking in my life when we met in 1964. After following a number of other biblical trails into various and sundry other Christian pursuits, years later I discovered myself…
The church is a church of producers, not performers. In order for the church to function at optimum capacity in its responsibility of extending the kingdom of God, each of us will become a producer, recognizing that we each have a task—an important role to play in the church. When we have been deceived into withdrawal, inactivity or resistance, the church is hindered from becoming what God intended: a demonstration to principalities and powers of the brilliance, wisdom and creativity of God. We are…
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11, 12), In this foundational passage about the functioning of the New Testament church, these men are “laymen,” non-professionals just like us, who are gifted by God to equip us to go into the world. These gifted men lead with their own weakness, loving all they meet…
One of the characteristics of first responders is that they run TO the danger and not FROM it. Who can forget the pictures of the fire-fighters and police who were dashing into the twin towers in New York and rushing up the stairs to almost certain death, while all around them—the terrified citizens—were madly scrambling down the stairs and fleeing for safety. Today, Satan’s desperate, last gasp counter attack against God here on the earth rages all around us. It is his version of…
We have been discussing for several weeks the New Testament church, what it is and its purpose and function in the world today—always, I am sure, eliciting many varied and controversial views. As we have done so, another of God’s kingdom-extending institutions, the civil government, has continued to make news, also with much controversy attached. I woke up this morning with some new thoughts about our current political situation that I believe are worthy of discussion. After reading this, if you want to talk…
Understanding the New Testament church, as we are endeavoring to do in these blog postings, involves making the biblical distinction between its message—the new wine of the gospel of the grace of God—and the new wineskin—an appropriate church structure to hold it. New wine will always, ultimately, produce a new wineskin, never the reverse. When someone experiences the grace of God for the first time and attempts to bring it into the old wineskin (Mark 2:22) of the traditional church, he will eventually become…