I was raised to hold tightly to the ideology of freedom and liberty. It is an ideology that the Bible commends. My Baptist ancestors were champions for religious liberty, hazarding their lives for it. And I have always lived in a culture that at least on the surface, valued the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of…
Category: <span>Spiritual Meandering</span>
This is part one of a three-part article about interpreting difficult passages in the Bible. These articles do not deal with the spiritual aspects of Bible interpretation (prayer, humility) or the technical part of interpretation (textual criticism, bibliology). Concerning the former, spiritual disciplines are assumed as being the priority; and about the latter, these articles are meant to be for…
Almighty Father, you have sent your Son as the Prince of Peace[1] having made war with sin and our lawless hearts you have crucified the old man[2] that we might walk in newness of life.[3] Indeed, Father, the old is gone the new has come[4], and thus, being justified, we have peace with You, our holy God through our Lord…
I have always liked the children’s song, “Jesus Loves Me,” but was thinking about a greater truth this week, something that is more fundamental than the love that Jesus has for us as his children. It is what Jesus said in John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep, and am known of mine.” Jesus knows…
I am relentlessly challenged by the magnificence of the Psalms, especially those penned by David while he was in despair. To those Christians who have or do struggle with the gloomy darkness of depression, these Psalms are like a sweet salve to the soul. I love the way David’s writing always begins with sincere honesty of his depressive struggle, but…
The phrase “derived authority” is a good way to explain pastoral authority, in that the authority pastors have, is derived first from the Scripture and second from the congregation who asks them to lead them. “Delegated authority” is a good way to explain deacon authority. In 1 Timothy 3, Paul instructs Timothy on the quality of men who should occupy…
Congregational authority is derived from the Word of God and is limited to those areas where the Bible gives his people instructions. According to Baptist polity, the regenerated church, assembled in particular localities and autonomously governed, under the principles and commands of Scripture, has authority to admit into membership born again and baptized believers; to expel and remove from fellowship…
In 1925, a young Martyn Lloyd-Jones was filled with massive internal debate concerning his future. A rising star within the medical community, a brilliant thinker, and a recent convert to Christ, Martyn was overcome with a new passion, a passion to teach God’s truth at every possible moment. While not yet a pastor, he was invited to lecture at Charing…
What do you do when you are so distraught and overwhelmed in your soul that you literally are holding on the wall to keep from falling to the floor into a heap of discouragement? How do you steady yourself when you are so stressed your whole body is shaking? How to keep from screaming at the top of your longs…
It has been a very emotional couple of days; heights of joy in reuniting with my sister’s family (missionaries in Poland) after several years to solemn contemplation as I touring the Auschwitz 1 labor and death camp, to sheer wonder at the largest Medieval town square in Europe in “Old Town” Krakow. I am enjoying my first European travels in…