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…
Category: <span>Education</span>
“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Colossians 4:5-6) As noted previously, the direct application is to our gospel witness with our lives that we engage in on a daily basis, yet I contend that…
The next several articles will focus on these two verses written by the Apostle Paul to the Colossians applied to the various venues of communication that take place in our current culture. This first installment will provide the overview of the contextual meaning of the verses. “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech…
Essential Truth about God—Justice We humans desire justice. Even those with obvious marks of depravity understand the need for justice. Our entire legal system is predicated upon the notion that justice is not only desired it is attainable. Civilizations that place a high priority on justice will often be wealthier and happier. Two words related to justice used often today…
Essential Truth about God—Freedom-Cont. In our last installment of the grace newsletter, we noted the freedom that God possesses as creator, sustainer and sovereign of the universe is revealed through the tiny first person being verb, “I am.” In choosing a name to reveal himself to the chosen covenant people, God chose to use a word that would simply explain…
When we consider the divine process of sanctification, we often fail to realize the unique and necessary tension that the Scripture presents in walking in truth and obedience. Individuals and groups routinely find themselves pitting two necessary truths of the Christian life one against the other and taking sides in the issue. It has been said that ideas have consequences,…
The title of this post did not originate with me. You have probably seen it or heard people say it as a twist on the popular children’s song “Jesus Loves Me, This I know.” I have no beef with the children’s song. Although some strong Calvinists feel that the popular song is not consistent with New Testament doctrine, and whereas…
Good leaders, whether in the church, the family, education, government, or business have several qualities in common. Each of these areas of community must function differently and different gifts and skills accompany leadership in these places of service. Yet there are some basic truths concerning leadership that applies across the board in all these areas of life. Of course, the…
It has been a while since I have had the chance to write a blog post. This text has been rolling around in my mind for some time (having recently taught through Jude), but I have not had the chance to formulate and type my thoughts. In Romans 16:16 Paul urges the Brothers in the church to watch out for…
Tim Challies (avid blogger and Christian author) recently interviewed Dr. Russel Moore about the value of reading fiction. I have always enjoyed some fiction (historical fiction sometimes irritates me, but that is just my tastes I suppose). In this portion of the interview, Dr. Moore writes some interesting thoughts about the value of fiction for the Christian and makes some…