The power of forgiveness is your secret weapon against sin. This forgiveness comes to you by the grace of the gospel. The law did not forgive you. The law told you what you should have been doing. It told you what you had done wrong. So, what does the law tell you now? Now that … Continue reading Learn to Speak the Language of Obedience
Alister McGrath overviewed the epic, centuries-long battle between good and bad theology in Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth. Here are five ideas about heresy that, according to McGrath, are either myths or misconceptions. Myth One: Heresy arose from boredom with orthodox doctrine and an appetite for something new Most of the classic heresies arose … Continue reading Five Myths about the History of Heresy and Orthodoxy
What if we studied history more like we remember our own lives? We don't look back on our lives as a series of events that happened on certain dates. Instead of dates, we remember where we were, what we were doing, how old we were, and how old our children were. So here is an … Continue reading The Life of Miriam: An Insider’s View of Early Church History
In the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul issued this challenge: "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20 ESV) When we understand what was happening in Corinth in the first century, both … Continue reading Paul vs. the Debaters of the Age: Some Background to the Corinthian Letters
Abandonment to Divine Providence was first published in France in 1861, but it was based on letters written as far back as the 1730s. The letters were believe to have been written by a priest named Jean Pierre de Caussade. Abandoment to Divine Providence is also known as The Sacrament of the Present Moment. Put those … Continue reading The Disciplined Simplicity of Abandonment
"There is no surer basis for fanaticism than bad history, which is invariably history oversimplified." This quote is from Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (three thousands years because he starts with the ancient Greeks and Israelites). I think I can see the logic behind MacCulloch's statement. A fanatic can't be reasoned with … Continue reading Two Common Mistakes That Lead to Oversimplified History
Frank Morison didn't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He thought it was a myth. He studied the Gospels because he wanted to write a skeptic's account of the passion narrative. As he studied, he became convinced that he was dealing with eyewitness accounts of a true event. The book he ended up writing … Continue reading Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, and the Backroom Deal That Fell Through
"Every talks about Jezebel, but nobody talks about Diotrophes." I once heard a preacher say something like that. This was at a time when it was very common to hear or read a message about the Jezebel spirit. The point the preacher was making was that Jezebel is not the only bad example in the … Continue reading Diotrophes’ Disease: The Love of Preeminence
The Sermon on the Mount through the Centuries is a collection of essays in which scholars look at how different commentators have approached the Sermon, from John Chrysostom to John Stott. Here are some of my favorite parts. Chrysostom: The Philosophy of Christ Was Jesus a philosopher? Certainly many early church fathers tried to present … Continue reading The Sermon on the Mount through the Centuries
This is one of the many great benefits of the cross. It centers you. It makes you whole and keeps you whole by uniting your fragmented heart. This benefit has been described well by Horatius Bonar in his book, God's Way of Holiness. First published in 1864 in Scotland, God's Way of Holiness is one of … Continue reading The Cross of Christ Is Your Center of Gravity
