X Close Menu
  • Featured Posts
  • Show All Posts

Physicists and cosmologists are ever in search of what they call 'a theory of everything,' or a T.O.E., a hypothesis that is all-encompassing in its explanatory power, a theory that can account for both the sub-atomic world of particle physics and the galactic expanse of supernovae and black holes. Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, is the author of a fascinating book entitled, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions...Read More

It is important to point out that Calvinists and Arminians share a considerable amount of common theological ground, even when it comes to the issue of salvation. Perhaps the most important issue on which they agree is anthropology, or the doctrine of man or human nature. Both camps acknowledge that fallen human beings are born with a corrupt and depraved nature, in bondage to sin, utterly unable to do anything pleasing to God. Both camps agree that unregenerate human be...Read More

Authority and Method in Theology: Theological ProlegomenaRead More

The Dangers of Intimacy with GodRead More

The Divine Decrees: The Lapsarian DebateRead More

What are the sources for theology? By what means may we know God? In answering this question, theologians regularly speak of general revelation and special revelation. By the former is meant that non-redemptive knowledge of God to be found in creation and conscience, a knowledge that is universally accessible (hence, “general”). By the latter is meant that redemptive knowledge of God as revealed in the person of Christ, the living Word of God, and in the Bibl...Read More

1. I would despair of my eternal destiny. I would have no assurance of salvation. Knowing the depravity of my soul, I would most certainly apostatize were it not for God's sovereign preservation of me (cf. Rom. 8). 2. I would be terrified of all suffering, with no confidence that God can turn evil for good and bring me safely through. Cf. Rom. 8:28 and relation to vv. 29-30. 3. I would become manipulative and pragmatic in evangelism, believing that conversion is altoge...Read More

Individual Eschatology: The Destiny of the Believer Read More

Millennial Madness is Driving me Nuts!: A Meditation on the Eve of Y2K Read More

The foundation for a relationship of passion is a heart of purity. Sin kills intimacy.   Isaiah 1:13-15 Isaiah 59:1-2 Jeremiah 7:16 Jeremiah 14:10-12 Psalm 5:4-6 Psalm 15 Psalm 66:18 Proverbs 11:20 Proverbs 12:22 Proverbs15:29 Proverbs 28:9 Matthew 5:8 John 14:21,23 Hebrews 12:14     It follows, therefore, that perhaps the greatest obstacle to a vibrant and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is the failure or refusal to repent. &nbs...Read More

(Col. 1:28-2:3)     (1) The two greatest obstacles to my ultimate goal are that people are uninformed and disconnected. The former limits their passion for Jesus and the latter limits their compassion for people.       (2) The primary way (Col. 1:28) to overcome these obstacles is to teach them (that they might have understanding of the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" [Col. 2:3] that are in Christ alone) and admonish them (that t...Read More

Prayer and the Power of Contrary Choice: Who Can and Cannot Pray for God to Save the Lost? Read More

Pss. 80:14,18-19; 85:4-7; 119:25,37,149; Isa. 63:15-64:12. When I was growing up, the word Revival meant one thing: going to church on weeknights and listening to a man "Yell!" his sermons. All of us have probably faced the struggle of overcoming caricatures of revival. I had to face the fact that no matter what my experience had been early in life, it was wrong of me to equate revival with an evangelistic campaign. There is nothing wrong with evangelistic campaigns, or...Read More

The doctrine of man's total moral depravity, the bondage of the will, the teaching of Scripture on faith and repentance as God's gifts to his elect, as well as the doctrine of grace, all suggest that regeneration is prior to and therefore the cause of faith. What follows is a brief discussion of two passages in the Gospel of John that have great relevance for this issue (see also Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3,23-25; 1 John 5:1). 1.     &nbs...Read More

The Eucharist   The word “sacrament” is derived from the Latin sacramentum which had two general uses: (1) It referred to the sum of money deposited by contending parties involved in a court proceeding. The amount subsequently forfeited by the loser was often applied to sacred purposes. The verb sacrare meant to dedicate or allot something to a god. (2) It was also used in military circles for the obligation of a soldier to his leader or country and la...Read More

The Eucharist   E.         The Sacramentalism of the Roman Catholic Church   McGiffert provides this helpful summary:   “The significance of the sacraments for the life of the Christians of the Middle Ages is impossible to exaggerate. They were not mere isolated rites; they were bound together by their common quality as signs and vehicles of divine grace. They constituted the very heart of Christianity. B...Read More

There is no more critical issue in theology than that of authority: by what standard, on what grounds, from what source, and for what reasons do we believe something to be true and therefore binding on our conscience (beliefs) and conduct (behavior)? Donald Bloesch put it this way:   “Is authority to be placed in human wisdom or cultural experience, or is it to be located in an incommensurable divine revelation that intrudes into our world from the beyond? D...Read More

A.        The Roman Catholic Doctrine of Scripture and Religious Authority Rome differs from the Protestant view of Scripture principally on three issues.   1.         The Extent of Scripture – What actually constitutes inspired Scripture, says Rome, is determined by the conciliar consensus of the church or by papal edict. Thus, the apocrypha was officially introduced into the canon ...Read More

The Doctrine of Complete Inerrancy   Contrary to the perspective of limited inerrancy, the Bible makes no distinction between inspired and uninspired texts or topics nor does it place any restrictions on the kinds of subjects on which it speaks truthfully. See esp. Acts 24:14; Luke 24:25; Romans 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11. The word “infallibility” comes from the Latin infallibilitas = the quality of neither deceiving nor being deceived. “Inerrancy”...Read More

The question before us is simple, but the answer is not:   "How does the Bible function in Christian counseling?"   Others have phrased the question in a slightly different form:   "Is the Bible sufficient for Christian counseling?"   However the question is stated, the practical side of the issue reduces to this:   "Does the Bible address every problem and every issue Christians face?"   If by the word "address" one means "the B...Read More