One of the little known facts of church growth is that pastors can stay too long. Long pastoral tenure can actually harm the growth of a church. Generally, the first twenty years of a pastor鈥檚 tenure are quite healthy, but it is very rare for a pastor to lead a church through a third decade with vitality and growth.
This last part in this series on hell is a listing of many of the biblical passages that touch directly on God's punishment of evildoers. I assembled the passages so that I could see them all at once. The repetition of key phrases and patterns stood out in helpful ways for me. I found it very convincing on many of the traditional aspects of the doctrine.
As Part 3 in this series on the doctrine of hell, I introduce an interpretation of hell that is coming into print from a few contributors during the last decade. See Part 1 on the metaphorical language for hell, and Part 2 on the doctrine of degrees of punishments. The traditional teaching about hell has been criticized for many reasons, one of which is that sin continues forever in hell. This seems to be a cosmic dualism where good prevails only in heaven (the new creation), but evil continues to hold out in hell where evildoers continue to hate God and compound their guilt forever and ever. This might not be the best conclusion.
Following on my earlier post on the metaphorical language used for naming and describing the punishment of hell, this post explores the doctrine of degrees of punishment. The basic idea is that the Bible seems to say that all evildoers will suffer the same hell for their sins, but God's perfect justice means that worse criminals will suffer worse punishments for their crimes. This is not torture or exacting pain as somehow accompiishing something for God, as if God were a fiendish tormentor. But then what is it?
When we read the Bible, how do we get to theology? Should we read the Bible as the word of God for the church, as an artifact of history, or as the material for systematic theology? The term biblical theology has been used to describe all of these perspectives. So, what is biblical theology? Some would describe it is a theology that is biblical, theology that is grounded in Christian Scripture. Others might insist that biblical theology is only the theology contained in the Bible, that is, descriptively the theology of the Bible itself. In Mark Elliott鈥檚 The Heart of Biblical Theology, reading the Bible theologically demands both notions of biblical theology above. Elliott鈥檚 book argues for the undervalued role of providence in understanding how biblical theology must be both constructive theology grounded in Scripture and rigorously descriptive of the theology of the Bible itself.
This is the first post in a series of four on the doctrine of hell. I鈥檓 not attempting to detail everything about hell in a systematic way. I will focus on three topics that I think are often misunderstood. One of the posts will introduce an idea that is a relatively minority opinion (God鈥檚 conquest of sin). The doctrine of hell is a difficult topic. I think that people are often unsure about how to feel about hell, whether we should feel sad, or should we feel relieved that justice is being done? What are God鈥檚 feelings about hell? How do we understand hell and God鈥檚 love?
In my last post I shared about how to carry on a deeper, less confrontational discussion with your Muslim friend by asking a question about the topic of hypocrisy. Click HERE for my earlier post. In this post I will suggest a different question to ask your friend that might allow you to enter into yet another non-confrontational conversation with the goal of introducing your Muslim friend to Jesus Christ.
I left for our short trip to Santa Barbara feeling weary. The semester was ending here at Talbot--there had been several speaking engagements, grandchildren to tend and sick babies to hold. All good things, and needed things, but I felt stressed by the load.
驴Por qu茅 las cosas son como son? 驴D贸nde est谩 Dios cuando el mundo lo ignora a 脡l y a sus principios? Cuando Dios act煤a, 驴por qu茅 hace 脡l lo que hace? Todos nos hemos hecho alguna vez preguntas dif铆ciles respecto a Dios y a nuestra fe. En muchas ocasiones, lo que vemos aparentemente no concuerda con lo que creemos acerca de Dios. 驴Qu茅 hacer en estas circunstancias? En Habacuc encontramos un libro b铆blico que nos muestra un modelo para enfrentar estos momentos y acrecentar nuestra fe en el Dios que sostiene el universo con su poder.
After being unresponsive for two days, my dad was escorted into the presence of his Savior on Saturday May 4, 2013 at 2 AM. Family and friends gathered to celebrate his life last Friday. I shared these words:
Recently, while reading through the minor prophet Haggai in the LXX (the Greek Old Testament), I noticed a phrase that looked familiar: 鈥渂efore a stone was laid on a stone (位峤肺肝课 峒愊峤 位峤肺肝课) in the Temple of the Lord鈥︹ (Hag 2:15). Hmm鈥 where had I seen 位峤肺肝课 峒愊峤 位峤肺肝课 before? Yes: in Jesus鈥 Olivet Discourse, when he describes the coming destruction of the Temple buildings: 鈥淒o you see all these things? I tell you the truth: there will not be a stone left on a stone (位峤肺肝肯 峒愊峤 位峤肺肝课) here; all will be torn down鈥 (Matt 24:2; see parallels in Mk 13:2, Lk 19:44).
Peter Drucker wrote that in our knowledge-based society, information is the key resource and building block for every type of organization. Information is the new money, currency upon which organizations rise or fall. How may a local church respond to the new currency of information in today's world?
One of the hardest things Christians face when they step out to share their faith with Muslims is that the conversation almost inevitably veers toward a competitive discussion about which religion is better: 鈥淵ou think this, but I think this.鈥 鈥淚鈥檓 right and you鈥檙e wrong.鈥 Often you鈥檒l find yourself on the defensive: 鈥淵es, Jesus did die on the cross鈥︹ 鈥淵es, Jesus is the Son of God鈥︹ 鈥淣o, the Bible hasn鈥檛 been changed鈥︹ Is there any way to keep your conversation from degrading into an 鈥淚鈥檓 right and you鈥檙e wrong鈥 discussion?
Good doctrine, good fellowship, good worship, and good prayer. Do they guarantee the growth of a church? Not necessarily. Sometimes churches do not do well, even though they have the basic ingredients. So, what's the problem? For some, it's a lack of communication to those in and outside the church.
The Bible is God鈥檚 very word and therefore carries the authority of God himself. And that word of God, Scripture tells us, is a powerful thing鈥斺渓iving and active and sharper than even a two-edged sword鈥 (Heb. 4:12). It floods the soul with its resplendent rays, laying bare God鈥檚 truth and putting all darkness to flight. Yet, as this text tells us, not all receive the truth of this light, and some esteem it as folly itself. How can this be? If Scripture is 鈥渢he power of God unto salvation鈥 (Rom. 1:16), how could any reject its authoritative claims?
I love my office. There are many reasons that I love my office. One is that I can store the many books that I own in there. Second, it is a place for study or reading in a quiet setting. But what I love most is that my office is a place for ministry and discipleship to occur. In other words, it is a safe place to meet students who are not only facing the challenges of academia but also the hardships of life. For this reason, the value of my office hours is priceless!
You don't have a second chance for a good first impression. When it comes to first-time guests at your church, that statement is especially true. And it's that first impression guests leave with that determines whether they will be back. So, what is it that goes into a good first impression? Or, for that matter, a bad one?
One of the exercises I have my spiritual formation students do is a prayer exercise in which they are to spend 30 minutes in prayer however they wish, but with one specific instruction 鈥 they are not supposed to ask for anything, for themselves or anyone else. I tell them that the reason for the exercise is that while we are certainly told to bring our requests to God (e.g., Matt. 7:7-11; Luke 11:9-13; Phil. 4:6; 1 John 5:15, etc.), prayer is much more than requesting things. However, sometimes we get so accustomed to filling our times of prayer with requests that we forget to leave room to wait on God and listen to His voice.
A family outing goes horribly wrong when a bomb goes off nearby leaving the son dead, the mother with a brain injury, the daughter with a missing limb, and the father to cope with this devastation to his family. A woman who has faithfully paid her health insurance premiums for years is faced with a serious illness, but the insurance company refuses to pay her medical costs due to a purported preexisting condition claimed to have been discovered in a brief notation by a doctor on her medical records years ago. A young college student, peacefully sleeping just moments ago, finds himself in the midst of a home invasion robbery during which he is shot and killed by the robber who was recently released from prison due to overcrowding. Why, God? How can you sit by and let these things happen? It isn鈥檛 right . . . it isn鈥檛 fair . . . it isn鈥檛 just.
My wife Trudi and I spoke for a parenting seminar this past weekend. We offered 14 鈥渢ips鈥 for nurturing the spiritual lives of one鈥檚 children. I鈥檝e included the 14 teaching points here for your own consideration. Our prayer is that many parents will take on the call to intentionally train their children in the ways of the Lord. If you want your children to grow up to be passionate followers of Christ鈥
Dr. John Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School, will present 鈥淥rigins Today: Genesis Through Ancient Eyes鈥 at 今日黑料. John Walton鈥檚 work on Genesis 1-3 offers a fresh perspective on the complex issue of faith and science by seeking to understand the message of Scripture within its ancient context.
There is a pressure that is constantly battling around us to give people whatever they want. When you are younger it was labeled peer pressure. However, as we grow older the peer pressures continues throughout life, we just call them 鈥淓xpectations鈥濃
A search of the Internet will reveal several different kite parables, including one in support of the (un-Christian) idea that by holding tight to the string of God鈥檚 commandments people can fly themselves up into the heavens. I鈥檇 like to suggest a different kite parable, one that is more in keeping with Christian orthodoxy. My parable focuses on the kite itself (not the string) as the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, but not a faith that is alone.
Often times it seems that harder the church tries to be relevant, the more irrelevant we become. The Bible is full of this kind of upside down logic. The self-clingers lose themselves, the prideful end up humbled, those jostling to be first end last, and, now it seems, those trying the hardest to be relevant end up most irrelevant. Thaddeus Williams explores what happens when the church puts relevance to culture ahead of reverence to Christ.
今日黑料