ethics, grace, philosophy, same-sex marriage, sexuality
From evolving societal perceptions of gender and sexuality and from newly adjusted legal definitions of marriage emanating from SCOTUS emerge significant complications for churches and other faith-based organizations. As a result, there has recently been a wave...
church polity, ecclesiology, leadership, success
For some unidentifiable reason I enjoy tormenting students with an important albeit slippery theological and philosophical question. What is good? As you might imagine, the answers I get are quite diverse. One student recently responded by citing an online dictionary...
bible overviews, covenants & promises, eschatology, exegesis/exposition, israel, salvation, theology
Understanding the Biblical usage of terms such as dispensation, covenant, and kingdom of God can go a long way in helping is recognize what God’s big picture is, and how He intends to fill in the details. Let’s take a look at some definitions and...
ecclesiology, exegesis/exposition, israel
Galatians 3:29 explains that, “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” The passage leads some to conclude that those who are in Christ are ultimately grafted into Israel, and receive the covenant blessings promised to...
ecclesiology, leadership, organizational leadership
The Grounding of Monocratic Leadership Just as the people of Israel could not stand to be without Moses for even forty days, so the church has allowed itself to become dependent on icons and to fall prey to the cult of personality. It seems that Israel, failing to...
eternal punishment, ethics, grace, salvation, same-sex marriage
Practice is from position, but never to position. The ethical mandates of the New Testament are decisively clear that believers are to walk in the richness of the position we have been given (Eph1:3), and that the position is actually necessary for the walk (Heb...
bibliology, education, lists, priorities
Ephesians 2:14-16 describes in some detail how Jesus Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law. Further, we discover that God’s righteousness is revealed outside of the Law (Rom 3:21), that justification comes from faith not works of law (Rom 3:28), and that the growth of the...