conscience, ecclesiology, ethics, excerpts
The Bible describes with clarity many responsibilities of believers in the contexts of government and society. Still in some areas believers are not given specific instructions, and instead must rely on applying general Biblical principles to contemporary challenges....
eschatology, ethics, excerpts, philosophy, politics
“If you believe that you’re going to leave and evacuate to somewhere else, then why do anything about this world?”[1] This question is not a new one. It is a very common indictment against interpreting the Bible in a literal way. After all, if we take the Bible...
abortion, bioethics, death, ethics, philosophy, politics, science
At a political forum in 2008, then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama famously sidestepped the important question of when life begins. He wittily quipped that such a question was above his pay grade. Still, not surprisingly, during his administration he has...
eternal punishment, grace, hope, Jesus, resurrection of, Jesus, teachings of, salvation, theology
Sharing His love with others, communicating the Gospel, and making disciples – it is easy to focus on how we should help others who need Jesus. We can get caught in the trap of only looking outward when we think of those needing His grace. We remember that “the wrath...
same-sex marriage, sexuality
Why I Oppose Same-Sex Marriage For those seeking to operate from a Biblical perspective, we must understand that there are at least three relevant (to this discussion) ethical contexts in the Bible, and that the Bible keeps those contexts completely distinct. There...
ecclesiology, exegesis/exposition, hermeneutics, spiritual gifts
As I was writing this article, in another room Lovely Bride quizzed Youngest Daughter on her spelling words (including the word “duck”). Meanwhile Oldest Daughter studied at her desk and was just about to get up from her desk and walk to the room where the following...
ethics, lists, time management
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey (2012), the average working person between the ages of 25-54 spends 2.5 hours per workday in leisure and sports (is Facebook a sport?). That’s 12.5 hours per week, about 50 hours per month, and...
exegesis/exposition, hermeneutics, spiritual gifts, theology
Question: In previous articles you referenced the definition of tongues in Acts 2, but what about 1 Corinthians 14? And why does Paul use the word φωνή rather than γλῶσσα ? Answer: In employing the literal grammatical-historical hermeneutic we acknowledge the progress...
ecclesiology, epistemology, ethics, philosophy, theology
The insistence that all things are essential (for the purpose of God’s glory) should not be mistaken for an insistence that the believer is responsible for the agreement or disagreement of others. When Paul mandates in 1 Corinthians 1:10 that believers should agree...
exegesis/exposition, hermeneutics, salvation, theology
Aristotle introduces his Nicomachean Ethics with these words: “Every skill and every inquiry, and similarly every action and rational choice, is thought to aim at some good; and so the good has been aptly described as that at which everything aims.” While Aristotle...
