Did Jesus Teach Cannibalism or Transubstantiation?
In John 6:53-56 we find a strange statement by Jesus that troubled even His disciples (6:60): 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 “He who...
What is Wisdom?
If we define it by lexical etymology, then philosophy is simply the affection for or love of wisdom. Consequently, how we define wisdom will go a long way in helping us get to the heart of what philosophy really is. In Proverbs Solomon uses the term nearly fifty...
9 Steps for Bible Exegesis and Exposition, Step #5: Identify Lexical Keys
After we have recognized and understood the relationships of words to each other, we need to examine the words themselves. The context of the word is the greatest definer, but lexical meaning is important. At this point a lexicon is a necessity. The standard authority...
“The most effective leadership, management, and efficiency models share traits common with each other, and traits that are ultimately traceable to the pages of the Bible. While these models are often not intentionally rooted in Biblical concepts by those that promote the models, the models illustrate how applying Biblical principles can set a trajectory of success in enterprise and in life. Led By a Lion is designed to introduce some of these leadership, management, and efficiency models, but goes a step further in identifying the Biblical genesis of many of the core traits that fuel the success of these models.”
A Friend at Home
On Saturday, November 2, 2013 a friend and student of mine abruptly made his journey to meet the Lord. While none of us knows how much time we have in His service here, the unexpected death of a loved one is always jarring and difficult. I know Ray Woody’s family is...
Is that a Loofah? It’s a Quee-no!
In a surprisingly highbrow stroke of illustrative humor (I wonder how many of the target audience actually knows how to pronounce quinoa), Bud Light has capitalized on a very interesting aspect of our psyche. The series of commercials that this particular ad belongs...
Resisting The Three Enemies of the Christian
Every believer has three opponents who are constantly trying to derail our walk with Christ. Ephesians 2:1-3 identifies them by name. The first enemy is the course (or age) of this world. That is, the world system itself, and not the people in the world (Eph 6:12)....
“This approach has the advantage of seeking to view all knowledge through the lens of Scripture, and to subject all knowledge to the authority of Scripture. It encourages science and research within the field of psychology. It offers a Biblical balance of description and prescription. Of course, if the Bible is unreliable, then the refractive power of Scripture is distortive rather than corrective, but the epistemological premise of this approach is that God’s word is authoritative and sufficient for our understanding, for our equipping, and for our practice. There are many extra-biblical resources that we can employ, but in seeking out how and when to do that, we mustn’t lose sight of the one reliable constant that God has provided for us – the Bible.” –Chapter 9
If It’s Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing…Poorly
A wise man once told me “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.” Though I cannot recall the context of the conversation, I have never forgotten those words. They serve as a lasting reminder to me not to trade good for excellent. Sometimes we can get so caught...
The Hermeneutics of Continuationism, Part 3
More recently, John MacArthur has been a leading advocate for cessationism. MacArthur’s Charismatic Chaos attempts a Biblical response to the charismatic movement, and succeeds more than most. Like Chafer, MacArthur begins his defense of a closed canon by appealing to...
The Hermeneutics of Continuationism, Part 2
Premise 4: An explanation for the soteriological similarities is found centrally in the shared methodology of appealing to TR authorities (as illustrated by MacArthur and Piper). Self-identified leaky dispensationalist, John MacArthur pursued clarification in the...
“The Green Tree is an exceptional work…provides a vital tool for every Bible interpreter…Just as the root system is the foundation of a tree and directly impacts the health of a tree, hermeneutic method is at the root of one’s worldview. This illustration demonstrates that the hermeneutic method that an interpreter of the Bible employs will significantly affect the outcome. The tree will either be healthy, or it will not be healthy…The authors provide a unique examination of Revelation, Genesis, and Job that demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is derived from within Scripture, something that other hermeneutical methods fail to demonstrate. This is perhaps the most crucial principle demonstrated in The Green Tree, and it effectively demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is also the Biblical hermeneutic.” – Andrew Friend (Amazon Review)
Congressman Frank Wolf Challenges Christian Leaders to Action on Global Persecution
Below is a letter by Virginia Congressman, Frank Wolf, from earlier this year. In his letter, Wolf calls upon Christian leaders to speak out about the increasingly global persecution of Christians. It is even more relevant now than the day it was published: Dear...
How to Fail Well: A Warning to Pastors
As I stand in front of students at the beginning of a pastoral class, I write on a whiteboard four words in no particular order: children, God, church, and wife. I ask them a simple question: “Are any of you perfect?” My absurd question is met with the smirks and...
Forgiveness, Righteousness, and a New Walk
Our new position in Christ does not just include the removal of debits (forgiveness, Acts 10:43, Rom 4:7, Eph 1:7, Col 1:14, 1 Jn 1:9), but also the addition of credits (the righteousness of Christ, Rom 1:7, 3:22, 4:3-5, 5:17-19, 2 Cor 5:21). Both are required for a...
Where Does the Seminary Fit in Relation to the Local Church?
This article discusses the relationship of the seminary to the local church. Specifically it argues for tangible recognition on the part of seminaries that the local church is the Biblically designed co-center (along with the family) of Biblical education. I advocate...
10 Keys For Church Growth
It is amazing how feverishly we sometimes pursue things that aren’t real. Imagine a church growth conference for pastors in which there is more attention given to a Stanford economist than to the words of the Bible (really happened). Imagine a book outlining keys to...
Logical Errors of Affirming a Disjunct in John 10
The formal structure of a fallacious argument affirming a disjunct looks like this: A or B, A, Therefore not B. This is not a valid form of argument, yet it is a commonly utilized fallacy. Let’s look at two examples often inferred from John 10. John 10:11 reads, “I am...
The TX Attorney General Opines on federal and state regulation of religious education
The THECB's request for an opinion. The AG's opinion.
The Courage to Finish Well
As the calendar pages have turned to a new year, many people are making new commitments. But some are finishing theirs. It’s odd how much we focus on New Years resolutions and laud those who commit themselves to all sorts of betterment, yet we often fail to recognize...
Metaphor and the Sonship of Christ
How can Jesus be both the Son of God (John 1:34; 3:36) and God Himself (John 1:1; 20:28)? To the casual reader, this seems implausible. Nonetheless, the Bible is consistent, presenting both as realities. Consequently, both realities are true at the same time or else...
A Biblical Theology of Punching Them in the Nose
Typically in the early mornings our family reads the Bible together. Right now we are working through the Bible in consecutive order to try to see how quickly we can read through the whole thing together. That’s always fun and challenging. But every now and again, we...