Why Am I Planting a Church in San Diego?
After much prayerful labor by many people, on July 25, 2015, as God allows, San Diego Fellowship of the Bible (SDF, for short) will launch. But why and with what distinctives? One characteristic shared by many areas in the United States is the number of local...
Some Definitions Related to God’s Program and Administration
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 explanations of these...
Israel and the Church: Are We Not All Descendants of Abraham?
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...
“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.”
Reader Review: Integrating Exegesis and Exposition
by Greg Perry – Integrating Exegesis and Exposition was an unexpected pleasure for me. Literally, while reading the first page of the first chapter, a sentence struck me as extraordinary insight into Scripture so I stopped right there on the first page and went to...
The Plurality Principle: How Many Pastors Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?
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...
Biblical Ethics For Those Who Don’t Believe
The perception that the Bible is simply a collection of do’s and don’ts is not new, and is a conclusion easily drawn by those who haven’t actually read the Bible. But an attentive reading of the Bible helps us understand quite a bit about who God is and what He...
“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
Eternal Security and Christian Ethics
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...
10 Reasons to Study the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
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...
New Book Announcement: Integrating Exegesis and Exposition
Available now, from Exegetica Publishing, is a new book by Dr. Christopher Cone – Integrating Exegesis and Exposition: Biblical Communication for Transformative Learning. ISBN# 978-0-9765930-5-8 / 302 pages / Retail:$23 / Available at Amazon and Other Fine Retailers....
“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)
Patterns in Exposition: Biblical Dynamics for Preaching and Teaching
Biblical Rationale for Dynamics in Communication Just as we seek to discover our hermeneutic method from the pages of Scripture, and just as we seek to apply those principles consistently, we also need to recognize that Scripture has much to say regarding how we...
The Hermeneutic and Exegetical Implications of Descriptive and Prescriptive
The short-form process of discerning and appropriating the meaning of a Biblical passage includes the four basic steps of (1) observation, (2) interpretation, (3) correlation, and (4) application. The more detailed process exegetical process includes nine steps: (1)...
The Biblical Difference Between Preaching and Teaching
The Greek New Testament uses many different words to describe distinct methods of communicating. There are thirteen hundred and twenty-nine references in the Greek New Testament using forms of the word lego, which is to say or speak. Two hundred and ninety-six times...
Epistemology’s First Task: Identifying the Source of Authority
In any worldview there is a necessary first step of establishing the source of authority. Simply put, our first step is a step of faith in determining who or what we will trust in order to answer the questions of life. This is the first task of epistemology. For Hume...
The Bible on Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism, Part 2
Other Passages Answer Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism Genesis 6:6 – God is sorry, and grieves. The LXX uses the word enthumeomai, which is simply to consider or think about, not to “be sorry” (See Mt 1:20). The Hebrew nachem is to have sorrow or to console oneself....
The Bible on Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism, Part 1
Exodus Answers Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism The problem of evil presents a challenge for philosophers and theologians who hold to the existence of God. Simply stated, the problem includes three conditional premises and a concluding question: If God is all powerful, all...
Comfort in the Midst of Tragedy
It surrounds us constantly. We can’t escape it, though sometimes we brush up against it without realizing how near it really is. The imminence of tragedy and heartache is a cold and unwelcome reality for all of us, as we were reminded by the awful flooding in...
Pope Francis: Belief in God Not Necessary?
On September 11, 2013, Pope Francis wrote a Letter to Those Who Do Not Believe, responding to Eugenio Scalfari, in answer to several questions, including whether or not God forgives and saves those who don’t believe in Him. Francis writes with admirable goals to...
Seth Godin, Star Trek, and the Meaning of Life
Seth Godin recently made the point that as more and more people have equipped themselves with cellphones and digital cameras, UFO’s have stopped visiting. His point is to illustrate that our increasing ability to debunk myth has had a somewhat rationalistic impact....
9 Steps For Bible Exegesis and Exposition Step #2: Understand Background and Context
Once we have established the boundaries of the passage we are studying, and are confident that we have the best reading, we can march ahead in our exegesis. In the second step, we seek to understand the background and context of the passage. First, we need to identify...