Filed under: For Believers, My Writing | Tags: Salvation, Jesus, Heaven, Justification, Obedience, Justice, Forgiveness, Doctrine, Grace, Kingdom
It should strike us as odd that the greatest (professing) Christian nations are so immoral. Either Christianity is a sham or those calling themselves Christians are missing something of their calling. Surely the blame for this phenomena lies at the doorsteps of those who preach Easy-Believism where a quick prayer is enough to guarantee a ticket to heaven regardless of moral behaviour. Can we recover the Biblical message of salvation without diminishing Jesus work and God’s grace?
(more…)
Filed under: For Believers, Mere Christianity, My Writing | Tags: Bible, Christian, Atheism, God, Salvation, Jesus, Gospel, Christianity, Mere Christianity, Heaven, Universe, Morality, Man, Paul, Romans, Obedience, Atonement, Cross
I remember how visibly shocked an atheist friend of mine was when I told him that the core message of Christianity was NOT a moral one. Perhaps you are shocked and are sure that Christianity’s chief concern is our morality. Perhaps you are well past personal moral striving (self-righteousness) and into justification by faith but still sure that the whole point is our moral dilemma before God and that Jesus is the solution for our guilt as a result of our immorality. I hope to offer a glimmer of a much bigger plan which Jesus announced and is still being unveiled.
Filed under: For Believers, My Writing, Thoughts | Tags: Atonement, Bible, Forgiveness, God, Gospel, Hell, Jesus, Love, Peace, Salvation
I hear again and again that if you believe Jesus died (i.e. atoned) for your sins you are saved. Paul says the Gospel is the power of salvation to all who believe (Rom 1:16) and thus, putting 2 and 2 together we arrive at the formula that the Gospel is, essentially, atonement.
Although this is indeed good news for those who believe it, I’ve argued elsewhere that this is not the real Gospel but a subjective implication. The real Gospel is the royal proclamation of Jesus’ Kingship, a message about Him, true for everyone, a call to all to obedience and allegiance. Nevertheless I’m prepared to consider that I might be wrong and that Atonement is the Gospel and I would like to explore that possibility.
(more…)
Genesis 6 begins with a puzzling report of the “sons of God” coming down to earth and producing offspring with human women. These strange hybrids, presumably part angel and part human, are called “Nephilim” (traditionally translated “giants”) and are identified with the great heroes and warriors of old.
Chuck Missler, Grant Jeffrey and others have some interesting views on these Nephilim and the whole theory has been taking up much airtime on God TV as well as being a major subplot in Wendy Alec’s The Chronicles of Brothers series (see The Fall of Lucifer). According to this theory the Nephilim are indeed giants but are also semi-demonic figures. The reasoning is that “sons of God” refers to angels and that Nephilim is a form of the Hebrew “naphal” which means “fallen” – the Nephilim are the offspring of fallen angels (demons).
Filed under: Books, For Believers | Tags: Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Justice, Peace, Salvation
Ever since I heard Tim Keller explain that the root of all problems is failure to believe the Gospel I’ve been fascinated by discovering just what exactly “The Gospel” is and how it is the “power of salvation”. What fact could there possibly be which, when believed, saves and totally transforms a person? Part of my discovery came from listening to N.T. Wright argue persuasively that the Gospel is, quote, “Jesus is Lord” and that most of what we consider to be Good News is a consequence of this.
In the evangelical world the Gospel is taken to be the radical and indeed life-transforming truth that we are justified by faith alone apart from works. Implicitly or explicitly we are told, works are bad because they insult the work Jesus did. I’ve discussed why I disagree with this view in Which Gospel and my realisation is that this is a shrunken, individualised and subjective good news which encourages passiveness and occludes the royal announcement of Jesus’ Kingship which is for the whole world to hear.
Filed under: For Believers, My Writing | Tags: Christianity, Romans, Salvation
Consider the following two candidates for the title of “The Gospel”:
- Jesus died to pay for your sins so that you can go to heaven and escape hell apart from moral attainment.
- Jesus is the Messiah, God’s anointed King. Through Him God is restoring and renewing all creation.
As Christians we believe both these statements but which is the “Gospel” Jesus and the apostles proclaimed? Both these messages are, in different senses, good news. Let us consider both messages from a Christian (believing) perspective. (more…)
Filed under: Books
The Fall of Lucifer has the honour of being the first book I’ve ever read in a single sitting. It’s not what I would call a page-turner but, being one who reads so little fiction and lingers over books for months, I just wanted to see if I could do it.
(more…)
Filed under: For Believers, My Writing, Thoughts | Tags: Bible, Doctrine, Heaven, Hell, Jesus, Obedience
Doctrinally speaking, the church is in a mess. This worries conservatives, for whom doctrine is all-important, as much as it does liberals for whom doctrine is divisive and dangerous. On the whole, it damages our credibility when the world sees our doctrinal divisions and thinks: Why would a God permit such confusion and division? Why do some Christians teach this and others that? Best to stay agnostic!
The more I study doctrines and the Bible, the more I see that no doctrine captures and can account for the entire message and spirit of scripture. Doctrines try to make the Bible answer questions it doesn’t and we forget that the Bible is not a work of Systematic Theology designed to be a handy reference to all questions about God.
(more…)
God is not a Magician who tricks reality.
The universe was formed from nothing but the creator employed quantum physics in order that condensed energy formed galaxies and solar systems.
Man was created from dust but the stages in between reveal how contrary to nature our existence is as blind matter strives up towards intelligent beings.
Forgiveness of sins was not obtained by formal pardon but paid in blood by a young first-century Jewish prophet.
God is not a Magician who tricks reality.
Rain is not a miracle in itself but it is sometimes the answer to prayer.
Each one of our cells produce 2000 perfect proteins a second and we assume they must.
God is not a Magician who tricks reality.
Ask God for patience and He will send you queues and tiresome people.
Complain to God about the worlds Evils and He will show you what you need to do.
Search for God and He will change your heart so you can see what is already there.
God is not a Magician who tricks reality.
God is Real.
Filed under: For Believers | Tags: Atonement, Faith, Forgiveness, God, Jesus, Justice, Justification, Paul, Romans, Salvation, Torah
We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Rom 3:28
This verse, for some, stands at the heart of Paul’s letter to the Romans, Pauline Theology, even the Gospel itself. I used to think it meant “we (Christians) get saved because we believe in something (Jesus, the Resurrection, the Gospel) instead of by doing any meritorious works”. Indeed that is how many Gospel presentations run in showing how Christianity is different from all other “striving” religions.
This sounds like Great News, an easier way to heaven, but I’ve been reading and studying Romans in detail and find four mistakes in this interpretation.
