Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English non-conformist who was once a Baptist pastor who later turned to the Anglican communion. He has numerous writings available through Banner of Truth here. I recently ran across how Octavius defines prayer and wanted to share it here. “True prayer is the aspiration of a renewed soul towards God;…
Throughout the history of Christianity, followers of Jesus have consistently stated what they believe. This makes sense given that Christianity isn’t a vague religion with undefined doctrine. There are specific truth claims and particular doctrinal beliefs that mark Christianity off as distinct from other world religions. Where are these truth claims found? In the Bible,…
Evertt Ferguson, writing on the expansion of the Christian Church in the first three centuries, notes that “by the end of the third century Christians made up a sizeable minority of the population of the Roman Empire” (Ferguson, Church History, From Christ to Pre-Reformation, 174). Historians point to a number of factors that led to…
A number of years ago I took the Strength-Finders test as part of an evaluation process. In taking this particular test it was said that one of my areas of strength, so to speak, is “context.” That means I like thinking about the past. That’s true and I’ll chalk it up to a tool…
While justification is an act of God and is something he graciously does on behalf of sinners, this does not mean human beings are passive in every respect. Human beings must believe in Jesus. Upon believing, God’s response is to justify the ungodly (Rom 4:5). This exercise of faith is not a work that seeks…
Justification is by grace. That is, sinners do not deserve God’s favor. Furthermore, justification is not on the basis of works (cf. Gal 2:15–16) but comes through faith (Rom 3:28). Yet, in order to steer clear of ambiguity, theologians have taken time to identify the object of justifying faith. That is, what or who do…
While justification is an act of God and is something he graciously does on behalf of sinners, this does not mean human beings are passive in every respect. Human beings must believe in Jesus. Upon believing, God’s response is to justify the ungodly (Rom 4:5). This exercise of faith is not a work that…
There are times when small parts of the Bible really stick out to me. I often feel the urge to just marinate on part of a chapter or part of a verse. That’s what happened to me the other day when I read half of Galatians 2:12. I simply wanted to sit with the words. …
According to the Bible, humanity is clearly responsible to exercise Spirit-wrought faith in Jesus. When sinners willing place their faith in Jesus, God responds by justifying the sinner for their good and his glory. However, before we talk about the necessity of man acting in faith, we should first remember that justification is by grace.…
For those who follow Jesus, we should celebrate what Biden/Harris do well and we should stand in humble and loving opposition when they make missteps. No doubt, there will be reasons to celebrate. For all the rhetoric surrounding the Trump presidency, he did some things that benefited our nation. And on the other side, there…
Theology Along the Way 