Sometimes I joke around about Christians taking over the world. That’s tongue and cheek, but I do believe we want to get as many people on the right side of history as we can. What I mean by that idea, getting “people on the right side of history,” is simply that we desire to persuade…
Here are a few things we believe are worth a look. I’m a baptist who lives in land full of Lutherans. Therefore I decided it was worthwhile to read the Augsburg Confession, the Lutheran statement of faith submitted to Charles V in 1530. It’s a worshipful document, even when you don’t agree with every word.…
Soteriology refers to the doctrine of salvation. Under this particular theological category, one finds a number of topics. For instance, the doctrine of conversion falls here. Then, under the doctrine of conversion, one finds discussions of faith and repentance. Often these two elements (faith and repentance) are discussed as two sides of the one coin…
Just about every sermon about money I’ve heard in church has been about how much and how often and in what way we are supposed to tithe. The messages and texts are often the same: “Bring the full tithe in!” (Malachi 3:10); “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing!” (Matthew…
A friend of mine recently called with a confession. Though married, he had gratified himself after fixating on a tantalizing visual image he came across while at work. He was broken. He was frustrated. And he was confused about where he was to go from here. Have you ever been there? Have you ever wrestled…
Have you ever thought of waging spiritual warfare with a butter knife? Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 that the spiritual warfare of gospel ministry is all about tearing down the resistance in people’s hearts to the captivating truth and beauty of Christ. What that resistance is changes throughout time and culture. In Paul’s day,…
On Tuesday, Nathan wrote a post on how he has learned to be thankful, rather than jealous and grouchy, about other churches in his city. But what about when we feel we have cause to be grouchy? Maybe we hear that those churches are watering down the gospel, obscuring it by majoring on preferences/tradition, or…
In the year 410, Rome fell to Alaric and the Visigoths. In light of those events, Jerome would write, “My voice is choked, broken with sobs as I dictate this letter. The city that conquered the entire earth has now itself been conquered” (Nick Needham, 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power, 321). Romans, having enjoyed such…
Take a minute and think about the role of an ambassador. What comes to mind? What is your assignment, your job? Ambassadors speak on behalf of others. When Nikki Haley walks into the United Nations, she speaks on behalf of the United States government and therefore the United States people. She carries our message. That…
This past year, evangelicals (whoever they are: see this article) celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. In the five centuries since Martin Luther nailed his thoughts to the castle door in Wittenberg (1517), have Roman Catholics (RC) and Protestants closed the gap between them? To state it differently, one wonders if RC’s and…
Theology Along the Way 