In his book, God is the Gospel, John Piper opened my eyes to the ultimate aim of the gospel. That is, the good news brings me to God, my “exceeding joy” (Ps 43:5). “Today—as in every generation—it is stunning to watch the shift away from God as the all-satisfying gift of God’s love. It is…
I want to interact with those around me, respond to sin (either mine or others), and generally live in such a way that I put the good news of Jesus on display. Of course, I’ll never do this perfectly but I should strive to make everything I can in my personal life point to the…
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,…
One of my favorite leadership expressions says that if you think you’re leading people but no one is following, you’re not leading – you’re just taking a walk. A surefire way to get people to stop following is to be demanding and correct them constantly without offering profuse encouragement. As Mark Chanski says in his…
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash I can’t overstate the gift that friends have been in my life. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate or value friendships in the past it’s just more of me coming to an understanding deep in my soul that I would not/will not make it without friends. Read that sentence again. I mean…
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…
Theology Along the Way 