Gospel
Is “Submit” the Only Word We Can Say to Christian Wives?
She came to me cautiously. Clearly she was a woman distressed by her husband’s deep unkindness. Her story touched on pain, on fear, on confusion, on hatred. My heart ached with sympathy as her heart cried for help. I responded to her cautiously. Clearly she needed the true counsel of God’s Word to salve her [...]
Pastoring Your Street
As we reach the end of the year, you may be invited to one of many block parties and community Christmas celebrations. If not, then why not create one? These events can be a lot of fun to relax and connect over a cool beverage. In an ever shrinking window, society takes a break from [...]
How to be Wrong when Right
One of my work colleagues – let’s call her Kristie – is on a self-confessed journey of converting from Judaism to selected aspects of Buddhism. Last month, while we were waiting for a flight in the Qantas Club, Kristie described to me how she is creating her new designer spirituality based on what she likes. [...]
Five great theological themes of the gospel: Regeneration (part six)
If you’ve ever played paintball, you’re probably familiar with the idea of regeneration.1 After a player has “died,” he must make his way to the “dead zone.” After a set time has passed, he is regenerated and may re-enter the field of play. Spiritual zombies In order to understand why regeneration is necessary, you have [...]
The Harvey Dent Solution
Darkness rules in Gotham City. Although Batman’s vigilante attacks against evil have caused a glimmer of hope to shine in the hearts of the faithful, Gotham continues to be engulfed in corruption and crime. New district attorney, Harvey Dent, enters the story as the city’s great hope for addressing real problems. Touted as the “White [...]
Five great theological themes of the gospel: Justification (part five)
To justify is to defend as right… or just. Justification, then, has to do with the means by which we who are anything but just, are declared by God to be just. We the unjust The reason justification is necessary is that we are not just and we cannot be just. We have rebelled against [...]
Grace-Based Confession
Bobby Emberley is in his last year of his bachelor’s degree programme at Bible college in the US. As a “pastor’s kid” brought up in a fundamental church and Christian school, he is well acquainted with fundamentalism as an insider. When he shared this story with me a few weeks ago, I asked him to [...]
Five great theological themes of the gospel: Imputation (part four)
The word “impute” means to credit, attribute, or assign. In imputation, something is assigned to something else. The Christian doctrine of imputation is closely tied to the atonement and to justification. The atonement is the value that is assigned. Justification is the result of that assignment.1 In a sense, imputation is the mechanics of how [...]
Feeling Guilty, Feeling Good: The Twisted Self-Tortures of Spiritual Addictions
Her stricken face is etched in my memory. An out-of-town visitor to our church, the troubled woman approached us in anguish after the service. Her problem? Our church’s failure to have an invitation at the end of the service so she could “get things right” with God. Spiritual addiction. It’s the idea that I can’t [...]
Five great theological themes of the gospel: Propitiation (part three)
If I had to sum up propitiation in one word, it would be “satisfaction.” In propitiation, the wrath of God is satisfied. An angry God We may underestimate the importance of propitiation until we have a proper estimate of the wrath of God against sinners. The Scripture teaches that God “feels indignation every day.”1 That [...]
Is Gay Marriage an Attack on the Gospel?
Let me put my cards on the table about marriage: I don’t believe the government should have any say in marriage. Marriage is a religious ceremony established by God. So to be consistent, why should atheists even bother getting married? To be further consistent, why should Christian couples bother getting a marriage certificate issued by the [...]
Five great theological themes of the gospel: The atonement (part two)
Australia’s T. C. Hammond, principal of Moore Theological College in the middle of the twentieth century, had this to say of the atonement: If the student has insufficient time for an attempt to master the other important sections of Christian Doctrine, let him, at least, have a firm grasp of this, which is the very [...]
