Gospel
BOOK RELEASE! Theological Meditations on the Gospel
God uses weakness to show his strength. That is not the topic of this book. No, it’s how this book came to be. God allowed a period of time in my life recently when I felt useless. I had few opportunities to minister and my faith was being tested. It was during this time that [...]
The Gideons
Last Saturday night, I had the privilege of attending a Gideon’s support dinner to raise funds for Bible distribution in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Prior to the evening, my perception of Gideon’s had been positive yet limited. I knew they had a focus on placing Bibles in hotel rooms, but not how they were unashamedly [...]
When Were You Saved?
It is a common question that we often ask new people that we meet. It is an important question, because it reflects our eternal destiny. However, the answer to this question is not as straight forward as we may think. Consider these 5 possible and yet correct answers to the question “When [...]
“God is the Gospel” by John Piper
Piper, John. God is the Gospel, Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself. Wheaton: Crossway, 2005. 179 pages. Every now and then, a book comes along that will dramatically enrich your life. This was one of those books for me. When Piper says that God is the gospel, what he means is that [...]
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 [...]
