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The Gospel and the Law Bible BasicsFeatured Posts

The Gospel and the Law

In discussions of so-called “same sex marriage,” Christians are frequently accused of hypocrisy for taking the passages in the Law of Moses dealing with homosexual behavior literally but ignoring for example those concerning eating shellfish or wearing clothing made of two different kinds of fiber.  The accusation might bear some weight if the decision about which provisions of the Law…
August 8, 2023
The Believer’s Three Callings, Part 2 Bible BasicsFeatured Posts

The Believer’s Three Callings, Part 2

In the previous article, I argued that a fully-formed biblical worldview recognizes three callings on the life of the believer: the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, and the Cultural Mandate. Of these, the Great Commandment is the most important, and the other two flow from there. For a number of reasons when dealing with the commandments, Jesus, Paul, and John…
July 5, 2023
Misappropriating the Reformation (3): Sola Scriptura BiblicalFeatured PostsTheological

Misappropriating the Reformation (3): Sola Scriptura

The Protestant Reformation was triggered by a conflict over the issue of justification, that is, how our sins are forgiven and how we obtain salvation. To resolve this issue, it was necessary first to address the question of theological methodology: what is your final source of authority in answering theological questions? The answer of the Roman Catholic Church, as codified…
June 13, 2023
Misappropriating the Reformation (2): SOLA GRATIA BiblicalFeatured PostsTheological

Misappropriating the Reformation (2): SOLA GRATIA

In the first article of this series, I argued that modern American Evangelicalism has misunderstood the teaching of the Reformers that we are saved by faith, not works, and with it the Biblical text that we are not under law but grace.  While it is certainly true that our sins are forgiven by the finished work of Christ, and that this…
June 6, 2023
Misappropriating the Reformation (1): Sola Fide BiblicalFeatured PostsTheological

Misappropriating the Reformation (1): Sola Fide

Although there were many streams of Protestant thought during the sixteenth century, nearly all of them agreed on three key ideas summarized by three Latin phrases: sola fide, we are saved by faith alone; sola gratia, we are saved by grace alone; and sola scriptura, scripture alone is the final authority in theological matters. Protestants disagreed on pretty much everything…
May 30, 2023