Most Church people are kind, helpful, and willing to serve. 2. Some Church people are hurtful, selfish, and willing only to be served. 3. It will take at least 2 years knowing each sort before you figure out which sort they are. 4. Ministry is a thankless task; expect very little appreciation. 5. Lower your expectations of people, you’ll be less stressed out. 6. In … Continue reading A Few Realities of the Pastorate-Jim West
The old saying holds true: “One is not ready to live life until they are prepared to die.” We all know death is inevitable. Christ’s promise of life (immortality) is the antidote for the second death, To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev. 2.7b NIV). Those … Continue reading Death for a Christian
You can think of this post as “the brief confession of a former Van Tilian.” I don’t think I’ll ever truly get past my love for Cornelius Van Til. He is often derided as a notoriously confusing writer, but after many years of being immersed in his works, I have found his eccentricities of style… The Attractive Reductionism of Van Til — Credo Magazine Continue reading The Attractive Reductionism of Van Til
The heartland of Midian was located immediately east of the Gulf of Aqaba, although the Midianites’ nomadic lifestyle often took them far beyond this region and even into the land of Israel. The Bible mentions the Midianites as early as Joseph’s time (Genesis 37:25-36) and as late as Isaiah’s time (Isaiah 60:6), but they may… The Land of Midian — Bible Mapper Blog Continue reading The Land of Midian
Originally posted on Zwinglius Redivivus:
One should draw from the source and diligently read the Bible. For a man who knows the text is also an extraordinary theologian. One passage or one text from the Bible is worth more than the glosses of four writers who aren’t reliable and thorough. Suppose I take the text, ‘Everything created by God is good’ [I Tim. 4:4]; food,… Continue reading Luther on the Uselessness of the Church Fathers
Originally posted on Zwinglius Redivivus:
To all the great moms out there. Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day!
Many scholars believe that the 4 great Uncial Codices preserved to our day are the remnants of the 50 Greek New Testaments commissioned by Emperor Constantine for dissemination and edification of the churches. This involved using the finest prepared animal skins and copying the text by hand before sewing the quires into book form. An uncial codex is a text written in all capital letters … Continue reading Bible Treasure from a Desert Monastery
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit-Acts 1.5 NIV Jason Engwer has a follow-up post about how Jn. 3.5 doesn’t refer to the rite of water baptism. John’s Gospel contains two further references that give clues to what Jesus refers when He spoke to Nicodemus about being born of water and the Spirit. The Prophet/Priest Jeremiah … Continue reading Water in John 3.5-A Figure of Spirit Baptism
Jason Engwer over at Triablogue has a post contra baptismal justification by the likes of later Christian Theologians, specifically, Tertullian. It is clear that the bible affirms justification by faith like Abraham and not baptismal regeneration by infant sprinkling. If John 3.5 speaks of Baptism, it refers to Spirit Baptism as a result of faith, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born … Continue reading Born of Water and The Spirit-John 3.5
This is a Christian Blog. Christians are not Gnostics who discount the body at the expense of the ephemeral. We are commanded to be responsible stewards of our bodies: Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God (2Cor. 7.1 NIV). While Paul is specifically speaking about unclean … Continue reading Historically, Farmers Have Displaced Hunter/Gatherers
Invisible Letters Discovered on Dead Sea Scroll Fragments – Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy Continue reading Invisible Letters Discovered on Dead Sea Scroll Fragments
If you knew an enemy of the gospel and you saw him about to drown, would you risk trying to save him if there was a good chance you could without you drowning? I would. I make no distinction in bettering people’s lives and rescuing them from danger, even if they are an enemy if it is in my power and situation to help. My … Continue reading What Jordan Peterson Can Teach the Church About Men and Meaning
God the Word full by nature and in every way Perfect, and distributing out of His own fullness His own goods to the creature, we say was emptied: in no wise wronged in His own Proper Nature, nor changed so as to become otherwise, nor made in ought inferior, for inconvertible and unchangeable is Himself also even as He Who begat Him, and never may … Continue reading Cyril Differentiating the Ontological and Economic Aspects of The Son
“For, before men can reason together, they must agree in first principles; and it is impossible to reason with a man who has no principles in common with you.” One of the first principles he goes on to list is that “qualities must necessarily be in something that is figured, coloured, hard or soft, that moves or resists. It is not to these qualities, but … Continue reading Thomas Reid’s theory of common sense
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose … Continue reading Developing a Relationship with God
Gunter Bechly Explains What The Fossil Evidence Really Says – YouTube Gunter Bechly Explains What The Fossil Evidence Really Says – YouTube Continue reading Gunter Bechly Explains What The Fossil Evidence Really Says – YouTube
Members of a Jerusalem Synagogue-of the “Freedmen,” whom Luke points out was “so-called” (implying they were really still enslaved to sin), secretly colluded to have false witnesses say Stephen was speaking against Moses and God. Acts 6.14 contains the specific charges: For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us … Continue reading The Indictment Against Stephen-Acts 6.8-15
The End of the Apostles’ Creed Is the Beginning of the Rest of Your Life Continue reading The End of the Apostles’ Creed Is the Beginning of the Rest of Your Life
Part 5: The Servant Who Sees Light after Anguish Continue reading Resurrection Intimated in Dead Sea Scrolls and LXX on Isaiah 53.11
Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,By waters calm, o’er troubled sea,Still ’tis his hand that leadeth me. Behold! I come, in the book of the scroll it is written of Me-to do Your will, My God. (Ps. 40.7-8 cf. Heb. 10.7) John’s passion narrative involves an array of creation-related images. These images are not randomly arranged, nor can they simply be … Continue reading Where Eden’s Bowers Bloom-A Reversal
In John’s Passion, Jesus dies a death which is substitutionary, penal, and propitiatory—a death which fully expends the wrath of God so it might not afflict his people. In recent years, many students of Scripture have become more interested in the intricacy and import of Biblical narratives. At the same time, some of them have… The Theology of John’s Passion — Thoughts on Scripture Continue reading The Theology of John’s Passion — Thoughts on Scripture
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (Jn.12.24 NIV) The immediate previous context of this verse has Gentiles inquiring of Jesus’ Disciple Philip asking to speak with Jesus. No record exists that their request was fulfilled. Instead, Jesus indicates to Philip and … Continue reading Unless the Grain of Wheat Dies, it Remains Alone
Part 4 of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant Part 4: Who Does the Servant Intercede For? Continue reading For Whom Does the Servant Intercede? (Isaiah 53.12c,d)
Four Reasons to Reject the Relative Insubstantiality of our Current World Why We Still Need Plato — Credo Magazine Continue reading Why We Still Need Plato
This article with its Hebrew Language analysis will be difficult for many laymen to follow. Here is the upshot: The earliest witness to Is. 53.9 comes from The Great Isaiah Scroll, the only virtually complete book of the bible found as part of The Dead Sea Scrolls. This text is between 950 and 1150 years older than our previous earliest record: the Leningrad Codex of … Continue reading Part 3: The Servant’s Burial according to the Scriptures
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