The Apostle Paul utilizes a horticultural analogy in the book of Romans which and the interpretation of which has become highly disputed: If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among … Continue reading Does Romans 11 Teach We Can Lose Salvation?
The New York Times is no bastion of conservative, Christian journalism, and they set out to reinforce that Easter 2019. Nicholas Kristof published an opinion article interviewing Serene Jones about the resurrection of Jesus. Below I walk through the interview point-by-point, but in case you don’t have the patience for that, I decided to front load this blog with what would usually come at the … Continue reading A “Christian Minister” Denies All Christian Doctrine
This is the third and final installment of the Christmas series on Christological heresies. I hope you have found these helpful in understanding what not to believe about the incarnation. The following heresies technically deserve a category of their own. They transcend the more narrow study of Christology, and are more closely related to the Godhead as a whole. However, because Jesus is God, a … Continue reading Merry Christology or Happy Heresy? Trinitarian Heresies
Continuing our Christmas/Incarnation series on Christological heresies, we come to what is perhaps the most complicated of these issues: the Hypostatic union. Many ancient heresies were rejected for what they believed about how the human and the divine met on Christmas night 2,000 years ago. Was Jesus a demi-god, part man, part God? Was Jesus more human than God? Was Jesus all God, no human? … Continue reading Merry Christology or Happy Heresy? The Hypostatic Union
Christology The theological event celebrated at Christmas is the Incarnation, when the Word took on flesh and became in every way human, calling us His brothers. With this, the Word taking on human form, comes the ever important necessity to then understand, from Scripture, what this means. The incarnation is crucial in answering Jesus’ famous question, “who do you say that I am?” We call … Continue reading Merry Christology or Happy Heresy? The God Before Bethlehem
Introduction: It is imperative one reads the first blog of this series prior to continuing in order to understand my heart and purpose. In that blog responding to Heiser’s book, I covered the issue of sovereignty (God’s decree and plan.) In this blog, I will focus on the other issue Dr. Heiser regularly brought up: free will. The Bondage of the Will: In the debate … Continue reading Responding to Supernatural Part II: Free Will
Introduction: I recently finished Dr. Michael Heiser’s book Supernatural. It has been recommended by a good friend, as well as a trusted pastor. After finishing the book, I had conflicting emotions. The book has many positive qualities. I would say the primary thesis of the book is largely established. The book is a challenge to Christians to rethink what the Bible says about the unseen … Continue reading Responding to Supernatural Part I: Sovereignty with a Chest
Introduction There is a tough text in Romans 2 that comes up often in the debate with Roman Catholics on whether a person is justified by faith, or by faith and works. Verse 13 reads, “For it is not the hearers of the Law who are justified, but the doers of the Law who will be justified.” Roman Catholics often use this verse to teach … Continue reading A Roman Catholic Contradiction
The topic of female-pastors has been flowing through my local church recently. I covered it in a Wednesday night class not too long ago, and since we recently started a sermon series on 1 Timothy, the topic was addressed from the pulpit as well. I decided then to respond to some common Egalitarian arguments through this new blog series. To define the term above, the debate … Continue reading Women in the Pulpit I: Setting the Stage
I wanted to write a brief blog in light of Good Friday, the celebration and memorial of the death of Christ. The Cross is at the heart of the Christian faith, and is seen as being, coupled with the resurrection, the climax of all of history. It is the single greatest event creation will ever know. The Cross accomplishes much, and among all it does … Continue reading Good Friday & the Purposes of the Cross
Resisting the Winds 