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False Teachers, True Forgiveness

October 11, 2019 /

Last week, Amber Guyger, a former white police officer, was convicted by a diverse jury of murder for shooting Botham Jean, a black man, in his own apartment last year. The case initially made headlines for being a rare conviction of a police officer in an apparently unjustified shooting, but was quickly overshadowed by Botham’s brother’s, Brandt, victim impact statement.

In it her told her, “I forgive you. If you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you…I love you just like everyone else.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 7): Disputed and Apocryphal Books

September 30, 2019 /

In this final article in our series, we will briefly examine various disputed and apocryphal books that arose in early Christianity. Some were books that did not receive immediate acceptance but are now in our New Testament. Others are orthodox writings that were rejected as Scripture, while others were heretical works written by fringe sects.

Canonical Books

Although such a fact may be surprising for some Christians, the following New Testament books did not receive the widespread acceptance that they now receive today for a variety of reasons including questions of authorship and dating.… Read more

The Wicked Exchange: Bernie Sanders and the Inversion of the Created Order

September 11, 2019 /

In a recent CNN town hall, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders had a shocking answer to a question on climate change. A voter asked him if he would support a campaign to curb population growth to combat it. In response to this, Sanders reiterated his support for abortion, especially for those in poor countries so that they could control the number of children they have.

Sanders’ answer is a perfect example of the wickedness of man’s rebellion against God.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 6): The Corporate Reception of the Canon

August 26, 2019 /

In this penultimate article, we will explore the final quality of canonicity, which is corporate reception. This states that Christians will hear the voice of God speaking through his Word and will receive it as such. Thus, Christians will know what is God’s Word and what is not. As Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Despite the truth of corporate reception, we must make a few qualifications.… Read more

How Can I Know If I’m Truly Saved?

July 28, 2019 /

Last weekend, Joshua Harris shocked evangelicals with his announcement that he had left the Christian faith. Harris’ faulty theology that led to his spiritual downfall has been discussed previously, but many questions are raised when someone who seemed to be a believer for so long falls away.

Harris’ walk played out much like Paul’s companion Demas. Demas was a fruitful helper of Paul, but later in his second letter to Timothy, Paul writes, “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10).… Read more

The Burden of the Law: Joshua Harris and God’s Free Grace

July 27, 2019 /

“This is the foundation of a freely bestowed righteousness, when we are stripped of a righteousness of our own.”

John Calvin

Last week, many Christians reacted in shock at popular pastor and author Joshua Harris’ announcement that he and his wife of over 20 years were separating, then, at his subsequent announcement a week later that he had left the Christian faith.

Harris is known for his popular book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which led to the popularization of courtship and what has been called “purity culture” amongst evangelical Christians.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 5): The Apostolic Origins of the Canon

July 8, 2019 /

With the divine qualities of the canon now established, we can now begin to explore what is known as the apostolic origins of the canon. To understand this, we must first understand certain implications of the Old and New Covenants.

Whenever covenants were enacted between two parties in the Near East, there would be an accompanying set of covenant documents, detailing the stipulations that both parties had to abide by. God’s covenants were the same way.… Read more

Captive by Empty Deceit: The SBC and the Sufficiency of Scripture

June 21, 2019 /

Last week, the SBC adopted a variety of resolutions at their 2019 gathering. Among these was Resolution 9, detailing the Convention’s position on critical race theory (CRT) and intersectionality. Although the Resolution appeared to affirm the sufficiency of Scripture over CRT and intersectionality, an examination of these ideas will show the danger of them and that the Resolution is in fact, a denial of the sufficiency of Scripture, despite its claims to the contrary.

Paul warned the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col.… Read more

Put Not Your Trust in Princes: Jack Phillips, SCOTUS, and Christian Persecution in America

June 13, 2019 /

Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, is now facing a third lawsuit. Phillips made headlines for his refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, a case which eventually went to the Supreme Court. He won that case, but it was not the sweeping victory for religious liberty that some had hoped for. Instead he won on narrow grounds. The Court determined that the prosecution, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, had violated his civil rights in the process.… Read more

Suffering and the Fortunes of Job

May 16, 2019 /

The Christian life is often filled with inexplicable suffering. The death of a loved one. A devastating diagnosis. Betrayal by friends. The loss of a relationship. The people of God are not immune to hardship. Our churches are filled with people in pain, even though we may not see it and they may not tell us. But it is there nonetheless. Being a Christian can, in a way, exacerbate the effects of our suffering. We know that God is sovereign over our circumstances, yet he has chosen to inflict pain on us for reasons we cannot understand.… Read more

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