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It is popular among the "Christian Left" (I refer to the group that leans "left" in religious terms, not necessarily political) to argue that Genesis is not to be taken as historical narrative, but as myth. Now, to be clear, they don't (generally) say that to demean Scripture. It's not "myth" as in "fantasy" or "fiction", but more at "metaphor" and "teaching stories." "Myth" might refer to false beliefs or it might refer to traditional stories explaining some natural or social phenomenon, but they are…  ( Click for more )

In our society we've managed to prioritize a new set of sins. Near the top is "boring" -- "Thou shalt not be boring" -- but also high on the list you'll find things like "certain", "non-inclusive", "judgmental", "discriminatory", and "intolerant", all carefully redefined to suit the moment. It might come as a shock, then, if you consider, over against these "top sins", the nature of truth. Truth is that which correlates to reality. It doesn't care if you believe it. It doesn't care if you confirm it.…  ( Click for more )

Solomon wrote, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law." (Proverbs 29:18). "No vision." What is that? Many have concluded it was a reference to leadership. Leaders must have a vision, a direction to go, a plan, even big dreams. Using invariably the King James Version ("Where there is no vision the people perish"), they use this as proof of the need to dream big. As it turns out, the idea in Solomon's text was a direction from God. The text, in fact, tells you where to get that "vision" by contrasting…  ( Click for more )

My all-time most read entry from my blog was way back in October of 2006. As long ago as that was, I'm still getting comments and it's still being read. (As of this writing the counter says there have been 26450 views and 161 comments on this one alone ... and that count started a couple of years after I wrote it.) The title: Hard Sayings - "Sell all your possessions". You understand, of course, why that's so popular, right? On one hand, genuine believers read something like that and say, "Hey, am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing here?" On the other, skeptics…  ( Click for more )

We are, by definition, supposed to be "Jesus followers". That is, as Christians, we should be like Christ. So it would likely be wise if we examined His life and His strategies and adopt them ourselves. At the end of His time on earth, Jesus gave His disciples what we call "the Great Commission". Yes, we even capitalize it. It was, in a sense, our marching orders. All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them…  ( Click for more )

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has a series of "You have heard ... but I say" things to say. He enlarges the concept of adultery from sexual relations to simple lust (Matthew 5:27-28). He expands the problem of murder from actually killing someone to wishing they were dead (Matthew 5:21-22). He speaks to the "keep your promises" problem with a much broader "have such integrity that you never need to make a promise" (Matthew 5:33-37). And He addresses the "love your neighbor but hate your enemies" concept. "But I say to you, Do not…  ( Click for more )

We are commanded to "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12). Paul says it is "the first commandment with a promise" (Ephesians 6:1-3). Nowhere is there an exception clause. "You only have to honor honorable parents." "Honor good parents, but not bad." "You can stop once you become an adult." It's a simple, straightforward command. I, thank God, have been blessed with an honorable father. He is a man that loves God, loves his wife and my mother, loves his children. He is a man who has always sought to do what is right…  ( Click for more )

Cool word, right? Okay, maybe not, but ... what is it? In an opinion piece entitled Is Your Pastor Sexist?, the New York Times says, "It refers to those who believe the Bible set forth that men should lead and have authority over women, and that married women must submit to their husbands." Feminist writer Carol Howard Merritt, a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), wrote, "Complementarianism means married women have no choice over their lives at all.” (Emphasis in the original) Typical objections are based largely on the recognized abuse of the concept, focusing…  ( Click for more )

I once talked with a young man who believed in Perfectionism. That is, he believed that you could become completely sin-free ... and, in fact, he had. "Really?" I asked. "You never sin?" "No," he assured me. "Oh, I make mistakes, have some missteps." I see. Change the language and you eliminate sin. So, using his word, I think I've come across a serious misstep among Christian husbands (and, in case you missed it, I'm not talking about a mere misstep). Most of us know about the commands to the married found in Ephesians 5:22-31. You know…  ( Click for more )

We live in a "diversity" world, where everything is viewed as "equal". We claim "equal rights" and "equal pay" and "racial equality" and "all genders are equal". We believe that all religions are equal, too. And, as a consequence (just like in the use of the vague "equality of the sexes" concept), people often believe that all religions are equally valid. Now, this can be easily demonstrated as false. That is, without accepting any of the truth claims of any religion, you can simply take their truth claims, lay…  ( Click for more )

Christians know the Good News. We're all sinners (Romans 3:23), but while we were sinners, God sent His Son to die for us (Romans 5:8). If you place your trust in Him, your sin can be forgiven and you can be given the righteousness of His Son (2 Corinthians 5:21). Good news, indeed. But, as, we are often reminded, "It's not a religion; it's a relationship." Imagine, then, this Judge before Whom we stand clothed in sinner's rags. "How do you plead?" He asks. You can answer nothing but, "Guilty." But your trust is in Christ Who stands alongside.…  ( Click for more )

There are lots of mothers in the Bible, some good and some not. For the "not good" you can think of folks like Jezebel or Lot's wife. But there were some really good ones. Take, for instance, Hannah. She prayed that God would give her a son and, in so doing, vowed to give him back to God (1 Samuel 1:10-11). That's a devoted mother. She highly valued children and wept for not having one, but more highly valued her God and believed that a child is a gift from God. She did quite literally what all good mothers must do in spirit as well; she gave her child to God. …  ( Click for more )

Ephesians 5 is famous for what it says to married couples (Ephesians 5:17-33). Or should I say "infamous"? Truth be told, a lot of people, even Christians, don't much like it. All that "wives submit" stuff and all. Gotta do something different, right? Well, in fact, we don't get that option if we're going to be true to the Word of God. We need to stick with what He says. My point here, however, is not to repeat the very clear commands of God that wives submit to their husbands and husbands love their wives as themselves. I mean, it's abundantly clear, even if…  ( Click for more )

In his epistle to the Romans Paul writes the wonderful, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16) Good stuff. He says, "For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" (Romans 1:17) Powerful. But it begs the question, doesn't it? "Salvation ... from what? Why do we need salvation?" And Paul answers that in the very next verse. For the wrath of God…  ( Click for more )

If you've been around much at all, you've heard the accusation. "You Christians pick and choose which verses you're going to obey." Pretty common. Why do they say it? Well, at the bottom, of course, it's because they figure if they can cast aspersions on us, they can use that as a reason to ignore God. Fine. But what is the more surface reason? Well, it's largely based on the fact that we don't follow the Jewish laws of dress and food and animal sacrifice but do aim to follow the moral law, not for salvation, but to obey the God we claim to follow. Because of the fact that…  ( Click for more )

Our annual celebration of the Resurrection is upon us. I thought we ought to look at it for a moment. There are some today who question the Resurrection of Christ. Oh, they're okay with a "spiritual resurrection" of sorts. You know, spirituality is quite popular today. I mean, it's a popular theme that when someone dies they're "up there in heaven, looking down on us." Nice. And that was Jesus, too ... right? No, not right. The bodily resurrection of Christ is not negotiable, nor is it minor. The Resurrection assures us that there is a God. Its violation of…  ( Click for more )

All parents aim to bring their kids up to be responsible adults. Some better than others, sure, but there has to be something of that in every parent-child relationship. We want them to learn to "stand on your own two feet", to be brave and strong and ... you know, all those good things. We would like them to be self-sufficient. It is, after all, the American Dream, isn't it? I wonder how much the "American Dream" has messed up American Christianity. That kind of thinking, at least. We seek to "stand on your own two feet", to "live the dream",…  ( Click for more )

How can I know if I'm saved? I am not going to ask, "How can I know if you are saved?" or "How can you know if I am saved?" I'm just pursuing the question, "Is there any way that I can have some assurance that I am among the elect, that I am a genuine believer, that I am not among the 'many' who will come in front of the Judge believing I actually was saved only to be told, 'I never knew you'?" I don't want any of the people that I love to believe they're saved only to find out they're not, and I certainly don't want to find myself in that boat. So what…  ( Click for more )

For a major portion of my Christian life one of my biggest concerns and prayers have been for the Christians who aren't. We don't have to name names. I wouldn't want to try. But you know the type. They go to church or went to church. They often call themselves Christians. They're often quite sure they are. They may even be really nice people. But there's something ... missing. Something absent. They don't seem to actually have a living, active relationship with the living Christ. It's more of a system or even an unconscious thing with them. They nod and they go through the motions…  ( Click for more )

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)Romans 2.4" href="http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Rom%202.4" class="rtBibleRef">

I'm sure you've seen that one before. Indeed, we really like that one. "It's His kindness that leads us to repentance." Meaning, "Not His wrath or His judgment or all those crazy threats about Hell. No, we are drawn to Christ by His kindness and not 'scared to Him' by fear." But ... is that what it means? Jesus was not shy…  ( Click for more )

We know we are supposed to love God and love our neighbors. We know we are even supposed to love our enemies. We know we are to love our spouses and our families. Lots of love going on here. So it is no surprise that we are not told merely to love but to "fervently love". Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:22-23)

That's…  ( Click for more )

For He [Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20-21) What do we get from this? Well, we know that Christ was foreknown before creation. Therefore, He is an eternal being. We know that God raised Him from the dead and glorified Him. We know that His resurrection is the basis of your faith and hope being in God. But did you catch that little statement from Peter? He…  ( Click for more )

We all know that the Bible commands, "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12). In fact, Paul points to this one in the New Testament to urge children to obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1-3), which would certainly indicate that this command is still in effect in the New Covenant. Of course, almost immediately the objections come out. "Well, sure, when you're a kid, but not after you grow up and leave the house!" Or, "Oh, yeah? What if they're lousy parents?" And so it goes. The question is worth examining because, as it turns out, we're told…  ( Click for more )

A syllogism is a common form of a logical argument. It takes two or more propositions (that are assumed to be true) and draws the required conclusion (which, if the propositions are true, is unavoidable). The classic syllogism is one like this: All humans are mortal. Socrates was human. Therefore, Socrates was mortal.

Neat and clean. Consider, then, the standard syllogism that puts an end to God -- the problem of evil. God is all-powerful, so He can prevent evil. God is good, so He would want to prevent evil. Evil exists. Therefore, there is no God.

The problem with…  ( Click for more )