Do Christians have to obey their governmental leaders when such leaders issue specific declarations about: 1) where you can and cannot go, 2) what you should wear on your face, and 3) how far away you should stay from other people? What if you don’t agree that such directives make sense? The short answer is … Continue reading Civil Disobedience in an Age of Coronavirus
Category: Theology
Solid Theology for Times of Suffering: A New eBook by John Piper about Coronavirus
John Piper has just released a free eBook entitled: Coronavirus and Christ. (It is also available in hard-copy.) This short book is a wonderful example of the kind of theology that all of us need to lean into in the midst of crisis. After introductory chapters that focus upon the sovereignty of God, Piper offers … Continue reading Solid Theology for Times of Suffering: A New eBook by John Piper about Coronavirus
One Way to Pray about the Coronavirus Crisis
Many people I know are praying for family members who are currently ill, immunocompromised, or facing other critical risks from COVID-19. Others I know are praying for those who have lost jobs or otherwise undergoing economic hardships. Some I know are praying for governmental leaders, first responders, and medical professionals who are heroically waging war … Continue reading One Way to Pray about the Coronavirus Crisis
The Problem with Principlizing: How Do We Move From Biblical Text to Application?
When you read the Bible, how do you connect what you read to practical life? When you preach or teach from the Bible, how do you move from a historically-rooted text to application in the present day? The most common modern approach is “principlizing.” Modern Christians frequently try to discover a “principle” in whatever biblical … Continue reading The Problem with Principlizing: How Do We Move From Biblical Text to Application?
Seven Favorite Christian Books of 2019
As I reflect on the books I read in 2019, I note seven Christian books that have impacted my own Christian thinking and spiritual life more than any others. This year’s list is a bit more academic than last year’s, though it ranges from easy-to-read to serious academic. Nevertheless, these are the seven books that … Continue reading Seven Favorite Christian Books of 2019
What Do Christians Mean When They Use the Word “Conservative”?
Last night we encountered some misunderstanding surrounding the word “conservative” during an open discussion after a community meal at The Birdhouse (the mentoring community Trudi and I lead for college students). One of the students commented that I was the first “conservative” she had ever met who was not a cessationist. (Cessationism is the view … Continue reading What Do Christians Mean When They Use the Word “Conservative”?
J. C. Ryle on Christ as Divine and Human: An Insightful Paragraph
In his classic book on sanctification, Holiness (1877), J. C. Ryle, an evangelical Anglican bishop, penned a profound paragraph on the importance of Christ being both divine and human. It is rare to encounter such devotionally-rich reflections in modern Christian literature, so I offer it to you for your meditation today.
Something About the Book of Romans that will Help You Read it Better
Here’s a bit of history that can help you understand something important about Paul's Letter to the Romans. The earliest house churches in Rome would have been primarily Jewish and would have culturally felt Jewish, but in A.D. 49 the Roman Emperor Claudius kicked the Jews out of Rome.[1] Jewish Christians, of course, would have … Continue reading Something About the Book of Romans that will Help You Read it Better
“Broken” as an Excuse for Repetitive Sinning
Word meanings sometimes shift. I have begun to wonder whether one commonplace word has begun to shift recently—aiding certain contemporary Christians who want to minimize their sin and justify ongoing sin patterns. There’s nothing new, of course, about Christians searching for ways to avoid feeling bad about sinning. But modern Christians have become remarkably adept … Continue reading “Broken” as an Excuse for Repetitive Sinning
When I Reach for a Book from my Reference Shelf…
When I reach for a book from my reference shelf, which books do I reach for most often? Apart from biblical commentaries, here is a list of the 20 books I am most likely to pull off my shelf (in no particular order): A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, … Continue reading When I Reach for a Book from my Reference Shelf…
