As a pastor, I have spent time with people across the full spectrum of human life. I have officiated weddings, conducted baptisms, and visited the dying. One of the things this has impressed upon me is that every life is moving in the same direction. For most of us, it’s very easy to forget that … [Read more…]
What is it that makes the gospel of Jesus Christ different from every other religion in the world? Many people today deny there is any such difference. In our modern pluralistic culture, it is frequently asserted that there really are no substantial differences between the major world religions. This is an interesting assertion, for it … [Read more…]
Today I would like us to consider together one of the most common objections to the Christian faith – the objection raised against Jesus Christ’s claim to be the only way to God. No honest person can deny that Jesus made this claim. Jesus himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the … [Read more…]
Each Good Friday my family has a tradition of reading George Herbert’s magnificent poem, The Sacrifice (1633). Herbert was an English Protestant who served as a country priest in the Church of England before dying at a young age. His poetry is among the finest devotional poetry ever. Even though Good Friday is past, the … [Read more…]
Today I would like us to consider together one of the most ridiculed claims of the Christian faith – the belief in the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. No honest person can deny that the New Testament makes this claim. All four of the Gospel accounts end with people claiming to … [Read more…]
The gospel of Jesus Christ is an identity, defined by a destiny, that overflows into activity. Previous posts have explored what it means to say that the gospel is an identity, and what it means to say that this identity is defined by a destiny. In this final post, we will unpack what it means … [Read more…]
I just finished Hans Boersma’s Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church (Baker: 2017). A fascinating read. The title should be suggestive to us Calvinists: we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Supper, namely that the body and blood of Christ are “as really, but spiritually, present to the … [Read more…]
The gospel of Jesus Christ is an identity, defined by a destiny, that overflows into activity. In part 1, we explored what it means to say that the gospel is an identity. In this post, we will unpack what it means to say that the gospel identity is defined by a destiny. “For if we … [Read more…]
Identity controls destiny. Whether we realize it or not, each of us spends our life acting like a novelist: selecting courses of action (our plot) for our main character (ourselves) based on who we think that character is. It is here, at this central narrative of our existence, that the gospel meets us. The gospel … [Read more…]
I’m interested in Christian identity. How does our new life in Christ change how we should think about ourselves? And how does thinking rightly about ourselves change how we live? One excellent book on Christian identity I just finished was, Who Am I? Identity in Christ, by Jerry Bridges (Cruciform Press, 2012). A real gem … [Read more…]