other believers. In Paul's language, people become members of God's family when they become Christians. We must keep in mind that when we become members of God's family that it is a family that sends. There is not a single member of the family of...
It is crucial that the church of Jesus remember its precise mission and calling when facing challenges of epic proportions. It is tempting, especially in times like these, for the church to react out of human impulse rather than respond with the...
The bodily resurrection of Jesus is not about the Christian notion of dying and going to heaven. Ben WItherington makes this point in his (great and highly recommended) little book, Revelation and the End Times Participant’s Guide Unraveling God’s...
When God fulfills his World Renewal Plan through Jesus, his Son, he is not only setting up a government (Kingdom metaphor), but also creating a family. This, once again, means that our metaphors for God’s World Renewal Plan will often times flow...
There is a crucial connection to be made between human behavior and human nature. Living beings behave according to their nature. If God prescribes a certain kind of human behavior it is for the purpose of reflecting a certain kind of nature. The...
Even a completely innocent, self-giving act (such as the Cross) that is driven by love and compassion can, and will be perverted by the World. This reality, however, does not give license to do anything less than follow Jesus' example.
God did not bring Israel out of Egypt so they could wander the desert. No, he brought Israel out of Egypt so that he could establish his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In much the same way, sinners are not saved through the Cross simply so...
Various people have various definitions of the Gospel of Christianity. Most North American protestant evangelicals would define the Gospel as the story of the substitutionary atonement in the Cross through Jesus that allows for the forgiveness of...
Excerpt from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom (Wipf and Stock) God’s promises David that his offspring would be the one with the eternal anointing to rule over God’s people. In this promise rests the concept of the...
The genealogy of Jesus has always been intriguing to me. What an unusual way to start the final, and most climatic part of the great story of God’s salvation plan for the creation—a list of names. So what’s the importance of the genealogy of Jesus...