Born Again, Again
In a small metropolitan church, a soft-spoken young woman sits before a group of six boys. It’s Sunday morning in this Sunday school class of 2nd grade boys. At the head of one of those industrial foldout tables, she asks, “If you were to die on your way home today with unconfessed sin in your heart would you go to heaven?” One of the boys quickly replies with a hearty “No!” “Well,” says the young teacher, “we must immediately confess...
Theological Triage
Discrediting Christianity is not too difficult these days: “Why work too hard or get our hands too dirty, when applying the labels Fundamentalist and Evangelical will do the trick of sending those pesky Christians back to the hills where they belong,” some think. These are the tactics of many media outlets. There is no denying that the Church is at odds with the things of this world. Though the world despises the Gospel, Christians...
Arminius and the Doctrine of Prevenient Grace
In his recent essay, Jackson Watts reminds us that Arminius wholly affirmed the human will’s complete depravity and perversity after the Fall. The Magisterial Reformers were not alone in affirming this. Arminius too held to the human will’s bondage after the Fall: Therefore, if ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty’ (2 Cor. 3:17); and if ‘the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed’ (John 8:36) it...
Ancient Orthodoxy: The Importance of Chalcedon in Your Local Church
“What does Chalcedon have to do with me? In fact, what does Chalcedon even refer to in the first place?” These are often the first questions from church members and even pastors when confronted with the Chalcedonian Creed. And usually, our questions represent our neglect of church history. Whether it is the early ecumenical councils or the Protestant Reformation, we evangelicals cannot afford to lose such rich, biblical doctrines that...
Are We Really Together for the Gospel?
We live in an age of conferences, seminars, and mp3 downloads. Evangelicalism bulges with an excess of venues for pastoral education and encouragement. In the past, the majority of these events focused on new tools or particular programs that a pastor or pastoral staff might implement in their church. And while some of these suggestions were helpful, an awareness of their inability to solve our problems grows [1]. Partly because of...
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