Doctrine (Page 7)
The Sinfulness of Sin
Nothing, I am convinced, will astonish us so much, when we awake in the resurrection day, as the view we shall have of sin and the retrospect we shall take of our own countless shortcomings and defects. Never till the hour when Christ comes the second time shall we fully realize the ‘sinfulness of sin’.
True Blue Jews
If you believe in Jesus, whether you were born Jewish or Gentile, you are a true blue Jew!
Fundamentalist or Liberal – What Causes Churches to Polarise?
I believe that a ‘pure’ church on earth is a mistaken concept. The church will always have a mix of converted and unconverted folk. Not until Jesus returns will the wheat and the tares be separated. Besides that, the saints are forgiven sinners: forgiven, but still sinful. We all have many…
The Perspicuity of Scripture
Photo Credit: © Amy Walters – Fotolia Perspicuous. adj. 1. Clearly expressed or presented; easy to understand. 2. Ex- pressing oneself clearly and effectively. Pastor Martin has just begun a series on the book of Revelation. The book is notoriously difficult to understand, interpret, and apply. As one witty saying goes; “A famous book in which St. John the…
Predestination and Free Will – Part Two: Free Will
Photo Credit © skala – Fotolia.com If by “free will” I mean some kind of sovereign control outside of God’s control then I do not have “free will”. God is sovereign and in control of this world and me in every respect. If by “free will” I mean the ability to choose, then I do indeed have…
Predestination and Free Will Part One: Predestination
Photo Credit © skala – Fotolia.com In our congregation, reconciling the doctrine of predestination with free will is a vexed issue. I have been asked to address this in a blog. First, let’s look briefly at predestination. The Bible clearly teaches predestination. Ephesians 1:4 says that…
Does the Bible call Jesus God?
Photo Credit: © genotar1 – Fotolia.com One day, not long after I’d become a Christian, a Jewish friend of mine (not a believer), challenged me as follows. He argued that Jesus never called himself God and that the church had much later made Jesus into a god. He said that the Bible nowhere called Jesus God. Is that true? All good lies need an element of truth to…
Justified by the Resurrection
There needs to be time for the gospel to go out into the world so that people can hear it and be saved.
Jesus’ resurrection spells the end for this creation; it shows us that judgement is nigh; and it means that the new creation is just around the corner.
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The Torment of the Gospel
It is disturbing that the good news of forgiveness and salvation could be a torment to some. It is also disturbing because I’m not sure this reflects reality for the church in the West. Does our preaching of the gospel cause torment? It does in Revelation. The church in Revelation is often the persecuted church; the church that faithfully bears witness to Jesus, even…
Sin in the Life of a Christian: Part IV – Judging other Christians
Judgementalism is an ugly sin in Christians. I believe we can repent of this sin by having a right view of sin itself. When I realise that my disease is the same as others, including non-Christians, then I will think far less highly of my own Christian walk, and will approach others with far…