Every now and then you hear someone express the sentiment that they believe in the authority of Jesus, but not the rest of the New Testament. They hold up (in theory) the authority of the Gospels, but not the letters and other books written by Jesus' first followers. "I agree with Jesus," for example, "but not… Continue reading “I like Jesus, but not the rest of the New Testament”
Category: Bible
Should Christians Submit to Corrupt Governments?
We see corrupt and unjust governments all around us. In our newsfeeds and our history books we see countless examples of human authorities that abuse their power – governments that are rife with corruption, injustice, and oppression. In light of all this, Romans 13:1 is troubling. It says, “Everyone must submit themselves to the governing authorities,… Continue reading Should Christians Submit to Corrupt Governments?
Spiritual Disciplines and the Central Strategy for Fighting Guilt
For many of us, spiritual disciplines and guilt go together like chicken and garlic (it's a thing, trust me). As soon as someone even mentions having a daily quiet time our guilt radar gets a ping. We feel bad that we don't read the Bible enough, pray enough, and we can often feel that in… Continue reading Spiritual Disciplines and the Central Strategy for Fighting Guilt
Jesus, The Man Who Learned Obedience
With Christmas very quickly approaching, my church is moving through our Advent series in which we are focusing on the humanity of Jesus. Last Sunday we looked at what it means that Jesus is The Man Who Learned Obedience. The Bible teaches that Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered during his earthly life, but saying something… Continue reading Jesus, The Man Who Learned Obedience
Why Jesus Being the ‘Son of God’ Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means
Since we're in the season of Advent, now is a great time to be thinking about Jesus – who he is, why he came, and all that good stuff. So for this post I want to think about a term that seems to be the source of a lot of confusion for us as we… Continue reading Why Jesus Being the ‘Son of God’ Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means
What does it mean to ‘pray in the Spirit’?
My church recently finished off our Ephesians series, and in our concluding sermon we came across the exhortation from Paul for us to 'pray in the Spirit'. But what does that mean? Is it some special kind of prayer? If so, certainly it must be some kind of extra-spiritual prayer... but how do we know… Continue reading What does it mean to ‘pray in the Spirit’?
The Full Armour of God
Ephesians 6 is a familiar passage, a memorable section of Scripture that encourages us to put on righteousness, truth, faith, and salvation as if they were clothing, so that we will be prepared for the Christian life. There's much to be gained from looking at this passage and thinking about how these different things –… Continue reading The Full Armour of God
Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
Best estimates suggest that over a quarter of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves – a staggering figure. And since it was in the midst of the Roman Empire that Christianity was born, slavery was a reality that Christians have faced since our inception. So how did the earliest Christians view slavery? And… Continue reading Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
Wives, Submit to Your Husbands
As promised, this post is written by a guest-blogger, the lovely Alex Smart. Just as last post was written specifically to husbands on what it means to live out the biblical pattern of marriage in Ephesians 5 (loving their wives), so this post is to wives on what it means to submit to their husbands. Before… Continue reading Wives, Submit to Your Husbands
Husbands, Love Your Wives
This post is a follow-up to the one I put up earlier in the week on Ephesians 5:21-33 and what the Bible teaches about gender roles in marriage – that husbands are to sacrificially love their wives as Christ loved the church, and wives in turn are to submit to their husbands. But what does that… Continue reading Husbands, Love Your Wives