Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).” Much debate surrounds the nature of this statement and what exactly it prophesies. Sacramental, baptistic, and charismatic Christians…
First Corinthians is not considered one of the Pastoral Epistles, but there is much to learn from Paul about pastoring a congregation by the way he writes to the Corinthians. Briefly, 1 Corinthians is an exposition of the cross and resurrection. In the first fourteen chapters, Paul gives an exposition…
Fredrik Hagglund ( Isaiah 53 in the Light of Homecoming After Exile (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament) ) argues against the common notion that Isaiah 53 is about the atoning suffering of Yahweh’s Servant. The Servant’s suffering is vicarious (i.e., he suffers for the sins of others) but it is not…
With the inheritance of Canaan and the dividing up of this priestly territory among the tribes, Israel became a microcosm of the nations of the world. This division between Israel and the nations as a substitutionary “land and sea” would prevent another global rebellion, and thus another global judgment. ((For…
One of the more revealing aspects of Paul and James’ soteriology is the different ways they both use Genesis 15:6 (“And Abraham believed God and it was counted for him as righteousness,”) as a proof text to defend their comments about the gospel. The key observation to make is that…
The disintegration of the EU is not the end of the world. It is a sign that the end of the world is anything but nigh. Western culture as we know it is dying at the hands of usurpers, traitors and prodigals. Even the worst rulers throughout Christian history at…
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In the Spring 2004 issue of The Public Interest , Joseph Bottum insightfully examines the tensions in “biblical America” between the Enlightenment democratic public order and the fervent religiosity of the people. The tension is original and deep: “Public order in a democracy ?Ethe structure of liberalism that needs a…
Gary Demar suggests in a study of Zechariah 12 that the prophecy describes the events that are recorded in the book of Esther. This is an interesting and plausiable thesis, but one particular point is especially stimulating: He suggests that the references to “Judah and Jerusalem” in Zechariah 12 are…
Luke 22:28-30 One of the unique features of Luke?s account of the Last Supper is the repeated reference Jesus makes to the kingdom of God. He says He will never eat a meal again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom, and that he will not drink of the fruit…
When Jesus was but an infant, Simeon saw Him in the temple and prophesied: ?This one is appointed for the fall and rise of many within Israel, and for a sign to be opposed, to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.?E Throughout His life, this is…
Several earlier posts have dealt with the fact that Abraham, according to the Genesis account, was a worshiper of God and a man of faith prior to being declared just in Genesis 15. I have taken that as evidence that Paul is not primarily concerned with “works righteousness” in a…
If we understand the cross and resurrection as the climactic events of the gospel narratives, what do they mean? In asking this question, I am not at all casting doubt on traditional satisfaction theories of the atonement, which are amply justified in both OT and NT. The atonement is “objective,”…
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