Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The resurrection stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are among the strangest stories in all of the literature of the world, even among the strangest stories in the Bible. That is true of each Gospel’s accounts individually, but even more of the collection as a whole. On the one…
As a pastor, I’m interested in discipleship. Christians are called to be disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Discipleship has everything to do with the disciplines we walk by in our lives. Things like Bible reading, prayer, and fasting are hallmarks of standard Christian discipleship. The basic thrust is that…
Psalm 1 is justly famous among biblical texts. It opens the Psalter, it’s a paean to the life-giving power of the Law, and it beautifully describes righteous life as a stable, fruitful tree. It subtly weaves the contrasting threads of wickedness and righteousness into a succinct summary of biblical wisdom:…
No book is more quoted in Hebrews than the Psalter: there are quotations and allusions to psalms on virtually every page. And many of the quotations are not passing references but closely considered and repeatedly cited as the author of Hebrews develops his central arguments. Much of Hebrews is exposition…
Howard Bloom is a beautiful hypocrite. The author of books in as different subjects as Mohammed, scientific theory, and the cultural upheaval of the 1960s, he professes to be a “stone cold atheist.” Yet in spite of that profession, Bloom obviously writes as a Jew; that is, he writes with…
There may be some debate about who deserves the title “the King of American literature,” but, at least to my mind, there should be no debate over who deserves to be “the Queen” – let’s give the crown to Flannery O’Connor. She is, however, a very unlikely queen. Unlikely, not…
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Baptists have a hard time grasping how God might be God not only to a believer but also to his children. But a human analogy is readily at hand: Suppose I have a faithful friend who has helped me out of various difficulties, protected me when I was under threat,…
Some additional notes on Proverbs, again largely dependent on Waltke’s commentary. STRUCTURE This chapter is divided into three main sections, of which we?ll look at the first two. Verses 1-12 form a section that is marked off by the reference to the father-son relationship at the beginning and end (vv.…
A couple of scattered notes on Paul?s argument in Romans 4. 1) Paul?s statement about belief in ?Him who justifies the ungodly?E(v. 5) clearly applies to Abraham. Verse 2 says Abraham was not ?justified by works,?Eand verse 4 refers again to ?one who works?Ein contrast to the ?one who does…
Mark 11:15-16: ?And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves, and He would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple.?E We…
People often cling to familiar and comfortable things even when they know that clinging to the past will destroy them. Remember Lot?s wife: When fire falls from heaven and starts burning your town, that?s a strong hint it?s time to leave. Yet, Lot?s wife yearned for the doomed world she…
Eberhard Jungel?s 2001 volume, Justification: The Heart of the Christian Faith (T&T Clark) has a lot of useful material (and some not so useful material). I found Chapter 3, ?The Justification Event?Eto be the most useful. Below, I?ve summarized his arguments from that chapter. 1) Jungel starts with the Aristotelian…
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