Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I revisited Athanasius’s On the Incarnation in light of Advent this year. A particular passage struck me with a question that I hadn’t considered before. When addressing Adam’s fall, Athanasius says this: “If then there were only the offense and not the consequence of corruption, repentance would have been fine.…
There is much wisdom for kings in the first letter of Paul to the Church in Corinth. As I am preaching through this letter, this is one of the major themes that stands out. That is the theme of the reign of the Christian as we live in union with…
1 The title should not be a surprise to anyone who believes the Bible to be true. According to the Bible, any and every faith and religion that does not conform to the Gospel of Christ are not only false, but ultimately inspired by false spirits. Though Jeffrey Niehaus is…
Names are weighty things, a fact repeatedly evidenced in the biblical narrative. There are several occasions when the names mothers or fathers chose for their children, and the reasons for which the names were chosen, are given extended attention in the text. Much of Genesis 29 and 30, for instance,…
Growing up, I was crestfallen about any Christmas that fell on Sunday. Christmas on Sunday meant going to church when I’d rather lollygag around the Christmas tree in my pajamas, playing with new toys. Christmas on Sunday was a drag. If I still felt that way, I know what I’d…
Growing up in the church in Southern America, there was an oft-used category for leaders in the church. It was a category which was used to justify a variety of rules and restrictions on church leaders. Leaders were to be “above reproach” and that meant not drinking in public or…
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The Corinthians did not unfortunately slip into factions. When two ancient men competed for power, Dio Chrysostom says, “of necessity they court the favor of everyone, even those who are ever so far beneath them.” Creating factions was the main strategy of political action, the tactic of leadership. Cultivating factions…
Paul receives a donation from the Philippians, and he gives thanks for their remembrance of him (Philippians 1:3). But the thanks is not offered to the Philippians; it is offered to God. He considers no man his benefactor; he has no debt to anyone but to love. This is new,…
At a time when many Evangelical churches are on a mad pursuit of the shallow, the trendy and the vulgar, the Trinity Institute will be a quiet counterpoint of theological richness and historical depth. I welcome it, and view its prospective influence with keen anticipation. Os Guinness, author “The Last…
Within the Greco-Roman world, Christians were free to refuse - free to refuse the patronage and benefits of benefactors and patrons, free to refuse because they had a more than adequate heavenly Benefactor and Patron. Refuseniks formed a community of refuseniks, an alternative network of charis , a black market…
Sirach (12:1-2) advises, “If you do good, know for whom you are doing it, and your kindness will have its effect. Do good to the just and reward will be yours ( antapodoma ), if not from him, from the Lord.” This sounds like Proverbs: “He who is kind to…
Marcel Mauss famously argued that in archaic societies, giving was guided by three imperatives - the obligation to give, to receive, to repay. Except for the exceptions. Like Jacob and Esau: On his return from Haran, Jacob sends gifts ahead to pacify Esau’s wrath and Esau receives. When Esau offers…
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