General
Practicing Faith
Category: General
Tags: Faith, Imagination, Prayer
Faith is the substantiating of things hoped for and the conviction of things not yet seen, based on Hebrews 11:1 as I explained in this post. Practically speaking, this means that you become aware of…
Election Benediction
Category: General
Tags: Faith, Politics, Prayer
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
On this election day, when so many Americans are experiencing high levels of anxiety, I thought it would be good to share an “Election Benediction” that was written and sent to me by Kenneth Tanner….
A Brief Theology of Faith
Category: General
Tags: Doubt, Faith, Kingdom Living
Topics: Following Jesus
Verse: Hebrews 11:1
It is often argued that Hebrews 11:1 provides us with a clear definition of faith. The NIV translates it as, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do…
Praying for Peace During Political Hostility
Category: General
Tags: Peace, Politics, Prayer
Jesus calls his disciples to be “peacemakers” (Mt 5:9). During this season of political animosity, we have a great opportunity to practice being disciples by offering an alternative way of interacting with each other. One…
Civilian or Soldier: Which Are You?
Category: General
Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
The Bible makes it clear that the people of God are to be on the offensive in storming the gates of hell (See post) and that Christians are to put on the armor of God…
Put on the Armor of God
Category: General
Tags: Faith, Kingdom Living, Prayer, Satan, Warfare Worldview
The whole of the Christian life is an act of war against the enemy as we follow Jesus in storming the gates of hell (See post.) No passage better illustrates this than Paul’s metaphor of…
Storming the Gates of Hell
Category: General
Tags: Christian Living, Church, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
Jesus said: “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18) To understand Jesus’ teaching here, there are a few things you should know. First, “Hades” was…
Jesus and Democracy
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: I’ve heard that the reason Jesus didn’t speak up on political issues was because he didn’t have the benefit of living in a democracy. Since we do, don’t we have a duty both to…
The Holy Alternative
Category: General
Tags: Christian Life, Holiness, Jesus
Topics: Following Jesus
God is holy because he’s utterly “other” and distinct from anything in the created world. Certain objects are called holy because they’re set apart from common objects, having been consecrated to God for a special…
Christians & Politics: Where Do You Stand?
Category: General
Tags: Christian Living, National Idolatry, Politics, Power
In the 1980’s, Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson were leaders in the Moral Majority, a conservative evangelical social and political movement that attempted to rally “moral” people to change public policy. The movement died out…
Do Not Fear
Category: General
Tags: Fear, Love, Politics, Religious Idolatry
We interrupt this election season to bring you the following reminder: [F]ear is a diabolic force. Its ultimate creator is Satan, and he uses it to keep us in bondage (Heb. 2:15). Throughout history, leaders…
The Politics of Jesus, Part 2
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Kingdom Living, Kingdom of God, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Even in the midst of politically-troubled times, we are called to preserve the radical uniqueness of the kingdom. This, after all, is what Jesus did as he engaged the first century world with a different…
The Politics of Jesus
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Love, Non-Violence, Politics, Power, Sacrifice
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Many are so conditioned by the mindset of the world that they can’t even envision an alternative way of affecting society and politics other than by playing the political game as it is done by…
What Power Do You Trust?
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of this World, Love, Non-Violence, Politics, Power, Upside-Down Kingdom
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Governments and nations have always relied on fighting to survive. They punish criminals who threaten their welfare. They go to war against enemies who attack their borders or stand in the way of their agenda….
Jesus is the Center of the Story
Category: General
Tags: Bible, Bible Interpretation, Cruciform Theology, Jesus
Topics: Biblical Interpretation
The previous post addressed how the revelation of Christ is the surprising twist that reframes how we must read all that precedes it. Today we’ll look briefly at five supports to this claim. Jesus said,…
The Twist that Reframes the Whole Story
Category: General
Tags: Bible, Bible Interpretation, Cruciform Theology, Jesus
Topics: Attributes and Character
Many people read the Bible as if everything written within it is equally authoritative. As a result, people read it along the lines of a cookbook. Like a recipe, the meaning and authority of a…
The Bible Contains Errors
Category: General
Tags: Bible, Inerrancy, Infallibility
Topics: Biblical Reliability
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus expressed an unqualified confidence that Scripture infallibly communicates the will of God. He consistently referred to it when deciding matters related to faith. This same attitude was also adopted by the…
Christianity and American Politics
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Missio Alliance, National Idolatry, Politics, Religious Idolatry, Voting
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Greg was recently featured in Missio Alliance’s Seminary Dropout podcast to share his thoughts about the role of Christians in American politics. Today we’re sharing part 1 of that conversation. What is the role of…
Redefining Transcendence
Category: General
Tags: Classical Theism, Cruciform Theology, Revelation
Topics: Attributes and Character
God is transcendent, which basically means that God is “other” than creation. The problem is that classical thinking about God’s “otherness” has been limited to what reason can discern about God. As a result, all…
Redefining Omnipotence
Category: General
Tags: Cross, Love, Omnipotence
Topics: Attributes and Character
Traditional, classical theology has equated divine power with God causing and determining all things to exist. God supposedly acts on everything as their cause, but nothing in any way acts on him. Yet, these assumptions…