It is a commonly held belief among Christians that one of the most perplexing problems we experience is knowing what the will of God is for our lives. The reason for this is not hard to find. For one thing, we are most sensitive to this question in times of stress, when the stakes are high and our emotions are perturbed. We want a clear path to appear in front of us – we want to know what our heavenly …
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Here is on older post on the order of the decrees. The Order of the Divine Decrees There are usually three logical plans given by theologians which attempt to answer the question, “In what logical order did God plan His redemptive acts?” These are known respectively as supralapsarianism, infralapsarianism, and sublapsarianism.[1] The term “Lapsarian” is from the Latin word lapse meaning “fall.” Hence, lapsarianism has to do with belief in the Fall of Adam and its concomitants. This is especially the case …
God Words and God’s Actions: Primary Hermeneutics Part Four Something to notice in the creation account is the correspondence between God’s thoughts (and speech), and His actions. The one corresponds precisely with the other.[1] Put in the most pedestrian terms, God means what He says! This fact is exemplified in what happens on Day Three: (God’s Words) Then God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree which yields fruit according to its …
Part Three The Creation and Purpose of Language Approaching the question of language and meaning can often seem like a chicken and egg scenario. If we had words and grammar first then how did we learn to communicate them so as to be correctly understood by others? But if we had a thought to communicate, how could we do it without the symbols of language (alphabet, grammar, syntax, etc.) to convey that thought? The Creation account in Genesis represents God …
These remarks stem from some interchanges I had with some believers about methodological naturalism. Many a scientist will say they are simply looking for natural explanations of phenomena they come across. If that really were the case, there would be no difficulty at all. But that is not so. Scientism is on a quest. The goal is driven by a rigidly held belief that “Science” is a God-free edifice. Hence, “looking for natural explanations” is actually “permitting only naturalistic explanations.” …
A piece I wrote for a new venture: http://dispensationalpublishing.com/ The expression of theology known, for better or for worse as Dispensationalism, has always had important things to say to the Church, and to the world. To the Church it has commended an approach to the text of the Bible which prioritizes what is properly called, despite some caveats, the “literal” method. Taking this approach to the reading of the Testaments does not mean that there is a one-sided understanding of …
This coming Sunday (the 25th Oct.) I shall be giving a talk for The Bible and Beer Consortium The ministry of BBC is explained by my friend Ezra Boggs in the link above. Basically, it is having Christian speakers give presentations or do debates in bars and pubs in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. This creates an opportunity for those who would never usually come into contact with the message of Christ to hear about it. The talk I am to …
Part Four Last time we looked at the importance of commending a Biblical Worldview to our children. If we can communicate that, then we have given them a solid frame of reference from which they can comprehend the world about them and make decisions about which directions to take in it. That is a valuable gift; and it is one that will be increasingly needed in the years ahead. The Wisdom of the World Versus True Wisdom (1 Cor. 3:19) …
Last night I got back late, very late, from the Moody Founder’s Week Conference in Chicago. The annual conference is free to attend and, even for a cynic like me, worth going to. I thought I’d write some things about it while the impressions were fresh. The theme of the conference was “Running the Race” from Hebrews 12. I missed Paul Nyquist’s opening sermon on Monday. Evidently he did some of the main expository groundwork on the text which some …
Part One The Roles of the Logos Although the wording is brilliantly simple, an examination of the Prologue furnishes for us a great deal of help concerning what might be called the “roles” of the Logos. To begin with, the prologue places in front of us these facts: The Logos is a Person (1:3, 4, 14). There are three relations of Christ the Logos recorded in these opening verses. First, there is His relation with the Father “In the …
