In 1 Corinthians 15:3, the apostle Paul declares that the gospel is "of first importance." In other words, Paul is telling his audience that the gospel is the most important thing for them to know. His words have huge implications for how the church holds its beliefs and how it does theology. For if the … Continue reading How Do You Hold Your Beliefs?
You Don’t Need to be a Monk to Follow Jesus
It's self-evident that pastors are holier than "regular" people, right? It's obvious that those who leave their home country to take the gospel around the world are better Christians than those who stay and work ordinary jobs, right? Wrong! And the reason why those sentiments are wrong is the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was … Continue reading You Don’t Need to be a Monk to Follow Jesus
40 Days of Focus
40 Days of Focus: Adapted from Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport Lent is an important season in the life of our church for personal spiritual renewal. While the church has historically practiced fasting from food during Lent, we believe that it is prudent in our current time in history to fast from screens and technology. … Continue reading 40 Days of Focus
Key Ideas from Productivity Books
Deep Work by Cal Newport: Cultivate focus to get important things done 4,000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman: There are too many "big rocks" in life. You have to settle. Effortless by Greg McKeown: Bitterness and unforgiveness makes you less productive by clogging up your heart and mind. Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam: Batch small … Continue reading Key Ideas from Productivity Books
The Four Laws of Combat
Former Navy Seal Jocko Willink summarize the most important principles for combat in his book, Leadership Strategy and Tactics. He codified the Four Law of Combat: Cover and Move Simple Prioritize and Execute Decentralized Command Military teams must Cover and Move. Whenever solider want to advance on a position, they need their teammates to provide … Continue reading The Four Laws of Combat
Psalm 42: Translation and Commentary
1 To the choir director: A maskil of the sons of Korah. 2 As a deer pants for streams of water,So my soul pants for you, O God! 3 My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God, When will I come in and appear before God? 4 My tears have been my food day … Continue reading Psalm 42: Translation and Commentary
Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.7 | Free Will is Prone to Misunderstanding
We can define free will this way: free will is not the ability to freely choose good or evil, but rather the fact that people can voluntarily and not under compulsion. Such a definition seems almost self-evident. Why should such a small matter be given such a profound title? This is an admirable freedom that … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.7 | Free Will is Prone to Misunderstanding
Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.6 | More Views on Free Will Considered
All Christian theologians will admit that free will does not enable people to do good works unless they are assisted by God's grace, specifically, the grace which the elect receive through regeneration. Do not even consider the views of those who say that grace is offered equally and lavishly to all (Lomb. lib. 2 Dist. … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.6 | More Views on Free Will Considered
Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.5 | Different Kinds of Free Will According to Some Christians
In general, most Christian theologians who believe in free will do not believe that people can save themselves. They believe that truly righteous living must come from God's grace and spiritual regeneration. For example, the author of the work, On the Calling of the Gentiles, describes the will as threefold: sensitive, animal, and spiritual. The … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.5 | Different Kinds of Free Will According to Some Christians
Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.4 | Early Christian Views on Free Will
Through church history, all Christian theologians have acknowledged that human reason was seriously injured by sin. Moreover, they also taught that the human will was entangled by evil desires. Unfortunately, too many of them took the same approach as the non-Christian philosophers. Some of the ancient Christian writers appear to me to have exalted human … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.4 | Early Christian Views on Free Will