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It’s Unchristian to Hate America
Polarization is nothing new for the United States. Remember the Federalists VS the anti-Federalists? The Whigs VS Democrats? Even today’s divide between Democrats and Republicans goes all the way back to 1854. In fact, today’s divide is relatively calm compared to 1854, the year when anti-slavery northerners founded the Republican Party 7 years before the...
Daniel McCoy
Covenant
What is a covenant? In English the word usually means an “agreement” or “a written contract.” But what did the word mean in Greek—specifically in the original Greek New Testament? When Paul and others wrote about God’s covenant with humans, there were two Greek words from which to choose: syntheke (soon THAY kay) and diatheke (dee...
Kenny Boles
Pigs and Dogs: What is Jesus Talking About?
What’s with the pigs and the dogs? Taken by itself, Matt. 7:6 is a weird thing to say: “Don’t give holy things to dogs, don’t throw your pearls to pigs, lest they trample them under their feet and, turning, tear you to pieces” (author’s translation). If this is a stand-alone verse, then we just have...
Jeremy Bacon
Gender Roles: Where to Begin
Last October at a “Truth Matters Conference,” John MacArthur was being honored for his 50 years of ministry. At one point, MacArthur and a group of other panelists were asked to play a word association game, where they were to give 2 words in reaction to the words they were given. The first 2 words...
Vance Russell
Q: Fearless or Fearful? Jesus’ Answer Is Confusing.
I have found myself confused by Jesus’ teaching on fear. There’s an excerpt from one of His sermons in which He basically says this: “Don’t be afraid. Be afraid. Don’t be afraid.” It’s as if this part of the sermon were a movie directed scene-by-scene first by Mr. Rogers, then by Alfred Hitchcock, then by...
Daniel McCoy
The Gospel Coalition, Matthew Bates, and Renew.org
This is one of the most in-depth posts we have written so far explaining the distinctive purpose of Renew.org. Thank you in advance for taking the time to carefully read it. Can we just start by mentioning how grateful we are for The Gospel Coalition? What a valuable group of men and women who are...
Renew.org
The Book of Job: A Guide in Suffering (Part 2)
(For Part 1, click here.) One of the tough parts about understanding Job’s story is figuring out which voices to trust. We have the narrator, God, Satan, Job, Job’s wife, the three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar), along with a fourth friend Elihu, who is the last to speak before God interjects. I find it...
Luke Gray
Could You Be a Church Planter?
In Act 1:8 Jesus offers His disciples this strategy for spreading his good news: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” What is Jesus telling his disciples to do?...
Sean Cronin
3 Steps for Choosing Obedience When You Suffer
When I contemplate human suffering, two words come to mind: lamb stew. One winter evening I joined a friend in her home for dinner. I looked forward to it as her cultured culinary skills always made our shared suppers delightful and delicious. We sat down to an elegant table setting. She served the main course....
Julia Martin
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Satanic Imagery in the Bible
In a previous article, I laid out some of the information we find about Satan in the Old Testament. We looked at the serpent in Genesis 3, in the book of Job, and elsewhere in the Old Testament. In this part, we will look at the information in apocryphal literature, which we do not consider...
Jonathan Lichtenwalter
Satan in the Old Testament
In recent scholarship, the traditional Christian interpretation of Satan has come under some scrutiny. Scholars like Dr. Michael Heiser, Dr. Miryam Braynd, and Dr. Archie Wright have focused on the development of the Satan character throughout biblical literature. Much of this scholarship has been helpful and enlightening, but the data presented can make the Satan...
Jonathan Lichtenwalter
5 Bible Moms to Make You Feel Amazing & Terrible
You will find this article relevant to you if . . . A. You are a mother B. You will someday be a mother C. You have/had a mother D. You need to write a sermon for Mother’s Day As for D, can we just admit that there’s usually a huge difference between Mother’s Day...
Daniel McCoy
The How’s of Humility
We have every reason to get humble. Here are six big reasons: God shows grace to humble people (James 4:6). God gives victory to humble people (Psalm 149:4). God hears humble people (Daniel 10:12). Humble people are able to build healthy one-another relationships (Philippians 2:2-8). Humble people receive blessings (Proverbs 22:4). Humble people gain wisdom...
Angel Maldonado
Did Jesus Really Mean “Judge Not”?!
“Judge not, lest you be judged” (Matthew 7:1; popular paraphrase). Can we talk about what Jesus is saying here? Or do we have to address the elephant in the room? Sigh. Elephant it is. Because when church people hear the verse, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” we don’t hear Jesus saying it. We hear...
Jeremy Bacon
The Book of Job: A Guide in Suffering (Part 1)
It was my junior year of college and I was sitting in my Western Civilization Class at the University of Kansas. While I’d already taken Western Civ. at a community college, the credit had only been accepted as an elective, so there I was taking Western Civ. for a second time. Admittedly the K.U. rendition...
Luke Gray
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