Contending for the faith in this day and age...
The modern age of technological development is both good and bad, but I’m afraid the bad has outweighed the good, especially in the church. And it all boils down to this one big debate that still rages on…the essentials and non-essentials…liberty and legalism…the dreaded “gray” areas.
Discussion
Embrace Disillusionment
When wisely managed, disillusionment is a beneficial misery. It qualifies as what the Puritans called “a severe mercy”—a torment that purifies the soul. Since disillusionment is emotionally painful, we naturally regard it as an enemy. But to be disillusioned is to be set free from illusion, and that is never bad. Disillusionment bursts an illusion much as a pin pops a balloon. The experience is jarring; but in the case of illusions, it is equally liberating.
Discussion
The Christian and sin
I got into an interesting discussion with a friend of mine the other day and this question came up…can a Christian go through an entire day without sinning? I thought the answer was no because there are not only sins of commission, there are also sins of omission. I asked him that if we really thought through an average day and really examined ourselves, we could come up with some sort of sin of, if not commission then omission. He said it was possible for a Christian to make it through a day without sinning, but highly improbable.
Discussion
Has (Serious) Christian Fatherhood Changed Over the Past 50 Years?
The Bible’s commands to parents (and husbands/wives/children) has not changed. But, in your observation, are serious Christian dads different than they used to be? Or are the differences superficial? Time to opine!
Poll Results
Has (Serious) Christian Fatherhood Changed Over the Past 50 Years?
Discussion
Aphorisms for Thinking about Separation: Command, Intent and Application
Please, consider reading the preceding article before delving into this one. While I’ve tried to make each stand alone, they are linked together.
Aphorism 1: The debate among Bible believing Christians about separation is fundamentally about the how to apply the passages in the Bible commanding separation.
Aphorism 2: All applications of the commands of Scripture are based on a particular context outside the Bible. Therefore unless the context is identical to what was intended by the Bible, an application cannot be as normative as Scripture itself.
Allow me to share an explicit command of Scripture, repeated five times in the New Testament which is patently ignored at least in literal obedience by almost all churches in the United States: “Greet one another with the kiss of love” (ESV, 1 Peter 5:14; cf. 1 Thess. 5:26, 2 Cor. 13:12, 1 Cor. 16:20, Rom. 16:16).
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