Theology

^{Note: Dr. Sam Horn is host of The Word for Life radio program.}

by Dr. Sam Horn

Theological Perspectives from Habakkuk

Part Two: Learning to Live by Faith (2:2-20)

So what is the godly man to do when the wicked seem to prosper? He is to continue to be godly. He is to continue to faithfully wait upon the Lord and to serve Him in gladness and righteousness. In short, the godly man must live by faith when his world is upside down!

^{Note: Dr. Sam Horn is host of The Word for Life radio program.}

by Dr. Sam Horn

In Part One, I discussed Paul’s view of logic and its relation to the Word and doctrine. Paul viewed logical conclusions as fallible and submissive to the Word. Even so, Paul greatly respected logical thought. In Parts Two and Three, I want to look at a few ways Paul actually used logic.

Paul made great use of logic in his epistles. His logical thought is seen in his constant use of connecting words like “for,” “because,” “therefore,” etc.

Note: This is a summary article, condensing 15 pages of notes, of the Steeling the Mind Bible Conference in the enchanting lake city of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, on October 21, 2006.

The fall colors were at their peak when the Calvary Baptist Church family gathered at a country farm to navigate a corn maze, take a scenic hay ride, and gather around a campfire to fellowship, eat smores, sing, and hear from God’s Word. I was unable to sing and share a message at this year’s campfire because of a bad case of laryngitis. As Keith led the group in singing “How Great Thou Art,” I was struck with the beauty of the moment.

I really love Peter. It is so easy for us, in retrospect, to snipe at him for his antics, but I have been thinking a lot about him lately. Peter strikes me as a man who had given himself over entirely to follow Jesus. He rightly vested in Christ all of his hopes and dreams. So much so that when asked if he were going to leave Jesus, he responded, “Where else can we go? You have the words of life.” Peter was exactly right; Jesus is the only way to life. All other paths are leading directly to sin and death.

The Perspicuity of Scripture

I’ve always enjoyed secret codes. As a fourth-grader, I remember creating secret alphabets made of code to utilize in “top secret” communication between me and my friends. There was a great sense of satisfaction in decrypting one of our codes and reading the covert message. Like many other childhood adventures, secret codes faded from my interest over time.

The goal of these articles (Part 1, Part 2) is to challenge misconceptions about the world and worldliness by taking a fresh look at our authority, the Scriptures themselves. I’ve argued that the biblical concept of worldliness encompasses much more than the matters of fashion, entertainment, and material possessions that we fundamentalists tend to focus on when we use the term.

The ground squirrel never knew what hit him. He had gone exploring in our Neon’s engine compartment and met his end in the serpentine belt when my wife started the car on her way to pick me up from work. She heard the belt go. My father-in-law very graciously picked me up from work, brought me by Advanced Auto for a new belt, and helped install it. This was a good thing because, when they passed out mechanical skills in heaven, I must have been in the library; my father-in-law, on the other hand, has done a lot of his own auto repair.

What Is Written

The meaning of “worldly” is a matter of some controversy. This is true even among people strongly committed to Christian living as defined in Scripture. Most agree that “worldly” means being like the world and that being like the world isn’t good. But from there, confusion multiplies.