How to Engage the Culture without Losing the Gospel
Through questions and answers, this article discusses the challenging question of how the church can engage the culture without losing the gospel.
Through questions and answers, this article discusses the challenging question of how the church can engage the culture without losing the gospel.
Many believe that the act of faith is that which saves instead of faith in Christ. The article clarifies how anyone can truly be saved, so that you can rest in Christ.
Why was it for the disciples' advantage that Jesus go away and send the Holy Spirit as helper (John 16:7)? This article explains that the Spirit would come to work in the church through the Word, to bind the church to the Christ of the past and the future.
John 16:7 tells us that the Holy Spirit is our our helper or comforter (paraclete). This article reflects on what this means for the church.
What is the relationship between faith and mental illness? Many in the past did not believe mental disorders were real. This article raises six points for consideration concerning faith and mental illness.
Should Christians be driven by the law of God or the promises of God? While the law has its appeal to us, the Bible teaches that we ought to be driven by the promises of God. This article discusses two Scripture passages to help to address this matter: Genesis 15 and Romans 4.
Does 1 Peter 3:18-22 teach that Jesus descended into hell and preached to the dead there? There has been an ongoing debate over the years about whether Jesus went to hell and proclaimed the gospel or his spirit went to the Father upon his death (Luke 23:22, 26). The article discusses one of the views that is widely accepted concerning what happened to Jesus between the crucifixion and resurrection.
Are you living in fear of Satan controlling your thoughts? Scripture teaches that while Satan is unable to dictate what we think, he is able to tempt people to sin by false teaching. Scripture also teaches that the only way to stand against the devil, and to distinguish between the voice of God and of Satan, is by studying the Scriptures and putting on the shield of faith in Christ.
Believers tend to struggle with how to do evangelism well. This article explains that having a good grasp of the gospel and its storyline is of great help in evangelism.
To preach the Bible as "the handbook for life," or as the answer to every question, rather than as a revelation of Christ, is to turn the Bible into an entirely different book.
What does it mean to know God? What is the key to the knowledge of God? These are the questions that this article attempts to answer. Central to the answer is the divinity of Jesus Christ. The author also observes the effect of philosophical developments through time on the church's faith in the deity of Christ.
This article presents John Calvin's understanding of the role of the pastor. It also points out that the pastor may not stand in the way of Christ alone having the dominion in his church.
From John 8:19-24 Jesus shows that the revelation of God is in him. This article argues this by pointing to the biblical evidence that the key to knowing God is knowing Jesus Christ.
Charles Finney can be known as the father of altar call. This article examines Finney's views of salvation and shows how his view of man's nature and salvation distorts the biblical view.
Was Geneva a theocracy and was John Calvin its pope? To answer this question this article looks at the involvement of John Calvin in Geneva and in the execution of Servetus.
This article attempts to address some misunderstandings about Reformed theology by comparing it to different theologies, particularly Arminianism and hyper-Calvinism.
Did Christ really rise from the dead? This article looks at the claims against the resurrection of Christ, concluding that there is no other explanation except that Christ rose.
What does it mean to be involved in a ministry? This article shows that the modern definition of the word 'ministry' is sometimes inaccurate. The priesthood of believers should not be confused with the call to ministry, which is limited to the ministry of the word and the administration of sacraments.
Do you know how to read the Bible (interpretation of Scripture)? This article discusses the connecting theme of the covenant throughout the Bible, and other hermeneutical rules that help us to interpret the Bible's message.
What is Satan's biggest strategy? This article shows that it is keeping people from seeing Christ (Christ-centredness). Christless Christianity is the challenge that is facing the church today. This challenge can be traced back to the Sadducces and the Pharisees. Christ is denied through the teaching that the gospel does not include the wrath of God, but only His love.
Is it important to have a reformed liturgy? This article shows that there is a relationship between theology and liturgy, since the one leads to the other. Here the history of reformed liturgy is given, showing that reformed liturgy seeks to be biblical and God-centered.
What is the reformed faith? This article points to the sovereignty of God, man's sinful nature, the work of Christ, election, justification and the Christian life as distinguishing aspects of the reformed faith.
Church shouldn't be a place where the old self is revived for another week, but where it is killed and buried and the new self is created in the likeness of Christ.
"How can I find a church where I will hear Christ preached from his Word? Where is his glory not camouflaged under lots of fluff and distractions?" We can appreciate the concern and even frustration that accompanies the search for the right place to worship. In the first place however, as with product labels, it is important to recognize what church labels mean and don't mean.
It is an error to identify the gospel with any particular system or culture. A problem with the church being identified with the culture wars is a basic one: Christianity is not a culture. It is a faith centered around a person who has a real life, a life of significance because he is God incarnate and rose from the dead as he promised and is alive in heaven.
In Corinth the simplicity of the gospel was undermined. Silver-tongued speakers made promises about the keys to success and happiness. Because they made at least some appeal to Christ, the super-apostles convinced some of the Corinthian believers that they were still bringing the gospel. However, for them the gospel was not enough. They wanted to make Christianity relevant in a pagan commercial center like Corinth.
The question of Anselm, "Why did God become man?" is not answered in a uniform way by Evangelical Christians. There used to be more of a consensus, more so than there is today. What did the atonement actually accomplish? There are basically four views held by Protestants.
This article suggests important issues if there is to be a serious discussion between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. This is a reaction to the document "Evangelicals and Catholics together".
This article is about the style of worship, seeker-oriented worship services, worship and evangelism, and God-oriented worship.
In this article the author offers a few responses to the common objections concerning the doctrine of election. He states, "If one does not believe in the doctrine of unconditional election, it is impossible to have a high doctrine of grace."