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.
"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.
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".
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."
If a good friend were to ask you if a group of people who gather at a local hall for a sermon on Sunday is a true church, how would you answer? What will be your criteria? What distinguishes true churches from false churches? What are the marks of a church of Christ?
This article is about our desire for entertainment and our lack of reading and knowledge today.
It may surprise some to find that the word "conversion" does not appear in the Westminster Confession or Catechisms. But the verb "convert" does appear in the chapter on free will: "When God converts a sinner...". The words "convert" and "conversion" are equally rare in the Bible. Even though the word itself may be rare in the scriptures, the reality of a new life in which people turn to God and away from a sinful life, is not foreign at all.
This article on Gnosticism is about a wrong dualism of body and spirit, and creation and spirituality. The author also looks at the Christian and culture.
Until recently the phrase "conversion experience" could be heard everywhere in the Christian world. Though this term may have fallen into disuse of late, the concept of some type of emotional, psychological or religious "experience" marking the initiation of the believer into a relationship with Jesus Christ, remains an important part of modern Evangelical theology.
This article is about justification by faith alone and through grace alone. The author also discusses the relation of faith and merit, law and grace, law and gospel, and justification and sanctification.
This article addresses the issue of faith in Jesus Christ and self-esteem. The author discusses self-esteem and sin, human dignity, grace or merit in the Christian life, justification and self-worth.
