Category: Theology
What and When God Remembers
Though the concept may seem strange, the Bible occasionally declares that God “remembers” one thing or another. But we must not assume that God has “forgotten” something for a time—and then suddenly “remembers” it again. When God “remembers,” He has simply determined that the time for...
Understanding the Resurrection
The Resurrection Vindicates Christ’s Claims and Predictions What would you think of a man who, in every visible respect, appeared ordinary yet claimed to be the Son of God? What if he also claimed to be deserving of equal honor with God? What if he even...
When Finney Was Right
I have no real love for the methods or doctrine of Charles Grandison Finney who lived in the early 1800s. He was a watershed figure whose ways have caused modern evangelicalism much trouble. To use a word that is not common to most, he was a...
What you need to know about The Da Vinci Code
Do you know someone who has read The Da Vinci Code? If you don’t by now, you probably will. Dan Brown’s suspense novel has been on the NY Times best-sellers list for over 3 years, and, according to Brown’s website, “has become one of the most...
You’re Going the Wrong Way!
A few years ago, I was preaching in prisons in Oklahoma. In one of those prisons, I had to go into the meeting location several minutes after the pastor who had invited me. When it was time to go in, the guard opened the iron door...
What was “Reformed” in the Reformation?
If one wants to know what the Protestant Reformation was all about without reading huge volumes of historical literature, it is perhaps most clarifying to look at the theological results. One should specifically note the rediscovery of five critical biblical doctrines that had been obscured from...
What Pastors Must Do, and How to Help Them
I once heard a pastor who preaches weekly to thousands confess that he and his fellow pastors were failing the members of their church. Yes, he teaches the Bible faithfully every week. Yes, a large number of people in the church are regularly sent out for...
What It Was Like: Geography and Culture Make a Difference
I recently returned from a trip to Israel. The purpose for the trip was to create mental images in the minds of my students of that part of the world where so much Bible history took place. As we hiked down Judean hills, traversed the barren...
Your Best Life … Later
In his best-selling book, Your Best Life Now, TV preacher and mega-church pastor, Joel Osteen, writes: “God wants this to be the best time of your life” (p. 5). According to Osteen, God wants everybody to have financial success, physical health, and social comfort, in this...
What We Will See Next
You may wish to know what is next in this world. Let me tell you what is about to come with certainty: Men and women “will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Though that statement was made by a man named Paul who...
