This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series ExegesisAs Paul is approaching the end of his epistle he is aware that there is one important problem on which he has not yet touched, namely, that of the relation between the weak and the strong. The strong were those who were able to grasp the significance of Christ’s death for daily living (e.g., eating, drinking, etc.) the weak were not. Origin of the Problem God had laid down certain rules with respect to clean versus unclean animals. Only the clean were permitted to be used as food. (See Lev. 11:1-45; Deut. 14:3-21; cf. Dan. 1:8ff) In connect...

This entry is part 4 of 14 in the series SDA Propaganda RefutedWell America, I hit a nerve. Glenn gets downright vitriolic in his newest rant but what do you expect from him? When you have no ground to stand on your only recourse is to attack the person embarrassing you. As they say, “Cornered dogs will bite.” He even ends his post by conceding which, of course, is the smartest thing for him to do. Also, if you do read it, notice that he does not once interact with anything I’ve said regarding the text. He can’t, of course, but usually he tries and I was disappointed. W...

In order to establish the doctrine of penal substitution we are not dependent on a few isolated proof-texts here and there in Scripture. The doctrine is woven indelibly into the very fabric of the account of the crucifixion, with numerous threads drawn from the Old Testament.  Rather than instinctively looking to the gospels to provide the facts about the crucifixion, and to the letters to supply the meaning of those facts, we must turn to the Old Testament as the vantage point from which we are to survey the cross.  Antecedent Scripture provides us with all the categories we need to underst...

I know that I’ll probably take some flak for this post as many in the SBC venerate Billy Graham but I’ve never been one to shy away from controversy…maybe to a fault? Television interview of Billy Graham by Robert Schuller, on May 31, 1997: SCHULLER: Tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity? GRAHAM: Well, Christianity and being a true believer — you know, I think there’s the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscio...

This is the last post in my (very) long series focusing on The Heresy of Joel Osteen. Look for other posts on Joel by searching for his name in the search bar to your right. When I was in the eleventh grade I decided to study Latin. I don’t remember what it was that compelled me to study the language, but I suspect it had something to do with the small class size. Where most classes in my high school had twenty five or thirty students, Latin usually had only seven or eight. And so it was that for a year I studied Latin. The teacher, Dr. Helder, quickly became my favorite teacher and grade el...