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There are some Bible verses that seem to go just a little bit too far. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children … he cannot be my disciple” comes to mind, or “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” And then there’s this one: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” (Philippians 1:27). We read a verse like that and …
Who are the happiest Christians? Who are the happiest missionaries? And what is it that makes them so happy? This is a question Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves answer in their book What Fuels the Mission of the Church? Here’s what they say… If someone were to ask us, “What is God like?” the answer must be “Jesus Christ.” And this is the beating heart of mission. God’s glory—his own naturally overspilling life, seen in his Son—is mission’s rationale and its …
Wherever the true gospel makes inroads, we can be sure that false gospels will follow close behind. Wherever the true gospel begins to win the hearts of men, we can be sure that false gospels will begin to compete with it. And sure enough, one of the most attractive, most deceptive, and most pernicious of today’s false gospels is the one known as the “prosperity gospel.” The prosperity gospel promises that those who love God will inherit not only the …
A wealthy man, a patron of the arts, called three artists to his side and gave each of them a simple commission: “I want you to paint a picture titled ‘Rest.’” Away went the three men, each to his own studio to ponder the assignment, to rough up some initial sketches, to plan and paint his finest work. Months later the three returned to display their paintings. The first unveiled a landscape, a placid pool vividly reflecting the mountains that …
Though few tools are simpler than a plumb line, few are more effective at their task. A plumb line is simply a pointed weight—a plumb bob, or plummet, if you prefer—that has been suspended from a cord. The bob dangles from the cord and, through the consistent downward pull of gravity, establishes a vertical reference. Since time immemorial—ancient Egypt at least—a plumb line has been used to establish verticality for walls, towers, castles, and other structures. If you make a …
It is an audacious claim of the Christian faith that there is only one way to heaven. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” we believe. Not most, not some, but all. Since all of us have sinned, all of us are lost and in need of saving. And this saving we so badly need can come from only one Savior since “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under …
On my recent trip to Scotland I participated in an Ask Me Anything event at a local bookstore, and was asked two related questions: What is the best way to reach people with the Gospel in the modern world, and what is your preferred method of evangelism? Here are my answers to those questions. Transcript What is the best way to reach people with the Gospel today? People are always reached in the same way, which is through the …
When people translate the New Testament from the original Greek language into modern English, they need to make decisions about how to best communicate the author’s intent. The translator doesn’t only ask “what words did he use?” but also “what did he mean to communicate to his readers?” In Philippians 1:27, most translators have made the decision to use the phrase “manner of life.” That’s a great decision that adds a lot of clarity to our understanding. But behind the …
My dear, sweet girl, I’m so thankful you’re thinking about sin. I’m so thankful you’re thinking about what it means to be a sinner, what it means to realize that so often you do the bad stuff you swore you wouldn’t do. And not only that, but so often you don’t do the good stuff you had promised to do. I know sin is a hard thing to think about, but it’s such an important thing. Yesterday you were comparing …
My guess is you’ve probably heard someone use the phrase “gospel issue.” You may well have used it yourself a few times. But what is a gospel issue? What does this phrase mean? I did some searching around to see what counts as a gospel issue and found quite an extensive list. According to at least someone, each of these is a gospel issue: The doctrine of election, the treatment of animals, creation care and conservation, racial reconciliation, racial diversity, …