I ran across this site today and it looks promising.
Welcome To Bible Islands – Faith Based Virtual World For Kids!.
Justification
Bending over backwards to explain?
Should Christians Participate in yoga?
A health & nutrition site may seem odd against the normal links here. But Your Healthy Way has compiled a concise and convincing document against the use of yoga by Christians. Good, needed stuff.
Opposite ends of the Spectrum
Here is a fascinating glimpse at the gap between the truly Christ-centered and the, well. . . , worldly nonsense so prevalent in our church today. This first link addresses Beale’s wonderful New Testament Biblical Theology: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/left-behind-for-now-tribulation-and-the-need-to-know-gods-word
The second is part and parcel of our seeker-sensitive, Christ-less, social clubs that happen to meet on Sundays. http://pastorfashion.com/
Read the first to get a sample of Beale’s dynamic “already and not yet” eschatology and his position on the tribulation. Read the second to be convinced that he is correct.
Looking forward to christmas day
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”
(1 Peter 1:10-12 ESV)
I remember a few years ago sitting in the living room until the wee hours of Christmas morning with my wife. We were waiting for our children to finally fall asleep so that we could place the rest of their presents under the tree. It was quite the waiting game. Never underestimate the will of young kids! When at last they were asleep, we brought the gifts out and scurried to bed for a couple of hours of sleep.
As I think back to that night the one thing that is so vivid is how excited, how much anticipation there was for Christmas morning – when my girls would finally receive the gifts for which they had been waiting.
My daughters are much older now and probably wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was under the tree that year. Yet, as the calendar turns to December and school winds down, the excitement builds again. And like the little girls they were a few years ago, the anticipation begins to mount. . . Christmas is coming, gifts are coming.
Imagine what it would be like to look so forward to Christmas, yet with every passing year there was no gift. How long would you continue to hunger for it? How long would you remain hopeful?
The desire for the Gift of Christmas is really the meaning of the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament, there is a glimmer of the Promise, a hope for a future salvation. This hope, for those who believed, was so great that it altered their lives. Consider the great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. This veritable who’s-who in the Old Testament is commended for their faith in the promise (Heb. 11:39-40). We can think also of Simeon, who upon glancing at Jesus as an infant proclaimed, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.” (Luke 2:29-30) Look also to Paul, so convinced and anxious for being with his Lord that he could say, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Phil. 1:23)
The center of the Bible is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the ultimate Gift for humanity. So worthy was just the promise of Him, that those looking forward could not be satisfied by earthly things. So sufficient was a brief encounter with Him, that an old man was ready to die. So joyful is eternity in His presence, that an apostle could not be derailed from his mission. The entire heavens anticipated His coming, all of creation yearns for His return.
In this season of giving and receiving, let us not lose sight of the only Gift that will fulfill us for eternity. May we all consider the gift of salvation, bought with the blood of Jesus, as the best present of all.
NT use of the ot part one
December 12, 2011
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Category:Doctrine, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Studies, Theology
Do You Not Understand?
In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus is visited by a teacher of the Jewish faith, Nicodemus. The conversation turns strange for Nicodemus, centering on the idea of rebirth (John 3:3-8). Confused by what he hears, the teacher asks the Teacher, “How can these things be (John 3:9)?”[1] Jesus’ answered the question with a question of His own, “Are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things (John 3:10)?” It was, R.C. Sproul wrote, as if Jesus were saying to Nicodemus, “This is foundational biblical truth . . . any knowledgeable teacher of the Old Testament should have grasped (this) a long time ago.”[2] What Jesus hints at here he makes explicit to the disciples on the road to Emmaus – all Scripture is about Him (Luke 24:27). The apostles understood this fundamental assumption about the Word of God. The use of the Old Testament in their writings displays a confident belief that the sacred text of the forefathers was made clear through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ[3]. This hermeneutical principle is most evident in the works of the apostle Paul, specifically the book of Romans. As a Pharisees, Paul had, no doubt, an intimate knowledge of Scripture, understanding it as it taught in the Jewish faith (Acts 22:3). Yet, in Romans, the apostle seemingly pulls verses from random to support his claims of salvation through Christ. For instance, in Romans 9:25-26 Paul invokes Hosea in support of his position that the Gentiles are rightfully afforded inclusion into God’s kingdom (cf. Hosea 1:10, 2:23).[4] Is Paul being faithful to the original meaning of the text or is he using eisegesis to support his argument? Far from being unfaithful to the original meaning, Paul’s use of the Old Testament is consistent with all of the New Testament authors in their understanding and interpretation of the Old Testament in light of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
to be continued. . .
[1] All Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Edition.
[2] R.C. Sproul, John (Ann Arbor: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2010), 40.
[3] (McCartney et al. 2003)
[4]Douglas Moo, Romans: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 322.
Praying for Tebow? You Should Be.
In the span of eight weeks, Tim Tebow has become the hottest topic in sports and one of the most popular names in search engines, tweets and water cooler banter. If this was simply the story of an unorthodox, underdog quarterback bucking the traditional formula for winning in the NFL, Tim Tebow would still be a sensation. What makes the case of Tebow so polarizing is his outspoken, audacious faith. Former Bronco quarterback Jake Plummer made news last week by intimating that he didn’t need Tebow going on and on about Jesus. This week, former NFL quaterback Kurt Warner – himself an outspoker Christian as well as a Cinderalla-style success – stated that Tim might need to reign in the rhetoric a bit. Warner suggested that Tebow perhaps could be more effective in sharing the gospel through his actions and not his sound-bites. Oh that we would all have such critics! Seriously, how often are we told to tone down our talk about Jesus?
Fan of football or not. Fan of Tebow or not. This guy is on a mission for the Great Commission. He is not simply talking the talk nor walking the walk. He has stepped up on one of the most visible stages in all of entertainment – as an NFL quarterback – and has boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus at every opportunity.
I do not know Tim Tebow personally, or anyone that may know him. But I do know what it is like to grapple with a fallen nature, to continually “do that which I don’t want to do.” I know how easy it is to fail my wife, my kids, my church and my friends. I also know how damaging poor choices can be to my testimony.
Tim Tebow is under intense scrutiny and temptation. The lure of fame and fortune are dangerous. Quite frankly, there are millions rooting against Tebow because of his faith. And they would love nothing more than a slip. Tebow is a fallen, sinful, imperfect recipient of the grace of God like the rest of us. And he is sharing his faith on the biggest stage he can.
Tim Tebow’s unorthodox style of play is surpassed only by his zeal for his Savior. While we root for him on Sundays, let’s remember to pray for him as well – for God to continue to strengthen and protect him for the gospel of Christ and the glory of God.
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Where Liberal Theology Begins
I am convinced that all false gospels have their beginnings in the rejection of core doctrines of the Christian faith. I read a similar sentiment in Hodge’s Systematic Theology today:
If the Scriptures teach that sin is hereditary, we must adopt a theory of sin suited to that fact. If they teach that men cannot repent, believe, or do anything spiritually good, without the supernatural aid of the Holy Spirit, we must make our theory of moral obligation accord with that fact. If the Bible teaches that we bear the guilt of Adam’s first sin, that Christ bore our guilt, and endured the penalty of the law in our stead, these are facts with which we must make our principles agree. It would be easy to show that in every department of theology, — in regard to the nature of God, his relation to the world, the plan of salvation, the person and work of Christ, the nature of sin, the operations of divine grace, men, instead of taking the facts of the Bible, and seeing what principles they imply, what philosophy underlies them, have adopted their philosophy independently of the Bible, to which the facts of the Bible are made to bend.
Paul urges Timothy to beware of false teachers (2 Timothy 3:6), teachers that Jude describes as “creeping in unnoticed” (vs. 4). How do they gain acceptance? By proclaiming a gospel that is a little easier to tolerate – kinder, gentler, more inclusive, less bloody. It is a gospel that will please the world but deny Christ.