As you read the New Testament there are times when it seems that the Law is viewed negatively and there are times when it seems to be viewed positively. We can use Paul’s letter to the Romans to make this point. He sees the law as something under which the unbeliever is in bondage. Those who come to faith in Christ are not under law but under grace (Romans 4:14, 7:6). So in some sense the law is something from which we need to be delivered or set free.
Read MoreI have been following the posts and video debate of my fellow Advent Christians Catherine Rybicki, Luke Copeland and Robert Mayer concerning egalitarianism and complementarianism. By now I am sure all those who are regulars at Advent Christian Voices have no need for these terms to be defined or explained. Of these two positions I do believe that the complementarian one is the harder of the two to hold.
Read MoreThe Gospel is really very counter intuitive. We are wired as Pharisees. We have a hard time understanding the nature of grace. Even though we confess that we believe God saves us by grace, we tend to operate in the arena of works. We are basically performance driven. We live on a treadmill of performance in how we conceive of God dealing with us. We are treated by others this way and we treat others this way. But God does not treat his born again and justified children in this way. It is God’s grace relied upon and even to some degree felt that motivates his children to live in in loving obedience to him rather than in a quid pro quo performance oriented existence.
Read MoreGod looks at you and says: "You are my dearly loved child and I am well pleased with you." Or God says, "I am your Father and you are acceptable to me." We can be that bold in proclaiming God's favor to us as those who have been justified by faith in Christ.
Read MoreThe puritan theologian John Owen in his treatise on the Trinity entitled “Communion with the Triune God,” shows how believers may have intimate communion with the persons of the Godhead. This is seen in Paul’s benediction from 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Read MoreWe are by nature worshipers. We worship with our mind, our emotions, our will and our words. These dynamics are in one sense working simultaneously and apply to false worship, as well as, to the worship that the living God calls us to give to him. Another way to look at worship is to speak of the levels of worship.
Read MoreSin is often and correctly seen to be disobedience and rebellion. Yet it is also idolatry; idolatry of the heart. As such, sin is binding and blinding. Sin is also foolish and stupid. My purpose is to get you to think about the issue so you will be better able to repent and humble yourself under God's gracious and mighty hand. Just do not think of idols as statues or icons. They are “no-gods,” for sure, nevertheless idols control our hearts as we foolishly give ourselves to them.
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