The fine art of self-deception
Add comment October 5th, 2009 02:14pm Eric Peterman
This article on individual self-deception, part 1 in a series on SharperIron.org, is excellent and a clear mirror for self-examination.
The good news of the gospel… you’re condemned!
Add comment October 2nd, 2009 10:59am Eric Peterman
One thing that stands out crystal clear in Paul’s articulation of the gospel in his epistle to the Roman church is that the gospel that he preaches begins, and is founded on, a very complete and careful explanation of condemnation – the righteousness of God and the unrighteousness of mankind. Not only does he say in the early chapters of Romans that great masses of people will face the judgment of God and be condemned for their sin, he says that each individual will stand utterly alone in rendering an account for their life and their sin, and that each individual will face, alone, the full brunt of God’s personal offense and anger at their sin and rebellion.
The clearest statement of this and the fact that condemnation and judgment are fundamental to the gospel, see Romans 2: 16, “…on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
“God is bigger than his Word…”
Add comment October 2nd, 2009 09:40am Eric Peterman
I’ve noticed a troubling twist in a few conversations with believers, and it shows up when one tries to engage these particular folks with the certainty of the nature of God from the Scriptures. They balk at the idea of Scriptural boundaries and doctrinal precision about what the Triune God is and is not. Further they stiffen up when one tries to apply specific doctrinal principles to say a particular belief, behavior or attitude is right or wrong.
They respond with something like:
- “God is bigger than his word.”
- “God is bigger than your systematic theology.”
- “If you think you’ve got a handle on God then you don’t have the real God in mind.”
Racism isn’t just wrong, the term itself is bad anthropology
Add comment September 4th, 2009 08:46am Eric Peterman
Here is a great story about a Lebanese Christian family who worked positively through the years against bias against black customers who just wanting to eat some great BBQ.
But it raises a question for the thinking, biblical Christian,,,
(more…)
On handing the keys to your house to thieves
Add comment September 16th, 2008 06:59pm Eric Peterman
Would it make sense to lock your house and its contents carefully before you left, and then turn around and hand your keys to a thief to hold? It would seem that Christians have been doing that for years with… knowledge. Paul Henebury, shows in The Frame of Knowledge article just how that happened and how to get the keys back out of unsafe hands.
Tilting at Spiritual Windmills
Add comment September 12th, 2008 08:42am Eric Peterman
“The big question is not whether spiritual warfare exists, clearly it does. The question is, what are the spiritual disciplines that we employ to take effective part in spiritual warfare?” Greg Koukl
In this superb article, Tilting at Windmills, Koukl makes a point about the true nature of Biblical spiritual warfare, over and against the practice that is common among so many.
“Nuance” is an Emerging Church code-word
Add comment August 20th, 2008 02:23pm Eric Peterman
For an un-nuanced, good definition (and a humorous view) of this emphasis in Emerging circles, check out this motivational poster.
What science can’t prove – Greg Koukl
Add comment August 19th, 2008 08:22am Eric Peterman
A great, quick read helping to understand what science can and cannot claim to prove. Koukl focuses on claims that science has proven that God does not exist. What science can’t prove.
The stability that comes from assurance
Add comment August 17th, 2008 09:14pm Eric Peterman
A couple years back I experienced a weeklong bout of severe and debilitating vertigo, caused by a virus that attacked my peripheral nervous system. I awoke one morning to a world that was spinning so fast that all I could do was screw my eyes shut and half-crawl, half stagger to the bathroom where I clung to the fixtures in wave after wave of nausea. I’m a fairly strong, can-do guy and this experience left me weeping and helpless. It was such a terrifying and intimidating ordeal that it left me with a deep and abiding sense of compassion for anyone suffering from the condition.
Do you sometimes experience “spiritual vertigo”? What I mean is, are you sometimes knocked out of a sense of balance (shockingly so) in your walk with God in faith? Do you find that your response to a situation, or the inner workings of your thinking and feelings toward God and His ways is just out of kilter with what you know it ought to be? This instability, or disconcerting onset of vertigo, sometimes stems from the lack of a sense of assurance of our salvation. We think we need to perform to a certain standard to merit or deserve God’s approval and in so doing we fail that standard and lose our sense of assurance, and the spinning times of doubt, indifference and anguish begin. We fight all the harder to regain our balance, which often seems to make the problem worse.
Here’s some reading you might find encouraging, and a way out of the vertigo trap. It’s a gathering of short articles written by some careful Biblical thinkers around the world, and it’s called the Imperium Testamentum collection on Eternal Security (Vol 1). You can find the whole collection here. Also, scroll down on that page and find the article, #71, An Anchor for the Soul Hebrews 6:13-20, written by Eric L Peterman , or you can link directly to the article here. Do let me know what you think and may the Lord help you to regain your stability, in His grace.
New series on Divorce & Remarriage
Add comment April 30th, 2008 10:02am Eric Peterman
Bumpersticker: “Love is grand; divorce is a hundred grand.”
The issue of divorce and remarriage is a “hot button” issue among Christians and has been a source of struggle and contention over the centuries. In our preaching series through the gospel of Mark we’re pausing in chapter ten to broaden and deepen our study as Jesus responds to a pointed and probing question by the Pharisees. Over the next few sessions we’ll be looking at the Biblical and historical data and presenting an informative, helpful and gracious approach to a touchy but very relevant subject. Tune in to the audio page starting May 4th, 2008.
