Archives for 2012

A brother writes: "First Peter 3:18-22 stumps me. I just can't understand that preaching to the spirits in prison. Do you have any clue to what Peter is referring?" * * * Now Peter makes another connection between Noah and Peter's first readers. There was a time when Noah was surrounded by mocking unbelievers, but then he was "saved by water" from that wicked world. The old world of unbelievers did not go through the Flood with Noah. They stayed on the other side of those waters. In this same way, Peter writes in verse 21, Christian believers are "saved" from the unbelieving world by … [Read more...]

A brother writes: "First Peter 3:18-22 stumps me. I just can't understand that preaching to the spirits in prison. Do you have any clue to what Peter is referring?" * * * Peter's first readers are discouraged because their society and companions and sometimes their families have rejected them for their faith in Jesus. The apostle encourages them to rely on God's judgment of them instead of the world's judgment. He shows us the difference in those judgments in the first two verses of the epistle. Peter addresses these believers as "scattered aliens" -- which tells us the world's view of them. … [Read more...]

A brother writes: "First Peter 3:18-22 stumps me. I just can't understand that preaching to the spirits in prison. Do you have any clue to what Peter is referring?" * * * As you know, First Peter is written to believers who are suffering for their Christian faith at the hands of unbelieving relatives, neighbors and associates (1:6-7; 2:12; 2:19-24; 3:6; 4:12-19; 5:10). Peter's longest discussion of suffering for Christ begins at 3:14 and goes through 4:6. The passage you mention comes in the middle of this section. Throughout the epistle, Peter points to Jesus Christ as the great example of … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes that a relative who accepted Christ later became addicted to drugs and alcohol. "What is a proper prayer on behalf of an addict?" this reader asks. "How would you specifically pray for someone like this?" * * * While there is no magic wording, based on biblical teaching about God, us and prayer, I might pray something like this: "Holy Father, you made us for fellowship with yourself, and you came in the person of your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us. Your will for each of us is freedom and life with you. With that in mind, I lift up (name) to you in … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks, "What do you think of the Harry Potter witchcraft issues? With books and a movie coming out, is this something we need to be informed about so as to defend the faith?" * * * Harry Potter, I am afraid, poses a threat to young minds equalled only by the wizardry in Grimms' Fairy Tales, by the witches in Walt Disney movies, or by the magic in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." Imagination is a healthy and pleasurable part of normal life -- for adults as well as for children. Of course, conscientious Christian parents will want to teach their … [Read more...]

I have just read twice and highlighted The Dragon Slayer: Reflections On the Saving of the World (2004, privately published, 202 pages, paper), the latest book from my eloquent friend Jim McGuiggan of Northern Ireland. As usual, McGuiggan devotes his considerable mind and poignant pen to the profound realities that matter most, this time the atonement for sin which Jesus Christ accomplished once for all. For centuries the Irish have been noted as gifted story-tellers and McGuiggan maintains the Hibernian reputation, as seen in this passage reminiscent of Brennan Manning: "We built a wall … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes: "What is the New Testament specifically talking about when it says that Jesus and the apostles 'drove out demons?' Does this refer to mental defects (insanity, bipolarism, etc.) or psychological or physiological problems (epilepsy, addictions, etc.)? Or does this mean real demons as in 'The Exorcist' movie? This is very hard to get my head around since I have never to my knowledge met anyone possessed by a demon." * * * I believe that demons are real, that Jesus is stronger, and that demons are cast out by his name. As in the Gospels, demons sometimes cause … [Read more...]