A gracEmail reader who is weighing the claims of Christ writes: "I cannot hold in scorn humans whom I know to be decent and caring, simply because they have a different belief about salvation. Is my Jewish friend a sinner because he practices his religion? He certainly does many of the very things we ascribe to Jesus as being virtuous." * * * I have discussed some of these points in more detail in several short articles and brief booklets on my website which I encourage you to read. Those would include "What Calvinists and Arminians Have in Common"; "The Saving Love of God"; One Life, Death … [Read more...]
MY NEIGHBOR, THE JEW 3 – Some biblical limits
A gracEmail reader who is weighing the claims of Christ writes: "I cannot hold in scorn humans whom I know to be decent and caring, simply because they have a different belief about salvation. Is my Jewish friend a sinner because he practices his religion? He certainly does many of the very things we ascribe to Jesus as being virtuous." * * * As one speaking on the authority of Scripture, I am authorized to promise that whoever believes in Jesus has forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43); that whoever refuses to repent will perish (Luke 13:3); that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved … [Read more...]
MY NEIGHBOR, THE JEW 2 – Objective reality; subjective enjoyment
A gracEmail reader who is weighing the claims of Christ writes: "I cannot hold in scorn humans whom I know to be decent and caring, simply because they have a different belief about salvation. Is my Jewish friend a sinner because he practices his religion? He certainly does many of the very things we ascribe to Jesus as being virtuous." * * * What Jesus did, objectively counted for all those who finally will be saved (John 6:37-39; Rom. 8:28-39). It does not count for those whom he did not represent -- which turns out to be those who, in every situation and with whatever degree of knowledge … [Read more...]
MY NEIGHBOR, THE JEW 1 – Sin involves rebellion
A gracEmail reader who is weighing the claims of Christ writes: "I cannot hold in scorn humans whom I know to be decent and caring, simply because they have a different belief about salvation. Is my Jewish friend a sinner because he practices his religion? He certainly does many of the very things we ascribe to Jesus as being virtuous." * * * I do not believe we need to hold anyone to scorn. My understanding of Scripture (both Jewish, which we call the Old Testament, and Christian, which includes also the New Testament) is that people sin when they go against God. People feel guilty for … [Read more...]
THE NARROW DOOR
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "In our Bible class yesterday, we were talking about Jesus' statement that the gate to life is narrow and 'few' pass through it. One class member has some relatives who believe that practically everyone will be lost, including most professing Christians, and other relatives who wonder, if that is true, why Jesus even bothered to die. Can you shed any light on this?" * * * Matthew places this saying of Jesus in what we call the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:13-14) where it precedes a warning against false prophets whom Jesus compares to rotten trees that produce … [Read more...]
THOUGHTS ON MISSIONS (3)
It is right to support all who faithfully proclaim the gospel, whether they be westerners sent to foreign countries or national converts working in their own native lands (1 Cor. 9:7-10; 3 John 7-8). In either case, those supported should be accountable and those supporting should be prudent. It is right for converts to learn to support those who teach them (Gal. 6:6-7) -- a virtue sometimes best exemplified by the poorest of the poor. Having been taught the gospel, it is right for converts to financially support their teachers as they leave them to take the gospel to other places still (Rom. … [Read more...]
THOUGHTS ON MISSIONS (2)
It was never God's plan for Christian converts to remain forever dependent on apostles or missionaries who brought the gospel to them from afar. Those taught by the apostles were to teach others, who were to teach still others, extending the living chain of Christian discipleship down through time (2 Tim. 2:2). Maturity in Christ is the constant goal, in self-sustaining faith communities whose direction, power and growth comes from Jesus the universal and ever-living head (Eph. 1:15-23; 4:14-16). Such faith-communities are authenticated by their reception of the gospel (1 Thes. 1:5, 9-10; … [Read more...]
THOUGHTS ON MISSIONS (1)
From ancient times it was God's plan that Jesus the Messiah should suffer and rise from the dead (Psalm 2, 16), and that salvation through him should be proclaimed to all nations (Lk. 24:46-47; see Isa. 11:10; Amos 9:11-12). Before ascending to the Father, Jesus commissioned his chosen apostles that "having gone" (literally) into the whole world, they were to herald the gospel message to all creation, thus making disciples of all nations (Mk. 16:15; Matt. 28:19). The apostles were to baptize believers then teach them in turn all that Jesus had commanded themselves (Matt. 28:20; Mk. … [Read more...]
DIVERSITY & FAITHFULNESS
The sky was pouring rain as I drove up to the Park-and-Ride bus shelter, where a line of commuters regularly chooses to ride to downtown jobs with strangers in automobiles rather than taking the city bus. We car-drivers like the plan, because it allows us to use the enclosed and fast moving high-occupancy lane instead of turtle-crawling down 25 miles of Katy Freeway from our homes on Houston's west side. My rider today was a Vietnamese lady, whose nationality I easily guessed from her accent and her appearance. We quickly struck up a friendly conversation. After I dropped a comment or two … [Read more...]
THE PROPHET OF THE MAGI
It's a veritable United Nations, the "228 Park & Ride," where thousands of Houston westsiders catch daily buses. A place also where scores of solo drivers like myself occasionally or regularly pick up some trusting stranger so we can zoom down the barricaded high-speed lane into the city rather than poke along in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway. Over the years I have chauffeured passengers from Africa and Asia, Barbados and Bolivia, Singapore and Scandinavia, Russia and Rwanda, China and Croatia. This particular day my passenger comes from Greece. His name is Farook, he tells me, … [Read more...]