Category: Biblical themes

  • The law is a guide because it is fulfilled

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    I propose that the purpose of the law was to draw Israel from sin and death to a holy life with God, and that though we are not under law, in Christ we have the life to which it pointed and therefore it is guide for us. →

  • Series of talks on the Trinity

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    A few weeks ago, I finished giving a series of talks on the Trinity. I have now uploaded the talks here, so that anyone who is interested can access them. There are four talks in total. In the first two I discuss how the New Testament describes Jesus as divine, working within the theological context →

  • God vs icons

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    Suppose that a king is making his way through the towns of his kingdom after defeating a great enemy feared by all. In each town, he stands in the courtyard near a statue of himself, so that the townspeople know where to find him. They may come salute him to show honor, and perhaps ask →

  • Fear of the Lord

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    The idea of “fear” in relation to God is often downplayed as consisting in merely reverence or awe, especially in the New Testament. But while these are no doubt part of it fear, they are inadequate accounts of it on their own. Scripture routinely pairs fear of God with terrifying things and people’s trembling at →

  • Through the law I died to the law

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    I was recently listening to a sermon on Galatians, and the following statement by Paul caught my eye: For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. (2:19) This got me thinking that the law might have a more important role in salvation history than I had previously →

  • Fear of the Lord

    Throughout Scripture — both Old and New testaments — God’s people are told to fear him, which at first glance seems to be an odd response to a God full of grace and love. Perhaps the most puzzling statement comes when the people of Israel first meet God at the mountain in Exodus 20. Notice →

  • Faith and hope

    Our goal here is to unpack the notion of faith so as to overcome confusions in modern thinking on the topic. Lacking a good understanding of the notion actively prevents many people, both Christian and non-Christian, from understanding Scripture. In this post, we will begin an account of faith and give examples from Scripture and →

  • By grace through faith

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    Have you noticed that theological discussions about grace almost always tend to include questions about conversion? What I mean is that they often center around the process by which someone moves from hostility towards God to desiring him. In particular, the Christian understands this as coming to faith in God and his gospel. In Protestant →

  • How can a loving God send people to hell?

    I was recently asked to contribute a piece for a local Christian magazine called Scope Magazine, on the topic of how a loving God could send people to hell. Below is the unedited version I sent them. The official (and slightly edited) version can be read online here. Perhaps one of the most uncomfortable Christian doctrines →

  • Joy and hope

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    In a previous post, I took joy to be happiness with respect to our ultimate good. We also spoke about two ways in which happiness is achieved: through the acquisition of a good or the continued possession of a good. The Aristotelian inside me was unsatisfied with this, for we usually take happiness to be →