Over the past 20 years, a quiet revolution has been taking place in the study of the Apostle Paul and his doctrine of justification by faith. In the first of a series of articles, we look at what this ‘new perspective’ is.
Archives: thought
Bridging the gap between the Old and New Testament
Thought
Christians often don’t know what to do with the Old Testament. We know that Jesus has ‘fulfilled’, ‘abolished’ and ‘reinterpreted’ its teaching; but we also know that “all Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness“ (2 Tim 3:16). So how are the food laws in Leviticus going to train us in righteousness? What kind of rebuke do we get from the elaborate temple descriptions at the end of Ezekiel? Questions like these lead us to push the Old Testament aside. It’s just too obscure, we tell ourselves, and stick with more familiar literature such as the New Testament epistles. We sense a huge gap between the Old and New.
Jumping the gap
Thought
As evangelical Christians, we are keen to read the Bible for all its worth. We believe it is God’s word to us. We still sing, “God is speaking by his Spirit, speaking to the hearts of men, in the age-long word expounding, God’s own message now as then“.
Hermeneutics and Christ
Thought
Hermeneutics has been one of the big topics of the last 25 years. A seemingly endless series of books has been produced and academic papers written.
Was he JUST like us?
Thought
Written in Blood
Thought
Is the cross becoming less than crucial to Christian thinking? Jonathan Fletcher urges us to keep the atonement at the centre of our faith.
Can you feel it?
Thought
Jonathan Edwards is something of a celebrity in theological circles these days. He is revered by American writers as one of their greatest sons. In the controversy over charismatic ‘manifestations’ (such as in the Toronto Blessing), he has often been quoted as a reformed evangelical who was in favour of extraordinary emotional outpourings, and who promoted revival, with all its sometimes unruly accompaniments.
Have evangelicals lost their way?
Thought, Sola Panel
Originally published in Briefing #1 (April 1988).
We live in an age of change. Evangelicalism, as much as anything else, is going through transformation, but are the changes for better or worse? For some, Evangelicalism is maturing and evolving into a responsible contribution to Christianity. Others see the changes as a sell-out of principles, and a denial of the faith of our fathers. Whither Evangelicalism?
Return to Colossae
Thought
He’s out there
Thought, Sola Panel
As Hank neared the main business district he paused on a corner to look up and down the street, watching old cars, new cars, vans and fourby-fours, shoppers, walkers and bicyclers stream in all directions …
Strange sayings about 1 Timothy 2:11-12
Thought
In quietness let a woman learn, in all submission; and I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man but to be in quietness. (1 Tim 2:11-12)
Preaching to mixed congregations
Thought
What do the Scriptures say? Is it appropriate for a woman to preach to a mixed congregation? In answering these questions, the long debate over woman’s ordination has not helped.
Old Answers to New Questions
Thought
With Roman Catholicism proving increasingly attractive to some evangelicals, questions are being asked afresh about religious authority and the place of Scripture. Catholic apologists such as Scott Hahn are delivering an eloquent challenge to the traditional Protestant view of the authority of the Bible. This challenge is not new. Rob Smith highlights our need to rediscover how the Reformers dealt with these very challenges under the banner of Sola Scriptura. (more…)
Here we stand?
Thought
J. I. Packer, Os Guinness and Charles Colson have all signed it. John MacArthur labels it “destructive”. R. C. Sproul puts it down to “doctrinal apathy”.
Matters of the heart: What is an evangelical? (Part 2)
Thought
We need to be reminded m.ore often than we need to be instructed, someone once wisely uttered. It is a characteristically human trait to forget that for which we stand, even though we still stand for it. Last Briefing, Mark Thompson reminded us of the heart of evangelical belief, casting his words in the light of today’s various endeavours to redefine what it means to be an evangelical. He began to describe the distinctives of evangelical theology, starting with the authority of Scripture, the seriousness of sin and the atonement. He continues that task in this article, challenging us to be truly loving and to love the truth, as we clearly adhere to these distinctives: the matters which give us our heart.