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When is good new not good news? That’s the occasion of Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia, which he formerly founded on the good news of Jesus Christ, leaving them the solemn charge to keep the faith. But now they are turning away to alternatives that seem attractive, but in reality they gut the Christian faith of both its grace and its power. Using the strongest language in the New Testament, Paul urges Christians not to throw it all away. |
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It’s Round 2 of Paul’s exchange of letters with the church he founded in Corinth. In Round 1, Paul came out swinging on the puffed-up ‘spirituality’ of the Corinthians in contrast to their manifest ungodliness. But now Paul is on the back foot, as he is accused of being unqualified, unimpressive, and unprofessional. 2 Corinthians is Paul’s defense of authentic, gospel-centred ministry. |
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Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Church History is not a dry and dusty pursuit – it gives us perspective on our own standing and inspires us to endure; it challenges us to keep reforming our own faith and practice. The European Reformations of the 1500′s turned both church and society upside-down as both the Bible and biblical faith were rediscovered. |
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In this series we look at problematic parables in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels – a corrupt judge, a dishonest manager, an unfair boss, and some selfish maidens. But what is Jesus trying to do with such teaching? Surprisingly, Jesus explained parables as God’s judgement on the person without faith, and an invitation for those with faith to come closer. The parables in this series will be a double-edged sword, both diagnosing sin and drawing-out faith. |
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Death is a reality with which all world-views, all cultures, and all individuals must ultimately deal. Yet on an individual level we rarely talk about it, and very few are prepared when it comes. In the Gospel of Luke, God says to one such man, “This very night your life will be demanded of you” – and the emptiness of his life is thrown into harsh relief. In this series we look at the meaning of life and death and suffering in the Bible, engaging with the arguments for euthanasia, and suggesting how a Christian might prepare for this hardest of realities. |
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Among the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, John is the odd one out. He has a Jewish mindfulness like Matthew, an historian’s self-awareness like Luke, but a spiritual air all of his own. John is concerned not just with Jesus the man, but Jesus who is the creator himself. John is also unapologetic about his aim: for his readers to know Christ and believe in him. But it is Jesus himself who confronts us in the pages of John’s Gospel, demanding a decision one way or the other. |
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The book of Kings (in 2 parts) recounts the history of Israel from the death of King David to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile. It records the reigns of dozens of kings, but the standard they are measured with is that of David, ‘a man after God’s own heart’, and the list of kings then becomes a search for the true Son of David – a search than transcends the book itself, and is resolved only with the frequent cry of the gospels, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” |
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The book of Judges recalls a period of anarchy in Israel, characterised by invasion and oppression from without, and idolatry and feuding from within. However, as the Israelites cried out to God, just as they had done in Egypt, he had pity on them and sent “judges” to save them and lead them. Far from perfect themselves, these leaders exhibited both the power of God for salvation and the human limitations and failings that remind us they were only a shadow of God’s ultimate saviour to come. |
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Paul’s letter to the Ephesians contains an intense and precise summary of the greatest themes of the New Testament – God’s purposes for the world and the future, salvation by grace through faith, and the heavenly nature of the church. It is considered second only to Romans in terms of the broad sweep of its teaching. But it is hardly an ivory tower of dogmatics. Half the letter is dedicated to practical matters of godliness as the outworking of what God has done for us in the gospel. To study this letter is a meaty and challenging task, reinforcing the solid gospel foundations of the Christian life. |
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Corinth was a church in bad shape: with pride and factionalism, sex and immorality, full of know-it-alls and unwitting idolaters, with a shell of Christian spirituality masking worldly ways of thinking. The Apostle Paul was the spiritual father of the Corinthian church. He had heard the bad reports, and even received a letter from their own arrogant hands. So Paul wrote his own letter back, no holds barred, to rebuke their immorality, ridicule their factions, and re-establish the cross of Christ as the starting point and anchor of Christian wisdom and practise. |
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The mercy of God is a well-known theme in the Bible, and we can see God’s mercy at work in the Exodus and the Cross. But what exactly is mercy? Is it an action or an emotion? Or is it more like a character trait? And more importantly, what does mercy look like in the life of everyday Christians? |
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