This post is part of a series of posts summarising chapters of the Jehovah Witnesses' booklet, "What does the Bible really Teach?", and seeking to evaluate those chapters against Scripture somewhat briefly. Those posts were introduced at the Introduction, and a contents page will be added to that entry once this run of posts has finished.
Before Christmas, the Jehovah's Witnesses called round. They left me one of their little booklets entitled What does the Bible Really Teach?
Wayne Grudem is very helpful in his Systematic Theology on what we mean when we refer to "the word of God".
He points out on pages 47-48 that "the word of God" can refer, in Scripture, to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It can also refer to God's speech in 4 forms: 1. His decrees; 2. His words of personal address; 3. His speech through human lips, and 4. His words in written form, for us the Bible.
Steve's Jeffery charts a helpful course through the most common objections to preterism.
So, if you don't know what preterism is, or if you're unsure as to whether there's something inherently dodgy in that view known as preterism, or if you have friends who are in one of those boats, I would recommend reading his post.
Matthew Mason has been reading MacLeod's book Person of Christ
Since I posted on Henry Scott Holland's poem “Death is Nothing at all”, that blog post has overtaken my sermon on 1 Corinthians 13 as the most visited page on this site. Curiously, both the Scott Holland text and 1 Corinthians 13 are popular passages at funerals.
God is just. He punishes every sin exactly as it deserves. Not every sin is equally heinous, so not every judgement at the judgement day will be the same. God is just. And that is a wonderful truth.
There are lots of places in Scripture we could go to see this, but I've just found one I hadn't seen before, so I thought I'd share it.
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
I love discovering new hymns.
Like this one by Josiah Conder, entitled My Lord, I did not choose you.
My Lord, I did not choose you,
for that could never be;
this heart would still refuse you
had you not chosen me:
you took the sin that stained me.
you cleansed and made me new;
for you of old ordained me
that I should live to you.
“What’s new about the new covenant?”
A really good question that a friend of mine kept asking, from lots of angles, of lots of people, while we were at college together.
David Field’s post entitled Covenantal category confusion, disconnect, denial, and abstraction is a very helpful contribution.
Peter Leithart is characteristically rich in his Pentecost Homily from yesterday.
