Christians are often criticized as extremists. Normally when I hear this I feel offended. When Jesus makes the claim, it is harder to reject.
We really are extreme – at least we ought to be. Perhaps not in some of the ways we are perceived to be, but as faithful citizens of the kingdom of heaven, the label seems appropriate.
Read More law, extremes, saltI remember a story a former pastor of mine once told about a local department store prank. It seems that someone had broken into the store and, though they hadn’t stolen anything, had randomly gone throughout the store switching the price tags so that they no longer had any correlation between price and value. A generic baseball cap was priced at $999.99 while a luxury suit was priced at $4.99
Read More priorities, law, identity markers
Have you ever been torn between doing what is right and doing the right thing? Did you even know that there was a difference between the two? Allow me to explain:
Doing what is right or Doing the right thing
Read More right and wrong, grace, lawIf you are a typical reader of the English Bible this is where your resolve is tested. When we decide to read through the Bible the books of Genesis and Exodus to this point make for interesting reading because they contain all kinds of stories about God’s dealings with his people. But when we arrive at Exodus 21 things change and the material can become tedious, and we can get bogged down pretty quickly.
Read More compassion, Scripture, law, slaveryThe law came with Moses. Grace and truth came with the Messiah. Yet Jesus himself not only brought grace and truth, he was the fulfillment of the law. He did not abolish it, he completed it.
We are not damned for our inability to keep the commandments in the Old Testament.
Read More truth, love, law, graceWork-life balance dominates our thinking in a 24-7 work world. Navigating the daily digital demands is the new stressor replacing the old work-week grind. Consulting gurus talk about the “creative destruction” of business, medicine, education and government. Long standing social formations are tottering everywhere. The economic signals from long stable national economies are alarming. What is going on?
Read More Dix Commandements @en, loi @en, bonne nouvelle, law, gospel, Ten CommandmentsThe law is a good thing. Laws give us definition. They help us understand the boundaries and keep a check on violence – that is until they themselves become their own kind of violence.
What does one do when the law prohibits one from healing a disease or saving a life? Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. Corrie Ten Boom hid her Jewish neighbors so to save them from the Nazis.
Read More Sabbath, law, rest
Read Reflect As Luke continues to describe the emergence of the Church in the world, he brings us to one of the most critical turning points in the whole Story of God’s plan to save the world. Up to this point, Luke has been telling us about how the Holy Spirit was winning people to […]
Read More grace, law, circumcision, requirements for salvationThe church in Rome had Christians who were Jews and Christians who were Gentiles. Naturally there would have been friction between them. The relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians was a major issue in the New Testament church. (See Acts 15 for an account of how the issue was resolved.)
Read More circumcision, Jew, baptism, law, Gentile