We are coming to the end of the story. In fact w are coming to the end of several stories, the story of famine in Egypt, the story of Joseph and his brothers, the story of Jacob and the story of beginnings, the end of Genesis. We should therefore treat the conclusion here as one,… Continue reading Don’t look back in anger
Tag: predestination
The Gospel in Ephesians
At the heart of all of Paul’s letters is the Gospel. It was clearly his belief that a restating of how and why we are saved is what we need if we are to live godly lives. This is true in Ephesians as well. Whilst some of his themes, most notably justification are not mentioned… Continue reading The Gospel in Ephesians
Predestination in Ephesians
One of the most controversial statements in the New Testament is found in Ephesians 1:5 where it says: “ he[b] predestined us” It’s controversial because if God has determined from eternity what will happen to us, then where does that leave free will. It seems that everything has already been decided. If, God “chose us …before the foundation… Continue reading Predestination in Ephesians
The pastoral power of predestination
The problem when we approach predestination philosophically Predestination is often (almost always) seen as one of those tricky doctrines to be explained and defended (a bit like the Trinity). It’s something controversial and complicated. However, just like with The Doctrine of the Trinity, if we treat Predestination as one of those embarrassing relatives to be… Continue reading The pastoral power of predestination
Predestination or free will?
The Big Question So, this is the big question that has stumped theologians and divided Christians. If God is sovereign and predestines, then what freedom do we have to make choices and thus what responsibility do we have for our actions. This is a question we will come back to in more detail when we… Continue reading Predestination or free will?
Growing an appetite for God’s Word
I believe that two crucial ingredients need to be present in any local church that wants to thrive. These are prayer and Bible study/teaching. Both are important because they are signs of hunger to know God more and more. Having said that, sometimes it can feel like hard work to encourage these things. Why? Well,… Continue reading Growing an appetite for God’s Word
Unconditional Election
The other day I started to write about the 5 points of Calvinism, often referred to under the mnemonic “TULIP”, Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Perseverance of the Saints. It’s worth remembering that whilst this has become a shorthand summary of reformed theology, it was intended as a specific response to specific challenges at… Continue reading Unconditional Election
Open Theism
I recently did a straw poll on social media to find out whether or not people have heard of Open Theism and what they made of it. A significant proportion of those who responded indicated that they did not know enough to form a judgement. Yet, I want to suggest that elements of the thinking… Continue reading Open Theism
Love and Hate, Sovereignty and Freedom: A Copernican revolution in Romans 9
A lot of people struggle with Romans 9. It isn’t the easiest of Bible passages to follow as Paul delves into some deep and complex reasoning. However I think the primary problem that people have with the passage are the following verses that we might find uncomfortable; not so much difficult to understand as hard… Continue reading Love and Hate, Sovereignty and Freedom: A Copernican revolution in Romans 9
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