Posts

Showing posts with the label Son of God

Was Jesus - tolerant, diverse and inclusive?

Image
We live in a time when "tolerance," "diversity" and "inclusivity" are considered by many cultural virtues that supersede all others. This popular relativist notion disregards something far more important: Truth. ( REUTERS/Marko Djurica ) We live in a time when "tolerance," "diversity" and "inclusivity" are considered by many to be cultural virtues that supersede all others. This popular relativist notion disregards something far more important: Truth. Yet, and to borrow from Pontius Pilate , "What is truth?" Jesus is truth. Either that or, as C.S. Lewis famously observed, He is a liar, a lunatic or the " Devil of Hell" himself. Christ was both tolerant and intolerant—utterly exclusive and wholly inclusive. He said in no uncertain terms: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" ( John 14:6 ). Let's break that down. The Way Jesus ...

Is the affirmation of the moral legitimacy of same-sex sexuality grounds for church discipline if the believer affirms the inerrancy and authority of Scripture?

Image
An affirmation of the inerrancy of Scripture and a total committment to the inerrancy of scripture are not the same. Many people propositionally affirm the inerrancy of Scripture yet approach Scripture in a manner inconsistent with the conviction that the Bible is true and trustworthy in all that it reveals.  Affirming biblical inerrancy is necessary, but it does not guarantee an accurate handling of the biblical text. Paul told Timothy , "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" ( 2 Tim. 2:15). The task of interpreting Scripture is indeed complex, but the character of Scripture provides us with a basic framework for the interpretive process: read Scripture as God speaking; interpret Scripture by other Scripture; affirm and presuppose the theological unity of Scripture; and approach Scripture with faith seeking understanding. The only way one can neutralize and subvert th...

Did Jesus talk about homosexuality?

Image
The Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah, a painting by John Martin (painter), died 1854, thus 100 years. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) There is nothing recorded in the four Gospels were Jesus specifically mentions homosexuality the way Paul did in 1 Cor. 6:9. But, He does condemn it indirectly by affirming the Old Testament standard of heterosexual marriage as well as citing Old Testament references of condemnation where homosexuality was involved. Let's take a look at some of the things he said.  Matthew 10:15, "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for  the  land of  Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city." Matthew 19:4 -6, "And He answered and said, 'Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “So they are no longer two, but one fles...