Showing titles in Systematic

Who is Jesus Christ? This question elicits a lot of mystery and confusion. Some say Jesus was only a regular human—maybe a wise man or prophet. Others say he is a created being, like an angel. Still, others say Jesus is God but not human. While others say he is both fully God and fully human. Who exactly is Jesus? Scripture teaches that our eternal destiny depends on how we answer this question (1 John 4:2-3, Rom 10:9-10); therefore, it befits us to reflect on this question and answer it correctly. In Christology, we’ll consider what the Bible says about Jesus Christ, so that we may ...

Humor is a truly human phenomenon - crossing history, culture, and every stage of life. Jokes often touch on the biggest topics of our existence. And although it may seem simple on the surface, humor depends on the use of our highest faculties: language, intelligence, sympathy, sociability. To the philosopher Steve Wilkens, these facts about humor are evidence that God just has to be in there somewhere. Yet many Christians, scholars and laypeople alike, haven't taken humor seriously.

One of the most important things you can do as a Christian is to know the attributes of God, since all the essential doctrines of the Faith flow from these important characteristics.We are magnifying who and what God is! As the church grapples with new and innovating ways to understand God’s nature, a flawed concept of God threatens to reduce not only the awe and majesty of the Almighty, but also the clear and crucial ontological (being) distinction between the Creator and creation, the eternal and temporal, and the infinite and finite.Open Theism (aka Free Will Theism, Neotheism, or ...

What is Covenant? In a biblical sense, it is a legal bond between two or more parties—“legal” meaning that each party makes a statement (confession) and agrees to specific terms, with consequences invoked on each party for failure to keep the terms. Why then is this so important to understand? Because this is how God chose to link the unseen to the seen, the supernatural to the material or created order here on earth. This in no way diminishes the role of the Holy Spirit and his work within the hearts of men. It merely gives outward manifestation to the power of God’s Spirit.

La sainteté est au centre du caractère de Dieu. Pourtant, la plupart des gens ont du mal à définir ce qu'est précisément la sainteté de Dieu. Beaucoup de prédicateurs aujourd'hui évitent complètement ce sujet parce que les gens ont de la difficulté à bien saisir certains concepts qui y sont reliés, comme celui de la crainte de Dieu. Cependant, la compréhension de la sainteté de Dieu est primordiale, car elle nous délivre de notre propension à nous confier en nous-mêmes et en notre propre justice pour le salut de notre âme.

The God of the Bible is emotional. Many Christians don't want to associate emotions with God. Emotions feel irrational, and the idea of God experiencing hate, anger, and jealousy can be confusing and problematic. And yet the Bible is full of stories where God expresses deep emotion. Christians are often left wondering how to reconcile the tension of an all-powerful God expressing seemingly uncontrollable feelings. If God is hateful and angry at humanity, is he a God worth believing in?

**Amazon #1 Best Seller in the Systematic Theology category** What is the highest good in life that anyone can pursue? In Latin, there is a term summum bonum, which means “the highest good out of which all good flows.” Many pursue wisdom, social justice, wealth, power, or physical strength as the highest good in life. However, none of these compare to the benefits of knowing God. Listen to what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast ...

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE Can we know what Jesus was truly like during His time on earth? We have often heard God mentioned as "the Hound of Heaven." Is this really true? Is God pursuing His children today with a love so divine, pure, and deep that it can easily be seen in our world today? Charles evokes a powerful drama of these three classic parables in Luke 15 in a rich, captivating way that is sure to reverberate in the hearts of readers. Charles probes the several movements of the parables like acts in a play. This in-depth Bible study will help us understand critical theological ...

This Ragtown Pulpit sermon is about the second Psalm, and its place in the hearts and minds of believers. Specifically, the dilemma concerning Psalm 2 is this: Why don't believers love it more than they do? It literally has everything you'd think a Christian would want in a very short passage. Christ himself is all over and throughout this Old Testament text. It's filled with promises of God's faithfulness and the victory of Christ's kingdom. Nevertheless, you've probably never heard anyone, anywhere, claim it as their favorite. That's just weird. There are reasons for this. This sermon ...

Commentary on LUKE 15 The lost sheep: The WANDERING HEART. The lost coin: The CARELESS HEART. The lost son: The REBELLIOUS HEART. Have you ever misplaced or lost anything? I think all of us have misplaced or lost something in our lifetime, and there are many reasons we can misplace or lose something. We may get distracted and wander away from that needed item, or we may mislay it because we were careless. There are times out of rebellion that we just purposely walk away from something important. Luke 15 gives us three parables taught by our Lord to reveal our hearts. In the parable of the ...

Why Are You Here? Answers to the Most Important Questions of Your Life is a practical, insightful book that will empower you, educate you, and assist you. It contains relevant quotes from various versions of the Bible to reinforce the concepts presented. It will help you understand how you can live a fulfilling life of peace and purpose.

Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is widely influential. It is well laid out, easy to understand, and has components that make working through it a spiritual experience. The problem is that it is wrong at a number of fundamental points. This is the first of seven e-booklets summarizing and evaluating Grudem's theology. This first e-booklet evaluates his theology of Scripture, whose underlying problem is that it is riddled with anachronistic thinking. Grudem neither knows how to fully read the books of the Bible in context, nor is aware of how fundamentalist Reformed influences have skewed ...

Doctrinal deviation, degeneration, and denigration is a perilous path leading not to genuine unity of the Spirit, as posited by its propagators, but rather disunity with the Spirit, apostasy, perdition, and ultimately hell itself! An oft recited slogan in some segments of the church over the last few decades is: "We must agree to disagree without being disagreeable." In itself, the import of that pun has some merit.

In our day and age, the concept of "sin" is considered gauche and repugnant, but to the Christian, our tendency to sin is a sorrow. In this excerpt from his book, "Solid Ground," Mr. Clay discusses our propensity to sin and the provision God has made for us to help us to walk in a manner pleasing to him. And he wrestles with a topic most Christians assume they know they answer to: do we have to sin?

Imagine a life of street crime. What began as typical teen rebellion became cycles of dodging the police, nodding on the corner, and seeing your friends and loved ones shot or killed. Then someone tells you the truth - God loves YOU. Though you can barely believe it you do, because their voices bring hope of a better life. Like a child learning to walk, you stumble through life less and now you can run. As your life slowly changes for the better you begin to see and hear things that no longer ring true. You're learning for yourself that God's love for you is real, but the way you're being ...

The Bible has served as the anchor of American culture from the earliest days of our founding. While connected to this anchor, our nation prospered like none before us. Today, our nation has disconnecting itself from the Bible, and we are adrift in a sea of relativism that threatens the very fabric of our society. Truth itself is now considered relative, and thus for all practical purposes, no longer exists. The Bible is dismissed as foolishness by a world growing more foolish every day.

Examining God, the gospel, the Christian life, and more, Cunnington shows how the theme of distinction without separation unlocks doctrine and enables true community.

What is anthropology? Anthropology comes from the Greek word anthropos which means man or humanity. Therefore, anthropology is the study of humans. It considers who we are and why we exist. In secular universities, the study is engaged primarily from a man-centered perspective; however, since God created humans and made them in his image, it is impossible to truly study humanity apart from God. It is from God that people derive their significance and purpose. Consequently, the study of anthropology is intensely practical. For us to know who we are and what to do with our lives, we must see ...

What do Christians actually believe about God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Does God know what I'm thinking? Has God already decided the future for me? Did Jesus' body do all the things that our bodies do? Does he still have a body now? Is the Holy Spirit a person? Can I stop sinning? What does a real church look like? What's the right way to baptize or have communion? How does God want me to live? This book gives 100 core answers that Christians throughout the centuries have given to basic questions about God. It not only includes answers that Christians have pretty much agreed ...

Believers know the Bible is powerful—but how so? And how does God save people and transform lives through Scripture? Author and theology professor Jeremy M. Kimble integrates an evangelical doctrine of Scripture with a robust, coherent practice of engaging with Scripture. Behold and Become contends that the Bible, which is God's self-revelation, coupled with the Spirit, works to produce salvation and growth in godliness. Believers will see how sound beliefs about Scripture correspond with practices that allow for God's transforming work.