David Platt: The Sinner’s Prayer is Superstitious and Unbiblical
A friend of mine just pointed me to this video from David Platt on the sinner’s prayer. I have always had a problem with the sinners prayer. It is not that I have a problem with faith. It is not that I have a problem with responding to God through faith and even prayer (I […]
Changing The Way We See “Steps” of Salvation
Many of us have been trained to read the Bible like a legal text rather than a relational document. When we do that we usually look for the actions God wants so that we can fulfill them. I have no objection to obedience! The problem is, it is entirely possible to fulfill the “to do’s” […]
Baptism and the Timing of the Holy Spirit in Acts
We like to try to pin things down and know exactly when God is doing things. That has often been true in studying baptism. Reading through Acts, I have been humbled by the chronology of the timing of people being baptized and the same people receiving the Holy Spirit. The reason I have felt humbled […]
Infant Baptism
I had slacked on my baptism series because this post has been a difficult one to publish. I really want to make sure I have my facts straight here and not stir things up based on faulty information. Infant baptism is practiced by a very high percentage of Christianity and it is important to understand […]
Baptism – Immersion, Sprinkling, and Pouring
Word meanings can change over time. Today, baptism has become a general term within Christianity that encompasses sprinkling, pouring and immersing but only the latter is accurate to the Greek meaning of the word “baptism” in the New Testament and practice of the early church. If you doubt that please read the previous post, consult […]
Baptism – Transliteration, Translation and Meaning
Before getting into a broader discussion of Christian baptism I want to talk about what the word baptism means from a first century perspective. I know this topic can be an emotionally charged one so I hope you read my thoughts here realizing they are said as humbly and as biblically as I know how […]
Baptism – Introductory Thoughts
I have had baptism on my mind lately. One reason is our 20s & 30s class is talking about the basics and one of the things I have realized is that some decades ago we taught about baptism so much that there has been a pendulum swing where baptism is mentioned but not really taught: […]
The Beauty of Baptism
Paul wrote in Romans 6:2-11 “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised […]
Community Naturally Arises Out of BIG Events
One of the times our nation has felt the closest sense of community was in the days following 9/11. Flags were everywhere. People felt connected. Churches were jam packed. People needed to be together and they knew it. This is because of a pretty universal concept that community naturally arises out of big events. Today, […]
John Piper on What One Must Believe to Be Saved
Have a look at this video of John Piper telling what he believes one must believe to be saved. To read a transcript click here. He includes the following: Believe and confess his Lordship and his resurrection Recognition that we sin That God exists and that he created a world where sin is a possibility […]