Resources by Topic: Doctrine and Theology

We do not just need the individual pearls of truths; we need the string that ties them together. Without the larger picture of God’s unfolding drama of redemption, and without systematic theology, pastors are constantly throwing out pearls to people, but they have no string to put them on and hold them together, and keep them in relation to each other. 

I’d been a pastor for ten years before I discovered the writings of Charles Spurgeon, and then I couldn’t get enough of him. I enjoyed these writings from Spurgeon on the gospel and Jesus, which I found through the excellent Logos software.

They are generally considered angels just because there are a limited number of intelligent sentient beings. The general categories are God himself, angels, and human beings, and some would also include higher animals. 

Simply put, the Curse is the effects of sin on both humans and the earth. For humans, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

As I have dealt with people who are suicidal, which of course can involve many issues besides what the devil is doing, it has seemed clear to me that the devil is in favor of suicide and tempts people toward it.

It’s become increasingly popular for people to share their “de-conversion stories,” talking about how they moved from belief in Christ and the Bible to a design-it-yourself type of spirituality, or even out right atheism.

This is a big question in the center of a big debate that I don’t think can be answered from just one perspective, including John Piper’s. He makes a strong case, as does Henry Alford whom he cites. This portion, I think, is particularly strong.

There is great comfort in acknowledging and embracing Scripture’s teaching that God is sovereign over human events, including the outcome of elections.

"Much of the history of Christianity has been devoted to domesticating Jesus—to reducing that elusive, enigmatic, paradoxical person to dimensions we can comprehend, understand, and convert to our own purposes. So far it hasn’t worked." —Andrew Greeley

Question from a Reader: Do you believe that Jesus taught immortal earthly life for the saved, universal salvation, or something else? What passages can you cite as proof of Heaven as the eternal destination for the saved, and Hell as an eternal existence for the ungodly?

Question from a Reader: I’m a deep thinker, and like to research and understand things. My friend tells me I shouldn’t rely on only my intellect as my ultimate authority, but if not, then what should I rely on? At the end of the day aren’t we all kind of stuck in terms of relying on whatever intellect is available to us? 

If "believe" and "repent" and "come" don’t actually mean what those words mean, at least in some sense, it would be misleading and even heretical for Scripture itself to use them, which in fact it does. We should ask ourselves why. And we should not object to believers using the very words Scripture does.

I listened to Sean McDowell’s interview with Lee Strobel, talking about how he as an atheist journalist came to believe in Jesus, through studying whether the resurrection of Jesus ever happened. I think it’s all great, but even if you don’t have time to watch it all, the first 11 minutes or so are terrific.

I believe Jesus will always have those scars on His hands and feet. In Revelation, in His glorified body, He is repeatedly called the lamb who has been slain. The continuity between His risen body and His glorified body once He ascended to Heaven seems to be there.