Resources by Topic: Doctrine and Theology

Since Jesus is God He cannot be tempted by evil, yet He has been tempted in every way we are (and surely we are tempted by evil!). This is one of many paradoxes in Scripture. 

Many apparent contradictions in Scripture are resolved through a closer look. I recently responded to a question related to the differing number of days that the gospel writers use to refer to the same event. I share it as an example of how details in biblical passages are often claimed to be errors, but upon careful examination, we can see they are not. 

Failure to believe in inerrancy must logically lead to my inability to trust the Bible as authoritative. Clearly those parts which are supposedly false cannot be authoritative. I cannot rely upon what I do not believe to be accurate. 

This is a vital question. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link. If we can’t trust the Bible in our hands, the communication God intended collapses and becomes untrustworthy as well.

In 1991, the year after we started Eternal Perspective Ministries, John Piper came out with The Pleasures of God, which was updated in 2000. This is a truly great book that I highly recommend. 

In April 2017, Randy Alcorn taught a course at Veritas Evangelical Seminary on the subject of evil and suffering. In this clip, he talks about the doctrine of depravity.

Jesus was the Lamb, a sacrifice, the Passover, Priest, Prophet, King, the fulfillment of the law, the Bread of Life, the Word. Without time to develop these ideas throughout history and through the writings of the Scriptures, we would never have understood the depths of the Godhead.

God’s omnipotence, His power, is a subject well worth contemplating. I like what Puritan Stephen Charnock wrote: “As holiness is the beauty of all God’s attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the Divine nature."

October 31, 2017, will mark the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation. Martin Luther’s nailing of his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church on that day in 1517 has proven to be one of the most important events in the history of the world. Indeed, many evangelicals trace their beginnings to this moment that launched the Protestant movement, of which we consider ourselves heirs.

Many people today act as if we are the first ones to really believe in God's love. On the contrary, this has been a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith throughout the ages. 

I realize this is a sensitive topic for Catholics who love Jesus and believe in salvation by grace through faith, and also for those who don’t. It’s sensitive as well to evangelical Christians who know and love sincere Catholics, as many of us do.

When people ask, and they often do, I always describe myself as Reformed in theology.

God’s character is not a menu where you choose the attributes you like and forget the other ones. To worship the true God of Scripture, we must see Him as all that He is, not just part of who He is.

If your grumpy neighbor asks, “What are you up to?” you’ll see it as a suspicious, condemning question. But if your cheerful neighbor asks the same thing, you’ll smile and talk about your plans. We interpret people’s words according to how we perceive their character and outlook. So it is with our view of God.