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Optimistic vs. Pessimistic Eschatology: An Unhelpful Paradigm
In recent days, I have seen an uptick in lazy argumentation by people appealing to “optimistic eschatology,” pitting it against a “pessimistic eschatology.” Although there are exceptions, postmillennialists have primarily used this argument against premillennialists and amillennialists. Postmillennialists believe that, over time, the church will emerge victorious gradually by progressively triumphing over the world. In postmillennial theology, eventually most of the world will embrace the gospel, which will largely bring about the end of Christian persecution. According to this “optimistic” eschatology, Matthew 16:18 gives assurance of the church’s progressive victory over the forces of darkness, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Postmillennialists point to the great commission as evidence that Jesus has all power and dominion and is currently reigning from the Davidic throne with all that was ever intended entail (cf. Matt 28:18). All nations will bow before His rule…
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Swift Justice: The Biblical Importance of Timely Judgment
In a previous existence, I held a job where I was responsible for upholding the principles of fairness and accountability. And by that, I mean I was a high school swim coach. I loved swimming, and I loved helping others feel pain through swimming. I enjoyed the job immensely, but early on, I learned a valuable lesson about the necessity of timely justice. From the outset, I was basically doomed. Although I had been a swimmer myself, I really didn’t have an appropriate appreciation for the theological depravity of man. So, I developed a system where if someone broke the rules, they would have to submit themselves to pushups as punishment after practice. Breaking the rules included goofing off, ignoring commands, and the like. Well, after about 3 days of trying to implement this system, I realized it was a complete and unmitigated disaster. What happened was all fairly predictable.…
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Why Go to Church?
Attending church has been a long-held tradition for many people. Yet, in recent years, there has been a decline in church attendance in many parts of the world. With the rise of secularism and the availability of alternative forms of entertainment and community, many people are questioning the relevance and necessity of going to church. All that makes sense among the general population of so-called Christians, but even real Christians have ask the valid question: why do we go to church? The idea of actually going to church has become more contested, in part, due to the whole COVID situation. Churches shut down in-person gatherings and livestreamed their services. People began questioning whether there was a benefit to going to church or not. Wouldn’t watching a livestream technically qualify as going to church? I wrote an article in 2020 that explained church fellowship is essential in a technological age. Here…
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3 Ways to be Thankful in a Thankless Culture
One of the hallmarks of a degenerate society is the lack of thankfulness. This makes sense since giving thanks is an acknowledgment of God’s praiseworthiness and His goodness. Therefore, those who reject God are marked by a refusal to give thanks to God (cf. Rom 1:21). In contrast to thankless unbelievers, Christians are to be marked by constantly being thankful (Phil 4:6; 1 Tim 4:4). Thus, in honor of American Thanksgiving (sorry Canada), I want to give a few practical ways to promote a thankful heart during this season. Here are three practical ways you can stimulate thankfulness in your heart. Focus on what you deserve. This should be the ultimate prompt for Christians. As Christians, we are recipients of a thing called grace. We deserve hell and eternal damnation. We deserve nothing good, only judgment for rebelling against the Creator. Thus, how much do we have to be thankful…
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The Heart of the Law is the Heart
Christians often view biblical law negatively. It is often viewed as diametrically opposed to the freedom we have through grace. Many Christians think that the Old Testament was primarily concerned with external obedience, whereas the New Testament is concerned with matters of the heart. However, a careful examination of the tone of the Law indicates that it is not to be viewed as something incongruent with the character of the New Testament Christian. When reading the Law, one quickly sees that the Law emphasized the necessity of complete heartfelt obedience, not merely external obedience to a checklist. Consider Deuteronomy 10:12-13: Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?…
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Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?
Historically, many Christians have assumed that it is a Christian obligation to keep the Sabbath. Both the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession of Faith include language which obligates Christians to observe the Sabbath. Although both of these confessions move the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, they both are adamant that keeping the Sabbath is an obligation on all of humanity. But, is keeping the Sabbath for today? In order to answer that question, we need to discuss what the Sabbath was along with its purpose. What did the Sabbath look like? The Sabbath was observed each and every Saturday and was to be a day of rest for Israel. They were prohibited from doing extraneous work. A good summary of the prohibition is found in Deuteronomy 5:14: “You shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your…
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The Biblical Problems and Physical Dangers of Transgender Ideology
It is a popular trend today to support the belief that anyone can choose any gender. Transgender ideology has become mainstream, and that mainstream culture promotes the idea that people should be able to identify gender by feeling and not by biological sex. This same culture also teaches that society needs to support those individuals who make the decision to switch genders. If you do not support gender transitions, you are viewed as a bigot and unloving. However, supporting transgender ideology has significant biblical problems as well as physical dangers. The Biblical Problems of Transgender Ideology Scripture is clear—God created mankind in the image of God as male and female (Gen 1:27). It is God who determined the sexes. Hence, God determines gender. Gender cannot be separated from one’s biological sex. Any attempt to do so is a modern rejection of God’s created order. From a Christian worldview, we know…
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A Mark of the Fool is Lack of Understanding
Recently, a meme was circulating on social media, which had a picture on top and on the bottom. The photo on top showed Prince William making an obscene gesture to the crowd by holding up his middle finger. We could see the disrespect and arrogance oozing from the photo. However, the image on the bottom showed a different angle of the same situation. From this new perspective, we observe that the gesture was not obscene at all. Instead, it became evident that the initial view prohibited us from seeing the other fingers. The caption for the meme read, “Seeing only one side can be very dangerous.” I like this meme because it illustrates two aspects of biblical wisdom. First, there are many scenarios where our first impressions or perceptions are incorrect. Only through gaining a complete perspective can we be sure of what we are looking at. Second, wisdom obligates…
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What does the Bible Say about Dreams?
What does the Bible say about dreams? Although at one point I was surprised whenever someone would ask this question, this has long since ceased. Christians regularly want to know what the Bible says about dreams. One of the reasons for this is because human beings are naturally curious about dreams. Dreams intrigue us. This is evidenced in part by the fact professional dream interpreters have their own business. Additionally, almost everyone has read of Sigmund Freud and his propensity for analyzing dreams and what they signified about an individual. For Christians, not only do dreams interest us, but the Bible also interests us. Hence, when we read about God speaking to people through dreams, it is a natural question which comes up—should we expect to hear from God in dreams? Dreams in the Old Testament The first mention of dreaming in the Old Testament comes in Genesis 20:3, where…
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Does the Bible Say Same Sex Attraction is Sin?
Although some would argue that any same sex relationship is a good thing if it doesn’t harm anyone, in Christian circles there is usually a more clandestine approach to encourage acceptance of the gay lifestyle. This approach says that same sex attraction itself is not a sin, it is following through on the attraction that is the sin. In other words, to be attracted to the same sex is not a sin as long as one does not act on those impulses. In one sense, there is a difference between the gravity and consequences of following through on the attraction, but the real question is whether desires themselves can be sinful? People will often differentiate the issue between orientation and behavior. Some people will say that it is not sinful to be a “gay Christian.” It is only necessary to live celibate. However, there are two significant reasons that same…