Tag Archives: salvation

Grammar Matters

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I have always maintained that Paul has been misunderstood by most people in the church and by a lot of biblical scholars. Today’s New Testament experts who specialize in the study of Paul’s letters present a very different Paul from those of the past. Like many disciplines, biblical scholarship displays a contrast between older and younger scholars. The Paul who is emerging today is far more radical, inclusive, loving, and hopeful than the Paul of the past. Continue reading →

Why Do We Christians Get It So Wrong? Part Four

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THE LEGACY OF AUGUSTINE: Perhaps the theologian who has most influenced Western Christianity is Augustine (354-430 CE) who became the Bishop if Hippo in North Africa. Augustine was a genius whose thought often focused on the inner life of individuals. He was the church father who emphasized Original Sin and… Continue reading →

Paul and the Gospel, Part Four

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The use of metaphors is a very important way for humans to express themselves and abstract or complex concepts and actions. Here is a useful definition of metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps… Continue reading →

Paul and the Gospel, Part Three

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The royal proclamation is not simply the conveying of true information about the kingship of Jesus. It is the putting into effect of that kingship, the decisive and authoritative summoning to allegiance. Paul discovered, at the heart of his missionary practice, that when he announced the lordship of Jesus Christ,… Continue reading →

Shalom: Part Three

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(19 minutes) The third dimension of shalom can be seen in the following definition (I do not know who first offered this definition, but I have seen it in several publications without reference to authorship): “Shalom is a state of being where nothing is broken and no one is missing.”… Continue reading →

Romans 5:12-6:1 “Possessed by the Past”

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Read the Scripture  (This is the first sermon in a series of three Lenten sermons on the concept of sin. The second sermon is based on Romans 8:12-17 and is entitled “Scared to Death.” The last sermon in the series is based on I Corinthians 12:12-27; John 3:16-17 and has… Continue reading →

The Tenses of Salvation

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He looked at me like I was speaking Greek—which I was. I could tell he was not satisfied with my answer. Perhaps he thought I was speaking in tongues. Of course, it was a smart aleck answer (I was only 25 years old and had had my fill of fundamentalist theology for the day). But it was also a biblical answer, and I think, a good answer. What I was asking the student was this: “Do you mean am I being saved, was I saved, or will I be saved?” Continue reading →

John 3:16-17 Series “For God So Loved the World” (Part One)

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(a 13-minute podcast) John 3:16 is like the Lord’s Prayer—we all know it, but our very familiarity with this verse hides its profound message. We think we know what it means because we hear and interpret it through the theology we’ve grown up with. But I am convinced that the… Continue reading →