Why Do We Do This?

I was reading one of my own archived posts, and I was reminded why we do this. What do we do? We take a stand for change. We preach a Gospel that demands the counting of the cost and explains the cost as everything. We say you cannot be a Christian without doing so because [...]

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The Trinity, the Council of Nicea, and the Substance of God

In A.D. 325, Eusebius, the first church historian and the bishop (link opens in new window) of the church in Caesarea, wrote a letter. To me, it is one of the most surprisingly ignored letters in the history of the church. THe letter is an explanation of the Nicene Creed immediately after its acceptance by [...]

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The Bible and a Closed Canon:
(Should There Only Be 66 Books?)

One of these days I’m going to have time to do justice to the series I was doing on the appearance of Paul from 1 Thessalonians 2. There’s one post on exhortation I really want to get to, but I have to have a good amount of time to write it. I got another email [...]

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Eastern Orthodox Church

The simple version of it is that I don’t believe in a church other than the local church.

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The Roman Catholic Church and the Gospel

I got an email from a Roman Catholic yesterday. It was very nice this time. Most of the vitriolic (um, harsh and negative) letters I receive are from Catholics. This one was very kind. On the other hand, he asked me to go view a video that would set me straight. I didn’t go view [...]

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The Truth Even If It Condemns Me

I don’t want to write posts like the one I just wrote without telling you what I’m about to tell you. That post discussed true and false Christians—or disciples vs. mere believers—and I don’t want you to misunderstand what I mean by disciple. I’m not going to explain it to you; I’m going to give [...]

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Salvation

I like to say that there are two things we preach, which are two reasons for changing the way we "do" church in America. The Gospel is a life for a Life. Jesus calls us to give up our lives and enter into his. In the mind of Christ and the apostles, you can’t be [...]

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Greed and Glory from Men: The Appearance of the Apostle Paul, Part 2

This series started by looking at Paul’s boldness and his avoidance of flattering speech. All of these attributes come from 1 Thessalonians 2, and they are all the result of one thing: Paul’s focus on and commitment to the Gospel of Christ. Paul never lost sight of the goal: preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ [...]

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What Church Would be Like If All Christians Were Christians

If over half your congregation is not even interested in Jesus’ requirements for a disciple (Luke 14:26-33), then the devil does the majority of the voting in every one of your business meetings.

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Letter of Ignatius to the Ephesians: Chapter Two

If you haven’t been following this series, it begins with Ignatius’ introduction 3 or 4 posts ago on June 28. The Text of Ignatius’ Letter to the Ephesians 2 We’re on chapter 2 today. It reads as follows: As to my fellow-servant Burrhus, your most blessed deacon in all things pertaining to God, I plead [...]

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