tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-122627742024-03-07T17:07:09.463-06:00δουλογοςTheological, Doctrinal, and Spiritual Musing - and whatever other else is on my mind when I notice that I haven't posted in a while.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.comBlogger955125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-70546705222662450092020-03-02T08:31:00.002-06:002020-03-02T08:31:48.035-06:00What Is The Greater Sin? Murder? Rape?Every now and again the question comes up: which sin is the most sinful sin of all sins? Is it murder? Is it rape? It's not a pleasant meditation. Men like Hitler and Stalin, and the men who carried out their orders certainly stand at the top of the list for crimes against humanity. But most of us aren't going to be responsible for the death of thousands or millions of otherwise innocent people.
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-68972855085855165702019-09-23T07:35:00.003-05:002019-09-23T07:35:36.559-05:00Prayer for the Saints: IntercessionBy prayer I mean talking to God, and by Saints I mean those who have humbled themselves in obedience to the gospel, and have called upon Jesus Christ to save them from the wrath of God which they have earned by way of their life long rebellion against God's rule in their lives.
An obvious example of an act of intercession would be to save a drowning person. They could not save themselves Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-45464842442439653552019-01-25T11:31:00.001-06:002019-01-25T11:31:36.861-06:00Where does it come from?I recall the day I first understood it.
Like every other honest Christian, I was doing my best to be holy, but my best could not exclude me from seasons and even cycles of failure. I don't think you can be successful in your faith if you aren't honest with yourself and with the Lord about where you're at. But I don't think being honest with yourself will ever be enough to Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-5669909299857824382018-12-21T08:31:00.001-06:002019-01-28T09:27:26.526-06:00The servant of the Lord
There is no Christian who does not sin.
That truth should comfort all of us who have ever professed faith in Christ, because we all will fail to live up to the life our profession calls us to live.
What we do with this knowledge will either reinforce or bring into question the fidelity of our faith.
Anyone who has ever attended a deathbed in a hospital knows that the mercy shown to a Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-12015505772603697782018-10-02T11:43:00.000-05:002018-10-02T11:43:06.295-05:00Why Christians gather together weeklyLet me qualify what I mean by Christian before I get into this post.
A lot of people identify as Christians, but identifying as a Christian doesn't make you a Christian anymore than identifying as a 56 Buick makes you an automobile. When I speak about Christians in this post, I am not talking about every Tom, Dick and Jane who considers themselves to be a Christian. You don't become Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-52519310987857640132018-07-03T09:59:00.001-05:002018-07-03T09:59:23.774-05:00God expressed through the obedient Christian
When I talk to other believers about their walk with God, I ask them a few simple (but related) diagnostic questions. I start with something like this, "What was the first and greatest commandment God gave to Israel?" The answer is found in Matthew 22:36-40,
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He [i.e. Jesus] said to him [i.e. the lawyer/Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-88571091467878706772018-06-20T11:55:00.001-05:002018-06-20T11:55:20.634-05:00A Conscience Cleansed From Dead Works.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? - Hebrews 9:13-14 [NASB]
I was reading 1 John 1 the other day, and followed a Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-46417847723912292752018-06-12T13:46:00.001-05:002018-06-15T06:24:46.687-05:00John 8:24 Unless you believe that I am you will die in your sins.
"εἶπον οὖν ὑμῖν ὅτι ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν· ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ πιστεύσητε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν."
Not many of you reading will be familiar with Biblical Greek, but I quoted the passage in the original language to highlight something, and to make it easier to find I have changed the text face of the significant part to a bold faced red font in the quote.
The ESV Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-66422878259464330912018-06-11T09:10:00.001-05:002018-06-13T14:44:01.212-05:00Seated at the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the HeavensYou may recall from the first couple of sentences in Hebrews 8 that our Lord has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
When I'm reading through this section of the epistle, I'm often inclined to be looking past these "introductory" verses which sort of separate the "Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-57151825488086569082018-06-07T13:43:00.002-05:002018-06-07T13:43:18.443-05:00Cogito ergo sumDon't let the Post title throw you off, it's just a Latin translation of philosopher Rene Descartes', "je pense donc je suis" (c.f. "Discours De La Méthode", published by Rene Descartes in 1637). You're likely more familiar with the phrase when it is translated into English, "I think therefore I am".
Descartes came up with this axiom to prove (by way of argumentation) to himself (in Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-85617184100688918652018-06-06T11:17:00.002-05:002018-06-06T11:18:29.204-05:00If God is good, why does he allow evil?
Some argue that the following four statements cannot all be true at the same time:
God is omnipotent (that is, all-powerful).
God is omniscient (that is, all-knowing).
God is perfectly good.
Evil exists.
This is typically framed as a "logical" problem intended to demonstrate the irrationality of believing that all four statements are true. The problem is framed by three propositions Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-21669845238466014042018-06-05T12:19:00.001-05:002018-06-05T12:52:31.291-05:00Love and service.
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." - John 13:35 [NASB]
Most English readers understand the word "love" as describing a deep - in fact - the deepest kind of affection. Even in English we are prone to focus on the emotions that love produces rather than focusing on love itself. We see love in the expression of our emotionsDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-55029809948008253952018-04-05T08:44:00.000-05:002018-04-05T08:44:32.023-05:00T4G - Together for the GospelI will be attending T4G this year with my lovely wife, the other pastors from my church along with several good friends from the congregation.
I'll be arriving in Louisville late Monday night, and will be staying at the Galt House.
Since my wife is coming with me, we will probably be doing the tourist thing on Tuesday. Wouldn't mind seeing that big old arc, and checking out the zoo.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-57895525992028817492018-04-04T09:49:00.000-05:002018-04-04T09:49:00.756-05:00Resurrection Sunday - April 1, 2018I had the privilege to preach a message this past Sunday on the significance of our Lord's resurrection.
I'd post more, but I'm pressed for time. Let me know if you gave it a listen.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-17571259781838890222018-02-01T14:12:00.002-06:002018-02-02T06:47:48.687-06:00Hebrews 8 - Part IThis seems like a good place to start:
For when the priesthood is changed of necessity there takes place a change of law also
- Hebrews 7:12 [NASB].
Essentially the author of Hebrews is saying "B necessarily follows A". I'll plug in the values shortly...
Recall that the Levitical Priesthood was established on Mt. Sinai after God delivered the descendants of IsraelDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-65500244586749509022017-09-13T08:11:00.000-05:002017-09-13T08:11:15.159-05:00T4G 2018Last night a group of us who are going to T4G - i.e. the Together for the Gospel conference this coming April, met to register, book our flights, and decide upon accommodations together.
Myself and my friend Dan decided during the 2016 conference that we ought to do whatever we could to bring our wives the next time we went to the conference. I began upon our return to set Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-21510392701783955312017-07-28T14:31:00.001-05:002017-07-28T14:31:29.237-05:00John 3:16
ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη απολλυηται αλλα εχη ζωην αιωνιον - John 3:16
My old mentor was leery of any pastor who would "go to the Greek" whenever something in the English didn't satisfy the particular nuance he felt Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-16843346982813841372017-07-27T09:27:00.002-05:002017-07-27T09:27:53.313-05:00He has given us His Spirit
1 John 4:13 - By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit [ESV]
Yesterday I explored 1 John 2:3-6, which speaks of one of the ways that we can know that we have come to know Christ: We are a witness to the obedience that Christ produces in us. If we do not have this witness, we do not know Christ.
Here John gives us another way of Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-48572923300835455522017-07-26T12:17:00.002-05:002017-07-26T12:17:40.402-05:00Obedience to the Lord
In 1 John 2:3-6 we read:
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-55066729009861107802017-07-18T14:57:00.001-05:002017-07-19T07:04:32.554-05:00Be Fruitful and Multiply - Part IV (How Many Children Should We Have?)
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious canDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-72840583056532439192017-07-17T13:03:00.001-05:002017-07-19T07:03:38.434-05:00Be Fruitful and Multiply - Part III (Is Birth Control A Sin?)Let's begin the discussion where a lot of people do - with the sad history of Onan.
Onan's brother Er was a wicked fellow - so wicked in fact that God Himself put Er to death. Er was married to Tamar at the time, and under the Mosaic Law, Onan was expected to marry Er's widow Tamar, and raise up children for Onan's brother's inheritance.
The point of this "Levirate" marriage, was for OnanDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-67014556865444313592017-07-17T11:33:00.003-05:002017-07-19T07:01:45.957-05:00Be Fruitful and Multiply - Part II (The Consequences of Conception)In the majority of US states, a stillborn child is issued a birth certificate and a death certificate. This postmortem recognition of their having been a human child flies in the face of the legal definition of a human being as it pertains to abortion laws. In order to destroy a human in the womb, we must dehumanize that human - regard them as "not yet" a person. Even as it was Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-57872287224919565212017-07-17T07:39:00.005-05:002017-07-19T07:02:44.478-05:00Be Fruitful and Multiply - Part IOn the fifth day (c.f. Genesis 1:22) of creation God said to the newly created birds of the air and all that newly swarmed in the seas, to be fruitful and multiply. There was at least a male and female of every type and species of flying creature, and this text tells us that it was God's intention for all of these to produce offspring of their own kind and fill their respective places upon Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-1059244112479780372017-06-20T10:42:00.001-05:002017-06-20T10:42:24.476-05:00The Imminent Bondage Awaiting AmericaThere was a time when America was regarded by all as a Christian nation. That didn't mean that everyone in America was a Christian, nor did it mean that Christianity was the state religion. What it meant was that American Principles and Morals reflected and were uniquely inspired by the Christian morals of that majority who at that time founded the nation.
Christians are called to beDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262774.post-87072421923849355652017-04-20T08:18:00.001-05:002017-04-30T04:04:39.947-05:00Thoughts on Hebrews 6 as I prepare to preach on verses 4-8The author of Hebrews tells us that the things God commanded Israel on Mt. Sinai were ,"only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things." (Hebrews 10:1b).
In other words the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices symbolized the good things to come. Whatever else may be included in the good things to come, we can be sure that the arrival of the Messiah, and theDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.com0