A Gospel-Centered Church Understands the Place of Christian Liberty
In both cases Paul’s true freedom is not in what he can enjoy but what he can freely give up. He is not a slave to the weak, the Jews, the Greeks, or anyone else. He is a slave of Christ and a servant to all. This is for the sake of the gospel.
When a culture replaces the value of everlasting life, with the value of this life extended as far as possible, the culture has become totally myopic, unable to see beyond the immediate, the tangible, the empirical. And oddly enough when the lie that ‘this life is all there is’ is believed, it makes it much easier to allow death to rule one’s mind, one’s fears, one’s behavior. Death simply becomes the price of doing business, or surviving. A culture becomes fear based and makes decisions on the basis of fear, rather than faith and a belief in the life to come.
One of the problems with Osteen is that his theology has no place for the God of Job. But before we go after Osteen on this score, we need to ask ourselves: Does our theology have a place for such a God?
The Goal of Scripture is Not for Us to Know Scripture
Those of us groomed beneath the legal religious umbrella understand the importance of the Bible. There is no need to back off of its fascinating revelation. However, the search of many has stopped at knowing the Bible before our trek arrived at God himself.
How Do We Cherish Virginity Without Moralistic Fearmongering?
Ross is using the wakefulness language in a way not often thought about: as the way to strengthen the sexual purity of the unmarried. “Risk avoidance is a weak motivator,” he says. He reminds us that awe of Christ is “far stronger.”