Jesus beyond the Talmud
A Jew’s pattern of moral behaviour involves absolute adherence to the literal directives of Torah (the Five books of Moses) especially the 613 mitzvot or commandments as classified by Maimonides […]
Getting into the Book of Revelation without Getting Lost
Many years ago, when I worked in the entertainment industry, the first TV commercial I did was a 15-second advertisement for ‘Famous Grouse Whiskey’. If I had known one day […]
The Rites of Initiation: Circumcision and Baptism
God has left His new covenant people with two visible signs of His invisible grace: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Down through the ages, Christians have differed in their understanding […]
Isaiah and Prophecy
In meeting regularly with a Muslim friend, I am often surprised when perhaps I should not be. The topic under discussion is commonly prophecy, and recently he made the claim […]
Return to Eden: Philipp Melanchthon’s Exposition of Genesis 3.15
God originally placed Adam and Eve in Eden, which is literally a place of ‘delight’. After sin entered in, in Genesis 3, God exiled Adam and Eve. In between these […]
No Beginning No End
‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ Genesis 1:1 For over a decade I have had the privilege of teaching Christian Studies to primary aged students. This […]
The Purpose of Prayer is to Change God’s Mind, (Part 3)
1. Introduction This article addresses the third question about God’s repentance: “How can God’s changing His mind be reconciled with God having an eternal plan, decided and settled in eternity […]
The Purpose of Prayer is to Change God’s Mind, (Part 2)
1. Introduction In the first instalment of this series, I showed that God’s repentance is not because He sinned in any way whatsoever. In this part, I ask: “How can […]
The Purpose Of Prayer Is To Change God’s Mind, (Part 1)
1. Introduction When we read in the Scriptures that God repented (Exod 32:14; Amos 7:3, 6), many Christians get decidedly uneasy. Has God sinned that He needs to repent? How […]
How Did Jesus View the Cross?
It is a commonplace in theologically liberal circles to downplay the cross, to say, as Adolf von Harnack did, that the gospel is all about the fatherhood of God, the […]
Desiring Man
Why did God create the world? The answer on the lips of anyone who knows Question One of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “to glorify Him” or, as my children […]
God Forsaken: An Ancient Heresy is Flourishing Again in Australian Churches
By Ken Stebbins From the earliest days of the church Christians wrestled with the wonderfully mysterious nature of our triune God. The truth, as taught in the Bible, is clear […]
Eternal and Unchangeable: God’s Moral Law is Consistent, Even on Difficult Questions
Recent missives in support of same-sex marriage have sought to drown out the evangelical voice by asserting that its moral stance is both selective and inconsistent with the Bible’s own […]
Rich in Mercy: God’s grace comes in the context of judgement
For some time there has been an error which has been nurtured in evangelical circles that sounds thoroughly evangelical yet actually undermines the whole message of the evangelical, that is […]