MATTHEW 19:9 – A Deadly Exception
– A DEADLY EXCEPTION In the Reformed tradition, adultery or deliberate desertion are “sufficient reason for dissolving the bond of marriage”; the innocent may remarry and the guilty party treated as […]
LIVING HAPPILY IN A HOUSE OF CARDS
It is surely a truism, and not a disputed point of philosophy, that all human beings desire happiness. Even those who promote misery do so to glean some sort of […]
Martin Luther on Matthew 25:1-13
Five-hundred years ago—on the 21st October, 1522 to be precise—Martin Luther preached a sermon on Matthew 25:1-13. It’s a fascinating test case for Luther’s understanding of the Gospel, and in particular his view […]
Predestined to Life
The doctrine of predestination will always be accompanied with controversy, disagreement and possibly even the covering of ears, the raising of arm hair and the chilling of spines. Let me […]
The Story beneath the Story
No matter the story, there is usually a story beneath the story. Every news item is seldom as straightforward as it seems, whether it be domestic violence, fraudulent practice or […]
Paul’s Argument in Galatians is Covenantal
Before his conversion on the Damascus road (Acts 9.1-19), the apostle Paul would have found the idea of a crucified messiah abhorrent because of Deuteronomy 21.23 (‘for he that is […]
God As God: Justice And Mercy
In explaining the cross, the apostle Paul demonstrates that it reveals both God’s righteousness and His mercy, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has […]
The Unstoppable Gospel
The book of Acts is well suited to be studied in a year of what we hope will be recovery like 2021. The affect of Acts is to bring about […]
Re-thinking ordination
Back in the 1970s many of us learned to be suspicious of ordination and all that went with it. The spectacle of some leaders being given special status among the […]
Are Christians Better People Than Others?
Peter Abelard (1079-1142) managed to get himself into theological and moral trouble throughout most of his life. When he wrote Sic et Non (‘Yes and No’) to argue that the […]
Paul’s Journal (Acts 9.3; 2 Timothy 4.7)
God is light with us, God is light behind us, whispered into time. Is his light abiding? Springing as a clay bird, his wondrous voice encircling, strikes me like a […]
Why preach Deuteronomy?
For many, Deuteronomy is a closed book. Assuming that it is directed to the Israelites, countless Christians have too long missed its vital message. Perhaps even more tragic is the […]
The Road of Tyranny
Tolerance used to be defined as the ability to respectfully engage with others, even if you disagree with what they say. Nevertheless, it is clear that the new ‘tolerance’ is […]
The Character of Christ and the Person of Christ
John Stuart Mill is known as the great liberal political philosopher of nineteenth century England. He was also an atheist, but later in life he came to write of Christ: […]
Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?
The woman in the hijab was surprised. She approached me after a Muslim/Christian debate and asked if she could talk to me. I jokingly asked if her husband was present […]
How can we benefit from covenant theology, and why is it so important?
Two perennial questions that most Christians will ask focus on the meaning and message of the Bible as a whole. They might be expressed as follows: How do I gain […]