Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) Hold in your mind this image from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: the path to the Celestial City. The central figure of the story, Christian, is summoned to leave the City of Destruction and sojourn upon this difficult path. The path is straight, but fraught with peril. If Christian can faithfully walk this path, avoiding snares like the House of Legality, Vanity Fair, and Doubting Castle, he will arrive at his destination safely....
Here is an excerpt from the book “King Jesus Claims His Church” The claims of the gospel are in fact political, or perhaps better described as counter-political: 1. The phrase "repent and believe" itself has political overtones. The first-century historian Josephus describes a fascinating story where he learns that a brigand chief is plotting to kill him. He tells this brigand to abandon his efforts and "repent and believe in me [Josephus]", or translated otherwise "repent and show loyalty to me." The underlying language is nearly identical to that which Jesus employs in Mark 1:15. Other political uses of "repent and believe" can be found in multiple sources from 100 BC-150 AD....
How liberating to approach God’s Word openly and faithfully, allowing a simple and logical rendering of Scripture! How freeing to read without bias or preordained conclusions that deviate from God’s heart for His people. How empowering to let “cultural context” only add richness and color to my understanding, rather than to twist and mangle Scripture to reinforce my comfortable and culturally acceptable lifestyle....
Early in church history, divergent interpretations of Scripture were recognized and judged as problematic. One powerful tool to find the correct interpretation was proposed by the church fathers. Irenaeus and Vincent of Lérins proposed that the true teaching of Scripture would be found in the church across time (semper), across persons (ab omnibus), and across distance (u...
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