Bridge of Reason

  It is popularly believed that Christians, when we go to church, hang our brains up at the door. Yet it is my experience that when I try and engage unbelievers in intelligent conversation about great issues of faith, it is so often they who shut down their thinking, who refuse to intelligently engage. This is because they have already decided faith has nothing to offer by way of intelligent conversation. Of course, this is a poor caricature of faith as being by nature unreasonable, like superstition. You either have it, or you don’t, and who can explain it? It’s rather embarrassing, and who would admit to it? An example I think of is that of creation. However you understand the Bible creation narrative, one thing is certain, the universe had a beginning. Science tells us that space, time, and matter came into being at the same moment. There was nothing, then there was...well, everything. That makes the universe contingent. Think of oak trees. If you see an acorn, you would be f...

  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 What is the gospel? Now there is the question.   If it is, as the great Apostle Paul claims, the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, the answer to the question is of vital importance. To have the wrong answer is to put a person in eternal jeopardy. Sounding like the beginning of a joke, imagine a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness and a Roman Catholic walked into a bar and you asked them to explain the gospel, what would they say? Let us begin with the Mormon. The gospel is our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. The central doctrine of the gospel is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The first principles and or...

Paul, in Romans, carefully argues that Gentiles are unrighteous before God (1:18-32); Jews are, likewise, unrighteous before God (2:1-3:8); indeed, all are unrighteous before a holy God (3:9-20) In Romans 3 Paul shows, ‘ the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.’ (vv.21-22) F ather Abraham Our model of this kind of faith, Paul writes, is Abraham (Ro.4:1-15) ‘Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.’ (v.3) Paul carefully explains that this righteousness is not our due, as though we had earned it but, as with Abraham, it is a gift because we simply trusted God . In Romans 3 27-31 we read this gift of righteousness is for both Jews and Gentiles. Indeed, in Romans 4 we are assured that Abraham is the f ather of the faithful, both Jew and Gentile: ‘ We say that faith is counted to Abraham as righteousness. ...

Faith and works are a perennial issue in explaining the gospel. The cults insist we are saved by a combination of faith and works. The world likewise imagines a great set of weighing scale, our sins on one side, our good works on the other. The world follows the thinking of Aristotle, who argued a man must love his neighbour and then love God; out of that love for my neighbour will spring my love for God. He would argue that if we are to gain eternal life we are to first obey. Any number of Scripture verses lend themselves to this view:; Mt.7:21; Ro.2:6; 1 Cor.3:14; 2 Cor.5:10; Js.1:22; Js.2:18-20. The Bible is replete with injunctions to ‘work out your salvation,’ (Philip.2:12-13). It may come as a surprise to Jehovah’s Witnesses then, who think Christians don’t witness, to Mormons too, who believe we have an easy-believism, that Christians are ever aware of these verses, striving to obey them. I have been reading Tyndale in recent months. He is incredibly helpful with this subject...

Paul's letter to Titus in the New Testament contains a remarkable and disturbing observation. Paul writes: 'One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in faith…' (1:12/13) Titus was a Greek convert to Christianity, Paul referring to him as, 'my true child in the faith.' (1:4) He had a challenging assignment, so Paul wrote words both of encouragement and of instruction, 'as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.' (2:1) This is a theme throughout this letter, indeed, in his whole ministry. The fact Titus was to appoint elders in every town tells us this was a new church plant. The above quote gives some insight into what Titus had to draw on to accomplish his task. It is a shocking thing to read, xenophobic one might think. Paul, of course, was making a generalisation, not implying every citizen of ...

The Knowledge of God in Christ People can struggle, especially in the current church climate, with the question of what does being a Christian look like. So many claims and counterclaims are made on our lives it can be daunting trying to simply walk in faithfulness. Two areas in particular are problematic for people, Bible reading and prayer. I will have something practical to say about that, but first I want to build on the question I addressed in my last post ; where do you stand in the daily battle of faith? (Eph.6:13) Of especial concern throughout the New Testament is the threat of error from within the church. Paul, in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, warns of false prophets who will arise ‘from your own number,’ (Acts 20:30); He warns the church in Corinth not to be taken in by ‘false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ,’ (2 Cor.11:13) In his first letter to Timothy, Paul writes of some who will ‘abandon the faith and follow deceiving...

Called Beloved in God the Father Kept for Jesus Christ I have found myself coming back time and again to Jude. It is a short letter, just 25 verses, yet it is packed with both faith strengthening encouragement and serious and timely warnings. Contending for the faith, an unpopular idea today, is practically defined by Jude 3, echoing Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim.4:7. There are parallels with Peter’s warnings of false prophets, false teachers, and destructive heresies (2 Pet.2) and we are reminded of Jesus’ own instruction to his disciples, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter but will not be able.’ (Lk.13:24) A pity it is, to be sure, that we live in an age when the church seeks conciliation, co-operation, and common cause with the world rather than being prepared to ‘contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.’ (Jude 3) I do wonder what some have for a foundation. Paul, in his...

'The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.' (Hebrews 4:12-13) Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June 1953. She would spend her life living in castles and palaces. She would sit on thrones, ride in gold carriages, and leading designers would line up to make her the best clothes, She would wear the finest jewellery, eat the finest meals, and travel first class. At her coronation in Westminster Abbey, amidst all the pomp and ceremony, lords and ladies, dignitaries both spiritual and secular, she was handed a Bible with these words: Our gracious Queen: to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes, we present you with t...

What do you think of when your hear the word ‘sanctified?’ Paul’s first letter to Christians in Thessalonica is best summed up in verse one of chapter four, ‘How to live in order to please God.’ The context is very important if we are to appreciate its application today. Paul was writing to a church living in what was a hostile environment for Christians, calling them to live sanctified lives. We are beginning to experience this environment in what was traditionally a ‘Christian country.’ You might be aware of recent controversial developments in Ireland regarding gay marriage. Ireland (Eire) has voted to change the constitution to allow gay couples to marry. This has proved an enormous challenge to the Catholic Church that takes a traditional, biblical view on marriage . You might remember also, in Northern Ireland, Ashers Bakery was successfully prosecuted for refusing to bake a cake with a pro-gay message on it. They didn’t refuse custom to a gay man, but simply refused to put ...