Father, grant us grace to take up our crosses and follow Jesus in the way of suffering and death.  We know that the only way to resurrection and victory is through suffering and the cross, but it is difficult.  We love our pleasures.  We love the trivial pursuits that take up our time and fill […]

I mentioned a while back that the equation of justification by faith with “the gospel” by resurgent neo-Calvinists and folks associated with the Gospel Coalition was a sign of ignorance of the biblical gospel among evangelicals.  Such limiting of the gospel to this singular Pauline metaphor is inappropriate. Yesterday’s post is another reason for my claim.  […]

In the fifth chapter of The King Jesus Gospel, Scot McKnight recounts the centuries-long transition from the large-scale and robust gospel vision of the New Testament to the anthropologically-oriented formulaic gospel of contemporary evangelicalism.  The turning point is the Reformation. In the previous chapter, Scot discusses Paul’s gospel from 1 Corinthians 15.  The gospel according […]

Sprinkled throughout Scot McKnight’s new book, The King Jesus Gospel, are brief anecdotes from Scot’s students about their understanding of the gospel.  They all reflect a truncated and hollowed-out gospel vision.  These reports from evangelical undergraduates demonstrate the effect of a generation raised on a “packaged gospel.” I’ve discovered the same thing.  I taught undergraduates […]

Father, we hate that your world is broken, and we confess that we are broken, too. Our hearts break at the brokenness of this neighborhood, and at our own inadequacy to fix any of it. How long, O Lord, will you let your people suffer, and let those created in your image languish in poverty, […]

The biblical rhetoric of spiritual conflict has been hijacked, unfortunately, by culture warriors.  Calls to engage in spiritual warfare often involve mobilizing voters to support this or that candidate, this or that initiative.  The assumption here is that the work of the people of God is accomplished through grabbing hold of and manipulating the levers of […]

The beginning of another national election season has provoked increasing comment on our polarized country.  The rhetoric between the Left and Right has become alarmingly aggressive over the last several decades, fueled by media outlets eager to retain viewers and attract listeners. It’s common for evangelicals to turn to biblical rhetoric of spiritual warfare to […]

Tiger Woods will not break Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 professional major championships.  He’s currently at 14, so he needs five more to surpass Nicklaus. That may have been a slightly bold claim to make several years ago, perhaps even after Woods’s fourth-place finish at the Masters in April.  It appeared that he might be […]

Paul wrote Romans 1:18-3:20 to the Roman church with a pastoral intention.  He’s not necessarily laying the groundwork for a gospel presentation here, nor is he speaking of the sinful condition of all humanity.  It isn’t wrong, of course, to theologize from Rom. 1-3 about universal human sinfulness, but we must keep in mind that […]

I’m reading The Book of the Dun Cow again.  It’s an allegory about . . . , well, about so many things.  It’s such a lively story filled with wonderful characters.  Pretty much every chapter contains a paragraph that makes me stop to re-read a few times.  This one called to mind experiences of pastoral […]