It is impossible to imagine Christianity without a Bible. Without that one book, there would be no church, no worship, no prayer, no instruction, no obedience—in short, no Christianity at all. We might invent substitutes for these using our imaginations, but we would never devise a religion that would be acceptable to God.On the other [...]
The Scriptures are very clear that doctrine is of the highest importance to the Christian. Our religion is not merely a code of ethics, to tell us how to live; nor is it a merely an institution, in which to participate unthinkingly; nor again is it merely an experience, to perpetually seek after. The Christian [...]
The author of Hebrews has issued a call to Christian maturity, provided a description of Christian maturity, and informed his readers of the foundation that is necessary for Christian maturity. Each of these exhortations to maturity were positive, explaining what Christians ought to be, do, and have, in order to gain spiritual maturity. In 6:4-8, [...]
The author of Hebrews has called us to Christian maturity, and also given us a description of Christian maturity. He follows these with an exhortation: "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on again unto perfection" (Hebrews 6:1). Moving on from the basics of Christianity, the author is saying, let [...]
After issuing his call for Christian maturity, the writer to the Hebrews explains his idea of Christian maturity in terms of food. These Hebrew Christians, he says, need milk because they are unable to handle "strong meat." The analogy is evident: babies eat milk because that is all their digestive system is able to handle. [...]
The book of Hebrews is full of incredibly rich teaching on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The last verses of chapter four mark the beginning of a lengthy discussion of Christ's work as our High Priest—a theme that lies at the heart of the Gospel message. As our High Priest, Christ sympathises with [...]
Just about a month ago, a riot convulsed the streets of downtown Vancouver. For some hours, the normally peaceful and safe streets were filled with dangerous chaos. The damage to public and private property, to individuals, and to reputations was immense. In the aftermath of the riot, one particular question puzzled observers: why did the [...]
There is much about our current situation in the twenty-first century for which we are and should be thankful. We have technologies that allow for communication, travel, comfort, health, and luxury to a degree never before seen in the world. These are blessings from God, and we are thankful for them. With our new technologies [...]
No series of blog posts is going to say all that needs to be said about knowing God's will. I hope, however, that our basic assumptions, and the Biblical examples of Abraham and his servant will be instructive. We conclude with some practical advice on how to know God's will. First, know the Scriptures. Good decisions reflect God's [...]
With our two basic assumptions in hand, we have already considered the Biblical example of Abraham's servant in Genesis 24. We move on now to consider a second Biblical example: how Abraham himself came to know God's will in this episode. We do not read of any direct revelation to Abraham concerning the matter of [...]