In 2006 an approach to church ministry began to gain popularity. It was called a “two-handed” approach to ministry. One closed hand represented the theology of the church and its grasp of biblical truth and principles. The hand being closed symbolized the non-negotiable aspects of theology. One open hand represented the methodology of the church.… Continue Reading
Dispensational theology has gone out of style. Fifty years ago, probably a majority of American evangelicals held some version of dispensationalism. Today, the balance has tilted in the opposite direction. Not only are dispensationalists in the minority, but their system is widely viewed as indefensible, sometimes even by former dispensationalists. Some of the reasons for… Continue Reading
Michael Riley I have read with interest the recent exchange in this newsletter on the validity of two-category Christianity. Dr. Hauser argues that Paul’s letter to the Corinthians supports the recognition of two different classes of Christians: the spiritual and the carnal. Dr. Pratt contends that Christians must bear fruit, and that while all Christians… Continue Reading
Jon Pratt One of my former professors, Charles Hauser, has recently written in support of the “carnal Christian” view as a way of describing the reality of sin in the believer’s life (Nick, 3/4/16 and 3/11/16). In response, I offer this essay in respectful dissent and in support of the more historically grounded position that… Continue Reading
The watering down of doctrine in evangelicalism, evidenced perhaps most acutely in the minimizing of important denominational distinctives and the growth of the “Nones,” is problematic to be sure. The question is, what has caused this? Over the next several weeks I plan to show the role worship philosophy and practice has had in both… Continue Reading
Charles A. Hauser The previous essay attempted to show that 1 Corinthians 1:14-3:3 establishes three categories of people: natural, spiritual, and carnal. The latter two are both genuine believers, but differ in their level of maturity. This contrast seems especially clear in 3:1-3. To avoid this interpretation, Reformed theologians like Ernest Reisinger appeal back to… Continue Reading
Charles A. Hauser All Bible-believing interpreters of scripture agree that doctrine must be determined by the teaching of the Word of God, not by creeds or confessions. The creeds are helpful and widely respected, but doctrine must always be decided on the basis of what scripture clearly teaches. Reformed theologians have consistently taught that the… Continue Reading
Does the nation Israel have a future as a people of God? From the time Israel was constituted as a people, God foretold that the nation would disobey and come under judgment. Israel would lose God’s blessing and be scattered among the nations. Nevertheless, God promised that judgment would not be His final word to… Continue Reading
Scholars dispute whether Greek nouns have five cases or eight cases. They certainly display five forms, and those who hold the five-case system see a one-to-one correspondence between case and form: vocative, nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. Those who hold the eight-case system insist that the same forms are sometimes used for different cases. They… Continue Reading
God did not present His entire revelation at once. This fact can be grasped almost intuitively. The Bible contains sixty-six books. They were written over a process of at least fourteen hundred years. It makes sense that God would continue to reveal truth all through the canon. Often the newer revelations serve to fill in… Continue Reading
In 1 Cor 10:17 Paul says, Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. For many Christians, Paul’s words in that verse do not make as much sense as they might otherwise, because they break the their Communion bread before they see it.1 While I… Continue Reading
The state of Israel is in the news at least weekly, sometimes daily. The United States is still the greatest supporter of Israel, but public perception is that the Obama administration’s backing is less than enthusiastic. In spite of this assessment, the Obama administration was the first to sell bunker-buster bombs to Israel, and it… Continue Reading
General revelation encompasses truth concerning God that can be known by experiencing or examining what God has done, whether in the natural world or in the human conscience. General revelation is always indirect. In contrast to general revelation, special revelation always involves the direct disclosure by God to humans of truth that humans did not… Continue Reading
Nearly all Christian theologies include a category for general revelation. General revelation is indirect revelation, always non-verbal, a by-the-way disclosure of God through the marks that He has left on His creation. In contrast, special revelation involves God’s direct disclosure—and the recipient’s conscious reception—of truth that humans could never otherwise know. General revelation is found… Continue Reading
Before us are Paul’s words to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23: For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one… Continue Reading
“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” 1 Cor 9:22. This verse, and the verses surrounding it (1 Cor 9:19-23), are what some church leaders consider “the Magna Carta of contextualization.” These words of Paul toward the end of the ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians have been used to justify all… Continue Reading
Christians ought to desire everything that God has in store for them. It would be wrong to neglect any good and perfect gift that God has given. Consequently, if God has chosen to grant miraculous gifts to Christians today, then those gifts ought to be nurtured and prized. On the other hand, if God is… Continue Reading
Most Christians are aware of the difference between continuationists and cessationists. They often encounter surprising difficulty, however, in pinpointing exactly what the difference is. One result of this imprecision is that some Christians feel obligated to maintain a kind of soft continuationism when a more precise understanding of the issues might move them toward cessationism.… Continue Reading
In the second book of The Marrow of Theology, William Ames’s (1576-1633) classic Post-Reformation work, Ames deals with a number of matters related to practical theology. The ninth chapter discusses prayer.1 As you will see, Ames’s approach to this topic is helpful from a historical and practical perspective. Prayer, Ames says, can be outward or inward–mental or audible.… Continue Reading
(The articles in this series were originally written for publication in the local newspaper of the town in which I pastor.) So far in this series, I’ve argued that a church wishes to align with God’s priorities will have two characteristics: a commitment to follow the Bible as an absolute authority, and (following from the… Continue Reading