According to Fee & Stuart,
‘The early Christians came to realize that Jesus had not come to usher in the “final” end but the “beginning” of the end, as it were. Thus they came to see that with Jesus’ death and resurrection, and with the coming of the Spirit, the blessings and benefits of the future had already come. In a sense, therefore, the end had already come. But in another sense the end had not yet fully come.…
‘A little knowledge of God,’ wrote J.I. Packer, ‘is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him.’
He continues:-
1. One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of him.
I am sure that many of us have never really grasped this. We find in ourselves a deep interest in theology (which is, of course, a most fascinating and intriguing subject—in the seventeenth century it was every gentleman’s hobby). We read books of theological exposition and apologetics.…
Moses was the first great preacher of the word of God of whom we have any detailed knowledge.
Moses’ call is recorded in Ex 4:10-16. When Moses protests his inability to speak for God, the reply he receives is that God will teach what to say and how to say it. He is to be God’s mouthpiece. He is to act as intermediary between God and the people. He spoke on God’s behalf to the people, and the people accepted his words as the Lord’s, Ex 24:3. …
For many Christians the prospect of being re-united with loved ones in the life to come is one of the greatest comforts in the face of bereavement.
Of course, this prospect ought not to overshadow that fellowship with our Lord which ought to be pre-eminent. After all, the Psalmist could pray, “Whom have I in heaven but thee?’ (Psa 73:25), and Paul’s great desire was to depart and ‘being with Christ’, Phil 1:23; 1 Thess 4:17. …
My mother, Peggy Mason, died peacefully on 11th December after a short illness. She had led an extraordinarily active life, and although in recent years short-term memory loss took its toll, her loving personality remained intact until the end.
Yesterday, Friday 23rd December, a service of thanksgiving was held at Chapelfield Road Methodist Church, Norwich. One of my sisters, Catherine, spoke of our mum’s life generally, and I had the privilege of saying a few words about mum’s Christian faith.…
Chris Green, Vice Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, has noted that among the 35 contributors to John Stott: a portrait by his friends, there is none from ‘the other side’ of the 1966 debate with Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. ‘Perhaps,’ Green suggests, ‘some issues are still too raw.’
It seems extraordinary that such a situation should pertain nearly half a century after the event. I would like to revisit the momentous events of that 1996 debate and its consequences.…
The thoughts that follow are based on an address given by J.I. Packer in 1988. It is remarkable how rapidly thought and practice in the Christian church have moved on since then (Packer was focussing on women as presbyters; now the urgent discussions are about women as bishops). But that might make his discussion more, rather than less, relevant.
It is often assumed that the Bible is hostile to women. Arriving at a correct view of the biblical view of the role of women is complicated for both secular and churchly reasons.…
Chris Tilling has a high regard for the writings of Tom Wright. It is of interest, therefore, that he thinks that many who attempt to reflect Wright’s teaching in their preaching end up saying either of two things:-
1. “You thought this text means this…but you are wrong! It is not about going to heaven when you die. Understood in terms of exile and restoration, it means…” Tilling remarks that this iconoclastic habit has a tendency to undermine hearers’ confidence in Scripture. …
My attention has been drawn to this recent talk, followed by a Q and A session, by Stephen Kuhrt about his book ‘Tom Wright for Everyone’.
Stephen Kuhrt’s talk on ‘Tom Wright for Everyone’
Stephen is vicar of Christ Church, New Malden. He is clearly an avid fan of Tom Wright and, as the subtitle of his book indicates, he is interested in ‘putting the theology of N.T. Wright into practice in the local church.’
Since I’m reasonably well acquainted with Wright’s more popular writings (but less so the big scholarly tomes), there wasn’t much in Stephen’s talk that was new to me. …
J.I. Packer writes:-
…‘Prior to Pentecost…the Spirit sustained creation and natural life, renewed hearts, gave spiritual understanding, and bestowed gifts for service both in leadership and in other ways, and all this he still does. The difference since Pentecost is that all his present ministry to Christian believers relates not to Christ who was to come, as was the case when he ministered to Old Testament sains (see, for hints of this, John 8:56-59; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Hebrews 11:26; 1 Peter 1:10); nor as it did when Simeon and Anna recognised him (Luke 2:25-38), and during his three years of public ministry; it relates now to Christ who has come and has died and risen and now reigns in glory.
