Those two words, “judge not,” can threaten to stop a dialogue. But two more words can restart it: “keep reading.” The “judge not” in Matthew 7:1 is not the end of the chapter. By the third verse Jesus has pointed out that we should indeed be judging our own spiritual state: “And why beholdest thou […]
Category: Understanding
5 Steps to Sound Doctrine (Even When Everyone Disagrees)
When Jeremiah delivered God’s Word, King Jehoiakim pulled out his penkife (Jeremiah 36:23). Page by page, he sliced it into the fire. Today, many supposed Christians do the same. Which is more harmful? To attack God’s Word openly, or twist it while claiming to be its representative?
How to Understand the Bible More Clearly
Sometimes I worry that there are as many versions of “Christianity” as there are Christians. On matters of our faith, and especially on modern disputes, how can we understand the Bible more clearly? When you see so many interpretations, you begin to wonder if it’s possible to know what the Bible even teaches about a given […]
Running with God’s Word: Yielding to the Character of God
Every July in Pamplona, 200 to 300 people go to the hospital for contusions and falling injuries. It is the famous “running of the bulls.” How would it be to stand in that narrow Spanish street, seeing the stampede come at you? There are only two choices: you hide, or you join. That’s what God’s […]
Learning to See God’s Goodness
For people to see the Lord—that’s my passion. Our most pressing need is to see and understand God. When we know what God is like and why he is good, that’s when we’ll have: Changed hearts Greater faith True obedience How do we see what God is like? We look to divinely inspired Scripture to […]