But how do I respond to the immediacy of the Gospel in my daily life? How do we, as 21^st century American Christians, react to a privilege virtually unknown throughout the scope of human history and in many parts of the world even today?

During the weekend I watched this ten-minute video that captured the consummation of a lifelong dream for Indonesia’s remote Kimyal tribe: the translation of the complete New Testament into the Kimyal language. The video is a little long, but well worth the time.

This video shocked me because I am utterly unable to relate to the delight these people displayed at receiving the Word of God. The constant presence of Scripture in my life has hardened my heart to the wonder of a transcendent God condescending that we might share in His perfect joy, and to my shame I often find it difficult to regard studying these life-giving words as more than a tedious Christian obligation.  

I suspect that many of us regard the Bible as mundane simply because we’ve forgotten what it really is that’s written in these sixty-six familiar books. Because I was home sick on Sunday morning, I was able to spend some time rediscovering the unique and infinite value of God’s Word through what it testifies about itself. In the order that I first wrote them down, here are seven aspects of the Bible that most renew my love and appreciation for it.

1. Scripture sustains and directs spiritual life.   

• Deuteronomy 8:3 – “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
• Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom…”
• 2 Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
• Romans 15:4 – “For whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

 2. Scripture reveals truth.

• Psalm 12:6 – The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
• Psalm 33:4 – “For the Word of the Lord is upright…”
• Proverbs 30:5 – “Every word of God proves true…”
•  2 Peter 1:20-21 – …no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God.”

 3. Scripture is eternal.

• Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.”
• Matthew 24:35 – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
• John 1:1-2 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

 4. Scripture is unified.

• Luke 22:37 – “For I tell you Scripture must be fulfilled in me.”
• John 5:46 – “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.”
• Romans 1:1-2 – “… the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.”
• Galatians 3:8 – And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham.”

5. Scripture effects the will of God.

• Is. 55:11 – “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it will accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
• Hebrews 4:12 – “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
• Ephesians 6:17 – “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

6. Scripture effects salvation.

• 1. Corinthians 15:2 – “…you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you.”
• 1. Peter 1:23 – “…you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of God.”
• John 6:68 – “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
• John 7:38 – “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘out of his heart will flow streams of living water.’”

For more information about the Kimyal tribe and the Bible translation effort, visit www.kimyaltribe.com

In 2008, I attended a summer camp event hosted by my local church. The topic for the week, around which all teaching and discussion were centered, was the supreme goodness of God as described in Psalm 34. While I learned quite a bit during my time there, one of the most valuable “take-home” lessons of the week came  from Saint Augustine, a favorite church father of our speaker, Perry Garrett.

Perry outlined for us Augustine’s philosophy of ordo amoris, or “the order of loves.” This idea, which is expressed most clearly in Augustine’s The City of God, refers to a divinely ordained hierarchy of human loves and pleasures. God sits at the pinnacle as the primary object of human satisfaction, and the single pleasure that is able to provide fulfillment proportionate to and beyond our  my desire for it.

In 1 Timothy 4:4, Paul writes, “everything created by God is good.” One of God’s blessings to His creatures is that He has ordained all things for our use, benefit, and enjoyment. Money, sex, food, and other people are good gifts, but they were not designed to provide our lives with ultimate meaning. Ironically, our capacity to enjoy these things properly actually rests on whether or not God is central in our affections. Whatever we exalt above our Creator can only enslave us. As C.S. Lewis poignantly expressed in his treatise The Four Loves, anything other than God, “having become a god, becomes a demon.” Inordinate desire is never met in full; it is born of sin binds us to sin.   

Once God is seated in his rightful place in our affections, our love for Him will sanctify our hearts and passions, leading us to value the things of this world appropriately. We will view God’s gifts not as ends in themselves, but as rays of light that draw our eyes up to the great and glorious Source of all that is good, of whom all earthly joys are mere shadows. God’s status as chief of our desires is not arbitrary; in 2008 I came to understand that He is in fact worthy of all my heart, all my soul and all my strength. His excellencies far outweigh, and His glories far outshine, all else that is offered. As Augustine prayed at the opening of his Confessions, “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.”

Since that blog is oriented more towards biblical exposition than mine, which tends to focus on the implications theology has on culture, I won’t be posting the same articles on both blogs. Most of what I put there will probably end up here, but not vice-versa. 

So, check out the site, which has been up and running (and posting very good things) long before I became part of it. I’m excited about this opportunity and hopeful that the new arrangement is beneficial to everyone involved.

Thanks for reading!

        After a brief introduction by the college’s president, Philp Ryken, the concert began. Aside from a piece by Chopin and the surprise appearance of my former teacher, Sung Hoon Mo, I wasn’t familiar with either the works or the performers. And while I’m all for classical music, I’ve never been a huge fan of works that are more technical than emotional. Listening to music like that has always seemed a little like giving up To Kill a Mockingbird or The Lord of the Rings in favor of something more like my math textbook or Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. But although what I heard at the concert last week wasn’t what I might choose for my own leisure time, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the whole idea of music as a form of human creativity.

        For some years now I’ve thought quite a bit about what it means for man to be created “in the image of God.” It’s true that eventually I’ve come to the conclusion (or a lightly-held conviction) that it has a lot more to do with our representational status as stewards of the earth than with actual psychological or physiological similarities. Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem reasonable to completely disregard other aspects of Man’s being when trying to determine his place in the created order. Though I’m hardly a materialist, for most of my life I have found it almost impossible to see in what way other than spiritual mankind is elevated above the status of other organic life on our planet. We look the same as any other animal, inside and out. We move the same, sound the same. We have the same basic needs. We act and react similarly to the beasts in almost every situation. As far as biology goes, the only difference between us and the rest of kingdom Animalia is that we have a more complex neurological system.

        Yet it’s hard to admire a painting, become engrossed in a novel, or be entranced by a song with this thought in mind without wondering whether any increased capacity for logical thought could ever engender what we call art. I have no doubt that use of Nature’s laws for productive ends rivaling our own would be found in any species of our intelligence, image of God or no. But would we ever find order wrested from the world around us for Beauty’s sake – or, as we might also put it, for its own? I’d never seriously considered until last Friday that our business of attributing meaning (isn’t that the root of real perceived beauty?) to intrinsic structure might be far more of a spiritual behavior than a psychological one. What is it that evokes awe when I gaze across miles from the top of an Appalachian mountain, or brought me to tears the first time I heard the opening measures of Grieg’s Morning Mood?

        If we’re going to say that this sort of sehnsucht begins and ends with chemical reactions in my brain then I for one am not going to bother with either ever again. But if in awe and wonder and all the rest my created spirit is recognizing and rejoicing in the likenesses of God portrayed by necessity in what He has made, then I will continue to seek these out and give my praise to the Being reflected in the mirror of the universe, understanding this privilege to be something unique to God’s image-bearers. And I’m no specialist when it comes to the human mind, but this seems to me to be the more likely option.

        My other (mostly unrelated) thought popped into my head while I was watching Dr. Mo, my piano teacher some years ago, give an incredibly adept exhibition of his talent. Meaning he performed beautifully for a solid twenty minutes entirely from memory. Sitting in the audience, it was hard not to feel some measure of regret as I wondered what I might have been capable of by now if I’d stuck to my lessons. After taking piano for eight or so years, Nathan and I dropped out in 2008. We wanted to be able to focus on high school, and neither of us was interested in music as a career. So although it was tough letting years and years of practice slip away, quitting lessons was academically convenient at the time.

        But was it the right decision? I’m not sure. Though it seems very unlikely that I’ll end up “needing” excellent piano skills in whatever path of study I end up choosing, it seems like all gifts should be furthered and developed to their fullest capacity. To abandon the gift of music looks no less than to squander talent given by God, and He gives nothing without purpose. I conveyed this concern to my cousin Lindsey, a freshman at Wheaton, and she warned me about what she called “utilization theology” – the error that God is only glorified by our abilities when we make what an observer might consider the “fullest” use of them, when what he really only means is the “public” use. But is God glorified equally in the practice room as on the stage? Can it be that the number of participants in an act of glorification is irrelevant? What does it mean for God to be glorified through art or secular work, anyway?

        So, there are the first random thoughts and questions to appear on this site in quite some time. I hope somebody, somewhere, benefits from them.

Over the past few days I’ve considered starting this blog back up. Problem is, I have no idea if anyone’s still with me. If you read this, please comment and let me know if you’d be interested in seeing posts here more often.

If the audience is substantial, I’ll see about getting more up on this site. No promises…

   From the desire of being esteemed, deliver us, O Jesus.

   From the desire of being loved, From the desire of being extolled, from the desire of being honored,

   From the desire of being consulted, from the desire of being approved,

   From the fear of being humiliated, deliver us, O Jesus.

   From the fear of being despised, from the fear of being forgotten, from the fear of being ridiculed,

   From the fear of being wronged or suspected, deliver us, O Jesus.

   That others may be loved more than we, O Jesus, grant us the grace to desire it. 

   That others may be esteemed more than we,

   That others may increase and we may decrease, that others may be chosen and we set aside,

   That others may be praised and we unnoticed, that others may be preferred to us in everything,

   That others may become holier than we, provided that we may become as holy as we should,

O Jesus, grant us the grace to desire it.

Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930)

Summa: Is the Created World Good?

According to the Marcionites, a Gnostic sect formed by Marcion of Sinope around the year 144, the creator God of the Old Testament was a being inferior to God the Father first introduced by Christ. This God, called Yaltabaoth, was a wrathful, depraved entity, and His creation, subsequently, is imperfect, filled with sin and suffering. Though Scripture is clear that there is one perfect God, both the Father in Heaven and Creator of all, the question aroused by the Marcionites’ claim is a valid one. Is the created world “good?” If it is, how can evil exist in a good world? Is creation evil? If so, why?

“God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good.” This passage from the first chapter of Genesis seems to offer an unequivocal answer to the question posed above: the created world is “very good.” The discussion, however, is far from over. The assertion that sin and suffering do exist in the world is unavoidable. Evil has plagued humanity almost since the beginning of time. The Bible itself addresses the question of its source in its opening chapters, where we read that man was tempted to disobedience with the promise of great knowledge: “And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:22) In Romans 5:12, Paul makes a claim that both confirms our suspicions throws our once black-and-white answer into a world of doubt: “…sin came into the world through one man (Adam) and death through sin.” Can the world still be considered “good” even after the advent of sin? Or has a once-good creation been ruined entirely?

Nature is under a curse (Genesis 1:17), “subject to futility” (Romans 5:20). These assertions are undeniable. The underlying question is not, “is the created world good?” but rather “can evil exist in a good world?” Or stated differently, “is creation itself evil or is it merely bound by evil?” Can a good creation exist in the presence of sin?

My answer is yes. God looks upon His work even today and calls it “very good.” Paul writes in Romans 8:20 that “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” In other words, God’s creation has never ceased to reflect God’s good character. The image has been distorted some due to the sin that binds creation, but remains nonetheless. Nothing can be corrupted and remain truly good, for just as a half-truth is a complete lie, “evil is simply good spoiled.” – C.S. Lewis

The inherent goodness of God’s creation is perhaps best expressed by the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:4: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” And though creation has long been held in bondage, a day will come when the chains of sin will be destroyed, and all the universe will partake in the glorification of the saints.

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:19-21)

The truth about sin and its horrible consequences seems completely hopeless and overwhelming.   But God (two of the sweetest words in all of Scripture), being rich in mercy demonstrated His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Eph. 2:4-5; Rom. 5:8, 8:1).   Christ died the death that we deserved, and by enduring the wrath of God he put to death the deeds of our bodies.  The righteous suffered for the unrighteous.  Through living the life that we could never live and dying the death we should have died, Christ forever freed us from the tyranny of the flesh.  As a result, He has sent the Holy Spirit to come and take up residence within us (Ez. 36:26-27).  The Spirit of Christ has given us a new heart, along with the ability to live a life of obedience.  Becoming the cause of our faith and the certainty of our salvation (Jn. 6:44; Col. 1:27), the Spirit has given us the power and provision to wage war with the flesh.

Jesus followed the Spirit’s leading into the wilderness.  He was led there so that He might accomplish what Adam and Israel and all of mankind could not do–overcome sin and become a sympathetic Savior.  He was tempted in all the ways that we have been tempted and yet He was without sin (Heb. 4:15).  He used the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) to wage war against the temptations of the enemy.  Through the Spirit’s power He remained obedient to the Father and resisted the opportunity to sin.  The same Spirit that led Him to the wilderness also led Him to the Cross.  It was on the Cross that He demonstrated His greatest act of obedience as He humbly sacrificed His own life to save ours in order that He might defeat the power of sin and death for all of eternity.  Upon His being raised from the dead and ascending to the right hand of the throne of God, He gave His Spirit to dwell inside us so that we, too, might experience life!!

Spirit: “but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.”

The Spirit is the agent of life, and our sin-killing commander.  He has two main purposes, to magnify Christ in our hearts and to mortify the flesh in our bodies.

I.  Magnifying Christ in our hearts:  First, the Holy Spirit brings new life to us.  He revives our hearts and restores godly affections when He comes to dwell among us.  Through His grace, we grow in godliness.  And through His power, we follow His leading.  The more we follow His leading, the more clearly we see the image of Christ in our hearts, in the word, in the church, and in the world.  As we behold the image of Christ, we are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).

So, how does He magnify Christ in our hearts?

He renews our minds by the washing of the word (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 5:26).

He causes us to marvel at the mercy of God toward us (Eph. 2:1-22).

He causes us to meditate on the glory of Christ and the beauty of the Cross.

He causes us to treasure Christ above all other things (Phil. 3:7-11).

Are you looking for Christ in Scripture?  Are you talking about Christ in conversation?  Are you thinking about Christ throughout your day?  Are you reading the word for transformation rather than information?  Is it obvious that Christ is your greatest treasure?  Are you obeying what you hear and read?  Are you praising the Father and the Spirit for the work of Christ that saved you?

II.  Mortifying the flesh of our bodies: Second, the Holy Spirit cultivates within us a hostility toward sin.  By the Spirit’s power, we seek to put to death the deeds of our bodies.  Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  Instead of feeding the flesh, we have crucified it.  It no longer lives in dominion over us, but has been dealt a mortal wound.  And as it dies, it desperately fights to regain control.  John Owen used the illustration of thrusting a sword in a serpent.  Once you’ve struck a mortal blow, you must keep after it with the sword until it is dead.  Otherwise, the serpent, though dying, will attack you with ferocious anger and resolve.  The Apostle Paul pictures this well in writing of his struggle with sin: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom. 7:15).  Our war with the flesh will take an entire lifetime, but we know that while we may lose some battles, the Spirit will win the war.  Christ became the captain of our salvation who led us out of the captivity of sin, and He will lead us into eternity with God.  The Spirit that led Christ to the Cross, has also led us there.  That is where we find Christ by faith.  Through the Cross he put to death the deeds of our bodies, and one day soon he will even destroy death itself.  Therefore, let us live in light of the Cross, because we have been delivered by it.  We are no longer under the wrath of God, and nothing can separate us from the love of God; not even our struggles with the flesh (Rom. 8:38-39).

Through radical repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ, we are able to overcome the influence of the sin that remains.  The war is not over, but we don’t have to continue wallowing in our sin.  By the Spirit’s power we can declare war against it.  Rampant sin and resistance to the Holy Spirit indicate that we are of the flesh, but that is no longer who we are!!  But those who walk according to the Spirit, demonstrate that they have the Spirit of Christ living within them since saving grace is always accompanied by sanctifying grace.

So, how does the Spirit mortify our flesh?

By our confession of sin and the cleansing that we receive (1 Jn. 1:8-9).

By forsaking our sin and fixing our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-3).

By remembering our former enslavement and meditating on our freedom in Christ.

Are you confessing your sin to God and to other believers?  Are you humbly asking for forgiveness and cleansing?  Are you feeding the flesh or are you starving it?

Remember what a wretched sinner you were and never forget that you are now sons of God and fellow-heirs with Christ.  The Spirit has won the war, but you must continue wielding the sword.

Conclusion:

Often we feel like the war with sin is like playing a round of the arcade game “Whack-a-mole.”  We strike one head and another pops us; then another, and another.  It seems overwhelming.  But we can rest confidently in the Holy Spirit who is fighting our battles and that through Him we can continue fighting the good fight of faith.  Philippians 1:6 encourages us with these words: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  The Holy Spirit will continue to sanctify us as He implants grace and uproots sin. Therefore, let us put to death the deeds of the body by relying on the power and provision of the Holy Spirit.  We have been called, we have been justified, we are being sanctified, and one day soon we will be glorified (Rom. 8:30).  So, let us take hope in that great promise to us.

Blessings in Christ,

Gabe and Ian

Track list:

1- Jesus, Lover of My Soul
2- Mystery of Mercy
3- Psalm 23
4- Taste and See
5- Do Your Will
6- Justified
7- Psalm 19
8- Gospel Made Mine
9- Lift My Eyes
10- Lullaby for Charis

Further news, including song lyrics, will be posted on Josh’s blog. Also, check out the Facebook group.

Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

The central point of Romans 8:13 is that a war exists between the flesh and the Spirit.  This war manifests itself in death, either ours or that of our sin.  John Owen, who wrote a treatise on this one verse, summarized it in the following way: “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”  The Apostle Paul further describes the nature of this war in Galatians 5:16-17 where he writes, “Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For, the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other…” The battleground for this war is not only around us, but it is within us.  The flesh intends to kill our souls, while the Spirit intends to save us by killing our sin.

Flesh: So, what does Paul mean by the term flesh?  Well, it seems clear in this passage that he is not merely describing the physical body.  For all men live in a physical body and all will die a physical death, because all have chosen to rebel against the holy God who created them.  Sin is rebellion against God, something that all of us are well-acquainted with if we’re honest enough to admit it.  When Paul says, “If you live according to the flesh, you will die,” he seems to be talking about the sin that remains within us, not simply our physical bodies.  Those who live according to the flesh demonstrate that they are not of the Spirit.  While those in Christ have been given a new nature and are no longer slaves to the flesh, they are not without the propensity to sin and wander from the fold.  A believer’s legal standing before God has been reconciled through Christ’s blood, but the inner nature of the believer is being gradually transformed as the Spirit works to conform us to the image of Christ.  They may suffer from the influence of the flesh, but they are no longer ruled by its passions and desires.

I believe that Paul is using the term flesh to describe the dominion, desire, and destruction of sin.  Certainly these three characteristics are not exhaustive descriptions of the flesh, but they will suffice for our current meditation.

I. Dominion:  In the Garden of Eden, God gave mankind dominion over creation (Gen. 1:36-31).  Man and woman were given the charge to cultivate and keep the garden.  But when Adam sinned, he compromised his faithful stewardship of God’s kingdom.  Instead of exerting dominion over creation, he allowed sin to exert dominion over him.  In that moment the captain of creation became the captive of the Enemy.  He gave up his freedom to serve the Creator, and instead was forced to serve the flesh.  And all of creation was subjected to the same frustration.  Sadly, this horrible condition has plagued every fallen human-being ever since the Garden.  Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  That includes us.

Although sin entered the world through Adam, it has taken up residence in our hearts so that it might use us to carry out its destructive demands.  Like an unchecked cancer, it has spread to infect every organ of our bodies, so that we might live according to the desires of the flesh.

II. Desire: Through Adam we were born into sin, and through the evil desires of our flesh we have continued to sin.  Like Cain who murdered his brother, sin has been crouching at our door and it desires to have us.  It is subtle and seductive.  It often disguises itself as a kind friend ready to serve our most pressing need, but the knife is hiding behind its back.  Deceived by its attraction, we drop our defenses and welcome it into our home.  It promises immediate pleasure without any consequences, and its appeal seems impossible to refuse.  Yet, it is a cruel master who makes demands on all who accept its offer.  Imagine that you are thirsty and a close friend of yours offers you a glass to quench your thirst.  Eager to be satisfied you guzzle down every last drop only to find out that your supposed friend just served you a glass of poison.  What satisfied your immediate thirst will eventually begin to kill you.

That’s what sin does to all who drink its poison.  It targets our thirst through idolatry and self-indulgence.  By feeding our desire, it tricks us into thinking that it has our best interest in mind.  And, we think we are in control; yet, all the while we are slaves waiting to be slaughtered.  Sin is devastating, and the more we drink of its poison the more destined for death we become.

III. Destruction: The flesh intends to destroy us.  The primary reason is because we were created in the image of God.  The flesh is hostile to God and hates anything that was made to reflect Him.  Its desire is to distort, then destroy, any evidence of God within us.  What is worse, God violently opposes the flesh along with all who serve it.  For such enemies, He has reserved nothing short of His terrible wrath.  Those who serve the flesh will die physically, spiritually, and eternally.  They will experience the destruction reserved for all who oppose God.

Like fire, the flesh ruins everything it touches.  It starts off with a small desire that grows into sin and when full-grown it brings forth death (James 1:15).  Imagine a foolish man who starts a fire in his own home.  Enjoying its warmth, he gradually adds more fuel to it when he ought to be adding water.  Eventually it will destroy the house and everything in it.  Those who are intoxicated by the warmth of sin will be destroyed by its flames; as they live according to the flesh, so they will die.  They will die physically, spiritually, and eternally.  Therefore, let us be warned that those who live for themselves will be devoted to the destruction that they deserve.  However, those who take refuge in the Cross of Christ will find the mercy and love of God to deliver them from the horrific consequences of their sin.

Our Hope: Praise God, that is what we were…  We were dominated by the flesh, we were suffering under the desires of the flesh, and we were destined to be destroyed by the flesh and with the flesh.  But that is no longer who we are… Those of us who are in Christ have been saved from the power of the flesh.  We have been given new life and the privilege of being transformed into the image of Christ.  In the next post, we will consider the second half of this verse: “but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  We will look at the work of Christ who defeated the power of sin and won the war that we could never win.  Then, we will reflect on how the Spirit wages war against the flesh, and empowers us to enjoy eternal life.

Blessings in Christ,

Gabe and Ian

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’”

Much more information on the New Perspective is available online. While researching this topic over the week I came across two fantastic resources in defense of the Old Perspective. The first is a transcription of a seminar given by Phil Johnson in 2004, and the other is an article from the August 2007 publication of Christianity Today.

Happy reading!