Dr Paul Allen

(this image file is erroneously named) The Visionary Ezekiel Temple plan drawn by the 19th century French architect and Bible scholar Charles Chipiez. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Leviticus 18:5 is an important verse in the Scriptures, for Paul cites it twice in the midst of two very important arguments regarding justification, namely, in both Galatians 3:12 and Romans 10:5.1 Galatians 3:12 says, “But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ ” And Romans 10:5 says, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.” Both the meaning of the Old Testament verse and its use in Paul has precipitated discussion, and my goal here is to explain briefly the meaning in both the Old Testament and in Paul. In its Old Testament context the verse reads, “You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD” (Lev. 18:5). We...

English: Adam and Eve Are Driven out of Eden (Gen. 3:1-6,13-24) Русский: Изгнание Адама и Евы из Эдема (Быт. 3:1-6,13-24) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The short answer to this question is “yes.” And the way one answers this question is fundamental for one’s soteriology, for it speaks both to the truth of God’s holiness and the nature of Christ’s atonement. The demand for perfect obedience is evident from the earliest pages of the Bible.  Adam and Eve were condemned, cursed, and banished from the garden for one sin ( Genesis 3 ). The Lord did not respond by saying that they would have a right relationship with him if they trusted and obeyed him most of the time after their fall into sin. It is clear that the hope for Adam and Eve and all people is the promise that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Indeed, God’s clothing of Adam and Eve with garments (Gen. 3:21) suggests that their only hope for life in the presence of a holy God is atonemen...

The destruction of Sodom as illustrated by Sebastian Münster (1564) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In regard to Genesis 19 , revisionist interpreters adopt the view that the destruction of Sodom was due to the city’s inhospitality, the violence of the people toward the two visitors sent from God. The cause of destruction was not general wickedness, homosexual rape, or homosexual lust. Homosexual relations became the interpretation as a result of myths popularized in the early Christian church , Boswell claims. Rather, Genesis 19 condemns inhospitality to strangers or general violence or is an allegory “only tangentially related to sexuality.” He argues that his view is that which modern scholarship increasingly favors, mainly as a result of the influence of Bailey’s work. The men of Sodom merely wanted to “know” the strangers received by Lot, to inspect their passports, as it were. The Terms of the Text At issue is the translation of the Hebrew word yādaʿ, commonly meaning “to k...

Christ Pantocrator, mosaic, cupola of choir, Hosios Loukas Monastery, Boeotia, Greece (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Hardship comes to us via every avenue of life, from beginning to end. Affliction is no more avoidable than air. And thankfully, Scripture has much to say about it. But one passage that has often redemptively grabbed me is from Lamentations 3. “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust—there may yet be hope.” (Lam 3:27-29). Now, the degree of hardship faced during the time of this verse exceeds what many of us will face. Even so, the verse illustrates a timeless principle on the topic of affliction: it is  good  for us young men (“young” could refer to under 40ish +/-) to experience a measure of hardship’s yoke. But why? What is it about us young men such that affliction is particularly profitable? For the most part, it’s simply because we are y...