Dr Paul Allen

He hath made Him to be sin for us,…that we might be made the righteousness of God .… 2 CORINTHIANS 5:.21 The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy. The New Testament view is that He bore our sin not by sympathy, but by identification. He was made to be sin. Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the explanation of His death is His obedience to His Father , not His sympathy with us. We are acceptable with God not because we have obeyed, or because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ , and in no other way. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the Fatherhood of God, the loving-kindness of God; the New Testament says He came to bear away the sin of the world ( RV mg). The revelation of His Father is to those to whom He has been introduced as Saviour : Jesus Christ never spoke of Himself to the world as one Who revealed the Father, but as a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9 w

The so-called hard sayings of Jesus entered Christian vernacular in 1983 with the publication of F.F. Bruce ’s book of the same name. But individuals have been grappling with the teachings of Jesus long before the don of twentieth century British evangelical biblical scholarship wrote his now-famous work. After Jesus’ bread of life discourse in John 6 , several professed followers of Christ abandoned His band of disciples because they were offended by what they dubbed His “hard sayings” (vv. 60–65). Not everyone was as put off by the words of Christ. The Apostle Peter responded to the very same “offensive” words with confidence, exclaiming, “You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68). How shall we respond to the hard sayings of Jesus? Even a cursory reading of John  6:22 –71 will reveal a host of interpretative challenges. Jesus’ sermon touches on doctrines as wide-ranging as the Trinity, election and reprobation, the purpose of His mission, the nature of faith, the r

The Bible speaks about the law in many places, but particularly through the Ten Commandments . Children must understand that sin is not just an outward act; its roots run deep into the human heart . Because the Ten Commandments are a summary of the law of God , they can usually be used to illustrate our children’s sin problem. For instance, if I witness my daughter teasing her sister, I can show her how her behavior violates the sixth commandment, “ Thou shalt not kill ” ( Ex. 20:13 ). I can say: “When you tease your sister in a hurtful manner, you are breaking the sixth commandment. And God hates all sin. You think this cruel teasing is funny, but God takes it seriously, as a form of hatred, which is the very root of murder. You are breaking His commandment, and that is what sin is.” We must explain to our children how the Holy Spirit uses the law to drive us to the Lord Jesus Christ . We must teach them that the law is like a mirror the Spirit holds in front of us to show us

John Eliot (1604–1690) was known in his own day as “the apostle to the Indians.” Eliot labored in New England as a minister to the colonial population, but he was simultaneously engaged in equipping Native Christians for evangelistic outreach to other Indians. At age 67, he published a small book, with a long title,  Indian Dialogues, for Their Instruction in that great Service of Christ , in calling home their Country-men to the Knowledge of God , and of Themselves, and of Jesus Christ . The book presents an all-Indian cast on a wilderness stage, with the Native Christian settlement of Natick — the first “praying town” — portrayed as a model community, a hub for sending out evangelistic forays by Native Christians, and a place of pilgrimage for Native enquirers into the Christian life. In this fascinating book, we find many of Eliot’s responses to a diverse set of objections, misunderstandings, and clarifying questions that he and other evangelists encountered from both Na

Have you ever been shocked to life by the words of a friend? Recently, I was working out with a friend when I shared that my prayer life was dry, time alone with God was sparse, and my soul felt withered. After listening kindly to my half-hearted excuses, he paused our workout, turned to me and said, “Bro, I love you, but that’s unacceptable. People look to you. You need to be looking to Christ — it’s not optional.” Unacceptable. After the initial assault on my pride, a wave of gratitude and relief washed over me. Finally, the truth I had been evading — the God I had been evading — caught me. God used a friend’s honesty to awaken me from spiritual slumber. Wounds of a Friend When we think of friends, we often think of the people who we naturally like, who like us, and who like the same things we like. We hope for friends who will encourage us, comfort us, and support us — but what about praying for friends who are willing to wound us? Faithful are  the wounds of a

English: From:The Baptist encyclopaedia : a dictionary ... of the general history of the Baptist denomination in all lands; with numerous biographical sketches of distinguished American and foreign Baptists, and a supplement; Cathcart, William; 1881; Philadelphia : Everts Category:Churches in Southwark (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Calvinists once dominated Baptist church life in America. In a 1793 survey, early Baptist historian John Asplund estimated that there were 1032 Baptist churches in America. Out of those, 956 were Calvinist congregations. These were “Particular Baptists,” for they believed in a definite atonement (or “particular redemption”), that Christ had died to save the elect decisively. “General Baptists,” who believed that Christ had died indefinitely for the sins of anyone who would choose him, accounted for a tiny fraction of the whole. Even some of those, Asplund noted, believed in certain Calvinist tenets such as “perseverance in grace.” How did this prepondera

Lot leaving Sodom, Woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The West has been undergoing as dramatic a shift in its ways of thinking and living as at any point in history. Many describe this turned corner as the rise of postmodernism, which is replacing modernism as the contemporary worldview. That new standards of public morality, ethics, and law have been advanced is not surprising, given the downward spiral of appreciation for any outward role for religion in life. At least from the standpoint of culture and law, our society no longer tolerates public endorsement of Christianity; rather, the only acceptable public positions are distrust of, or outright antagonism toward, religion in general and Christianity in particular. Ethical issues that have become matters of public morality—such as abortion, state lotteries, euthanasia, and homosexuality—have become storm-centers of debate. Until recently, homosexuality referred to disgusting practices that brought

Hegel (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A question we hear often is, “Does it really matter what I believe as long as I believe in something?” Or, “As long as your belief helps you, isn’t that all that matters?”  The idea behind statements such as these is that there is no absolute truth to believe in, and thus the act of believing is all there is. We all believe in something, as Edgar Sheffield Brightman states, “A thinker cannot divest himself of real convictions, and it is futile to pose as having none” (E.S. Brightman in H.N. Wieman, B.E. Meland (eds.), American Philosophies of Religion, New York , Harper & Brothers, 1936).  The idea of finding any truth or meaning to life has escaped modern man. This statement reflects the inability to conceive of something outside of one’s self: “There are no rules by means of which we would discover a purpose or a meaning of the universe” (Hans Reichenbach, The Rise of Scientific Philosophy, p. 301).  Even though we live in a day in which

Icon of Jesus being led to Golgotha, 16th century, Theophanes the Cretan (Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"(Matt. 27:46, KJV ). It is noon, and Jesus has been on the cross for three pain-filled hours. Suddenly, darkness falls on Calvary and "over all the land" (v. 45). By a miraculous act of Almighty God , midday becomes midnight. This supernatural darkness is a symbol of God's judgment on sin. The physical darkness signals a deeper and more fearsome darkness. The great High Priest enters Golgotha 's Holy of Holies without friends or enemies. The Son of God is alone on the cross for three final hours, enduring what defies our imagination. Experiencing the full brunt of His Father's wrath, Jesus cannot stay silent. He cries out: "My God, my God, why hast thou fo

English: A Russian Orthodox priest, parents, godparents and a baptized baby (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) As the pastor I frequently encounter this recurring couplet of questions posed by prospective members: “Since I was baptized as an infant, and then later (in my denomination’s confirmation ceremony) confirmed publically that I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior, why do you believe I should be re-baptized? Is this re-baptism not a renouncing of my previous confirmation ceremony, which to me was a precious and public expression of my personal trust in Jesus?” Here is the essence of a letter I recently wrote to answer the question. Let’s call the inquirer something that rhymes with dunking. Dear Person, Your questions are good and show a commendable desire to reconcile what you have been taught with what you are learning now. Here are four handrails for our thoughts to grip as we wade through the issue. 1. Reasons for infant baptism. Most Christians in our country were baptized as