Dr Paul Allen

English: Detail of a sculpture showing Jesus Christ carrying the cross in the grounds of the Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Singapore. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ , by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” ( Galatians 6:14 ) As we ponder the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, a fuller understanding should bring us to an ever-deeper reliance on and identification with Him. To assist us in examining the work of Christ on the cross, let us use the beloved hymn “ The Old Rugged Cross .” Here we will find its words reflecting a deep and abiding love for Christ and His cross. The next four days we will, in turn, study each of its four verses, but today, note its chorus: So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown. Our text reminds us that there is no worth in...

At the first advent of Jesus Christ , the fullness of time had come and God sent forth His Son into this fallen world. As the prophets foretold, He was born of a virgin who was richly blessed of God. He was born under the law of God , not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. As was necessary to redeem those under the Law, He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law and took upon Himself the sins of His people, His sheep for whom He laid down His life. As His people, we confess that Christ shall come again to judge the quick and the dead. We believe He will return to this world not as a babe in a manger but as the King of all the earth, in power and glory to manifest His reign over the new heavens and the new earth . We confess His return because of what He taught us at His first advent and on account of the hope that is within us. For this reason, during the wonderful Advent season that comes each year, we should eagerly await the second advent of Christ as we celebrate the fi...

Paul the Apostle, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th cen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ . . . . For every man shall bear his own burden.” ( Galatians 6:2 , 5)   This is one of the most commonly cited Bible “contradictions.” The apostle Paul commanding us, almost in the same breath, to bear other people’s burdens and yet to bear our own burdens. There is, however, no real contradiction, and both commands are equally valid and important.   The problem is partly one of translation. There are two Greek words used ere,  baros  and  phortion , respectively. The first means “heavy load,” the second, “responsibility.”   When a Christian friend has been stricken with a great burden—whether sickness, financial need, death of a loved one, or even a grievous sin in his life which he has been unable to overcome by his own strength (see verse 1)—he needs desperately the love and support o...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." (John 15:2) John 15:2 sets forth a major emphasis on the relationship of the believer to Christ . Jesus ' exhortation throughout this portion of His discourse is that, as Christians , as His disciples, we are to be fruitful. That is, we are to be productive. This theme is declared so often in the pages of the New Testament , you would think it would be almost a cliché among Christians, but that is not the case. I frequently encounter the idea, if you are a Christian, you do not really have to do very much. The idea is that since we are justified by grace through faith alone, works are utterly inconsequential, so we can kick back, take our ease in Zion , rest on the grace of God , and be utterly worthless for His kingdom. It seems that our proper emphasis on the monergistic savi...

Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “[Love] bears all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). Love confronts sin but protects the sinner. In 1 Corinthians 13:7 Paul mentions four qualities of love that are closely related: bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, and enduring all things. That might sound like love is indiscriminate and accepting of anything that comes along, but “all things” in that verse is qualified by the context. Love rejects jealousy, bragging, arrogance, and so on (vv. 4–6); but it bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things that are within the parameters of God ’s Word. “[Love] bears all things” speaks of love’s willingness to cover sins and protect sinners from further harm. That’s opposite our tabloid-mentality society in which gossip is big business and people seemingly have an insatiable appetite for exposés and “true confessions.” Love seeks to protect, not expose. It confronts and discip...