Dr Paul Allen

As I read the scriptures, particularly the New Testament , there is a theme that recurs again and again regarding the Christian ’s willingness to be in submission to various types of authority. Given the rebellious spirit of our age, that frightens me. It’s all too easy for us to get caught up in an attitude that will bring us into open defiance of the authority of God . Let’s turn our attention to 1 Peter 2:11–16: Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of f

How can I know God ’s will? (Rom. 12:2) The best way to know God’s will is to be familiar with the Bible. That is because virtually everything you need to know concerning the will of God is in the Bible. If you get to know God’s Word and understand it clearly, you can know the will of God (Ps. 119:6, 7, 9, 105). Another way you can know the will of God is through prayer, when you commune with God and learn what pleases Him. The Bible says, "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" (Col. 3:15). This means that the peace of God is like a regulator, so that when you violate the will of God, His peace leaves you and you have inner turmoil, immediately discovering you are going against God’s will. Knowing God’s Word and knowing the peace that comes about through a continuous relationship with Him are the best ways of knowing God’s will (John 15:4). It is also true, however, that God will show us His will through a number of other means. He will show us His will through

Tongues spew forth!!  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” ( Proverbs 10:19 ) The book of Proverbs has much wise counsel concerning the use of the tongue . It contains, for example, no less than 27 sober warnings against speaking lies! There are also at least eight condemnations of gossiping. For example: “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter” (11:13). Then there are warnings against using the tongue to criticize, or to slander, or to hurt. A good example is in 12:18: “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health,” and also in 18:8: “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Too much talking is also dangerous, as our text for the day points out, for it often results in sin. In this connection, one of the most picturesque proverbs is the followin

Grace Abounding (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God is already drawing a person to himself long before you came into the picture. (John 6:44.)  There’s a theological term for this; it’s called prevenient grace . It’s the strong pull of amazing grace that God uses to draw people to himself. Most of the time the unsaved person doesn’t even realize it is happening (Rom. 5:8).  God simply invites us to be part of this process of drawing people to Him. We are not responsible for starting it, or bringing it to completion.  All God asks of us is that we let Him work through us. Related articles On Justifying Grace Christians Must Show Our Faith BY Our Works

Image of Stephen Fry (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) STEPHEN FRY AND CANCER Stephen Fry  was  asked  what he would say if he were "confronted by  God ."   Fry replied,  "I'd say, bone cancer in children? What's that about?  How dare you create a world to which there is such misery that is not our fault. It's not right, it's utterly, utterly evil.  Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain. That's what I would say." Interviewer:  "And you think you are going to get into heaven, like that?"  Fry replied:  "I wouldn't want to. I wouldn't want to get in on his terms. They are wrong. Now, if I died and it was Pluto,  Hades , and if it was the 12  Greek gods , then I would have more truck with it, because the Greeks didn't pretend to not be human in their appetites, in their capriciousness, and in their unreasonableness.  They didn't p

“Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” ( Mark 16:14 ) Apparently many people—even Christians—are afflicted with “spiritual cardiosclerosis” (hardening of the heart), for there are some forty references in the Bible to this malady. The first was in reference to Egypt ’s unbelieving Pharaoh . Concerning him, God told Moses : “I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go” ( Exodus 4:21 ). But when the children of Israel did escape Pharaoh’s persecutions, they also contracted this debilitating attitude: “ Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work” ( Psalm 95:8-9 ). Even the very disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were rebuked by Him for their hardness of heart. In spite of the Old Testament prophecies ,

Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) From early in Israel ’s history God was regarded as a father (cf. personal names such as Eliab , Joab “God is [my] father”; Abijah , Abiel “my father is God”). Yahweh was recognized as the father of Israel (e.g., Isa. 63:16 ; Jer. 3:4 ; Mal. 1:6 ), both as suzerain in the covenant relationship (e.g., Deut. 7:14 ) and as creator of the world (e.g., 32:6 ; Mal. 2:10 ). Just as the human father, God possesses ultimate authority ( Mal. 1:6 ; Matt. 7:21–23 ). Similarly, he demonstrates his love and care for his children ( Exod. 4:22–23 ; Deut. 1:31 ; Jer. 31:9 , 20 ; Matt. 6:26–34 ; 18:14 ). The Gospels frequently distinguish between the relationship of God to his son Jesus (“my father”) and to the disciples (“your father”; cf. John 20:17 ). Because of Jesus’ particular natur

Jesus taught in front of thousands of people throughout his lifetime. Wherever he went, huge crowds followed him ( Mark 5:24 , Mark 10:1 , Matthew 4:25 , Matthew 8:1 , Matthew 14:13 ). But not everyone that Jesus taught continued to follow him. Not everyone that followed him became his disciple. And even within his disciples, Jesus had an inner circle—the ones he invested in the most ( Mark 9:2–3 ). In The Master Plan of Evangelism , Robert E. Coleman examines Jesus’ strategy: Jesus was not trying to impress the crowd, but to usher in a kingdom. This meant that he needed people who could lead the multitudes. What good would it have been for his ultimate objective to arouse the masses to follow him if these people had no subsequent supervision or instruction in the Way? It had been demonstrated on numerous occasions that the crowd was an easy prey to false gods when left without proper care. . . .Thus, before the world could ever be permanently helped, people would have to be rais

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” ( Psalm 23:1 ) The 23rd Psalm is perhaps the best-loved chapter in the Bible, with its beautiful picture of Christ as the Shepherd. This chapter finds its New Testament exposition in John 10:1-30, where Christ identifies Himself as “the good shepherd” who “giveth his life for the sheep” ( John 10:11 ). These two chapters ( Psalm 23 ; John 10 ) are probably the two greatest chapters in the Bible on the security of the believer in Christ. This theme seems woven by divine inspiration into the very structure of the passages. For example, there are six verses in the poetic structure of the psalm, each containing a different testimony concerning the providing and protecting Shepherd. In similar fashion, there are six times the word “shepherd” is used in John 10 , each referring again to the work of our Good Shepherd. There are also six references in the other books of the New Testament where Christ is referred to as a shepherd. The intensely p

Isaac Blessing Jacob (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) PROVERBS 11:24–26 “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (v. 25). Divine blessings shape a person’s destiny, which is why Jacob conspired to lay hold of the better blessing from Isaac and why Esau mourned greatly when he did not receive it (Gen. 27:1–45). Yet Scripture also speaks of blessings that human beings may bring to one another, and it promises good things to those who use what they have to bless others, as we see in today’s passage. One commentator has noted that God ’s economy does not always work as we might expect it to operate. To become rich and successful according to the world’s standards, one is generally encouraged to invest every penny in himself. The Bible , on the other hand, tells us the one who “gives freely” actually “grows more blessed” ( Prov. 11:24). Paradoxically, the more a person gives away to needy people and the work of the kingdom, the more bless

The Anointing of Solomon by Cornelis de Vos. According to 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon was anointed by Zadok. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” ( 1 Kings 3:28 ) The “wisdom of God,” as attributed to Solomon , is an awesome concept, because God Himself is omniscient. Apparently Solomon was given a greater share of the divine wisdom than any others of his generation, and probably more than most of any generation. God also gave him “largeness of heart” ( 1 Kings 4:29 ). Not only did he build and effectively rule a great kingdom, but “he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five” ( 1 Kings 4:32 ). Included in these, of course, were three divinely inspired books ( Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , Song of Solomon ), which are now in our Bibles . Furthermore, he was a scientist, for “he spake of trees, . . . of beasts, and

BibleSPaoloFol188vFrontProv (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.” ( Job 5:17 ) One of the fascinating paradoxes of Scripture (and of human life) is the oft-repeated principle that true parental love requires appropriate chastening, and chastening rightly received generates blessing and happiness. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes” ( Proverbs 13:24 ). This is effective child psychology , assuming that the chastening is remedial rather than vindictive and is applied in love rather than anger. But the main teaching of such passages goes beyond parental child-training methods to the grand theme of God’s spiritual training of His children for eternity. This thought is often expressed in the Psalms (94:12, etc.), but it is especially clear in the Proverbs . “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correcti