Dr Paul Allen

Psalm 23  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness  for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  I will fear no evil,  for you are with me;  your rod and your staff,  they comfort me. (Ps. 23:3–4) To be alone— really, truly alone—is one of the greatest hardships a human being can ever bear. A long-running study in loneliness conducted by Harvard University recently concluded that “loneliness kills. It’s as powerful as smoking or alcoholism.” This is why the confession of faith that comes in this middle section of Psalm 23 is so beautiful:    I will fear no evil,  for you are with me. (v. 4)  Linger with me in the riches of the simple fact of the shepherd’s presence. It is an astonishing thing to be walking through a valley of deep darkness and to not fear it for the simple reason that you know you do not walk it alone.  It is at this point, for the very first time ...

What is the unpardonable sin ? (Man. 12:31) The concept of an unpardonable sin has been a source of difficulty for many because it seems to go against the Bible’s teachings about grace. We understand that God’s grace forgives every sin , but our Lord mentioned one sin that cannot be forgiven . The religious leaders had come out to hear Him, but they opposed virtually everything He said. As He was casting out demons, they accused Him of doing this by satanic means ( Matt. 12:24). Those people were so blind spiritually that they were attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan . Furthermore, they were rejecting the Holy Spirit’s work in: their own lives. In essence, the Holy Spirit was saying of Jesus, "This is the Son of God. This is God," and they were saying, "He is not God! He is Satan’s agent." It was then Jesus said, "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven" (Matt. 12:31)...

If I sin, will I lose my salvation ? (Heb. 6:4–6) An act of sin does not cost you your salvation. There are people who teach that if you sin once after you have accepted Jesus, you must be saved again. But this is not what the Bible teaches. Can you conceive of somebody adopting a child and then throwing it out on the street because it falls while learning to walk? When we are saved, we are adopted into the family of God . We must, out of love on one hand and godly fear on the other, seek to live a life that is pleasing to Him. But the idea that one act of sin would cause someone to be thrown out of God’s family is not in the Bible ( I John 1:7, 9). However acts of sin or rebellion will take away the joy of your salvation. When David sinned he had no joy, because he had rebelled against God (Ps. 51:12). He said, "Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 51:11). Even though he had committed adultery and had been responsible for an innocent man’s death, by this clea...

The essential content of Christian preaching, Paul says, is the mystery of the gospel. He writes that the preaching of the Word of God is seen in "the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints" (Col. 1:26). A mystery? All around Asia Minor and the ancient world at this time, there were mystery religions and mystery cults , and there were some who thought, especially from the Roman perspective, that Christianity was just another one of them. After all, it had its mystery. And Paul said, "Guilty as charged." Yet this is not a mystery of esoteric knowledge. This is not a gnosticism of elitist intellectuals. No, this is a mystery that was hidden by God until it could be publicly revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ , in His death, burial, and resurrection. This is a mystery! There is something deeply mysterious about Christian preaching, both in terms of its communication and in terms of its c...

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Photo credit: Lawrence OP ) “ The Comforter , which is the Holy Ghost.” John 14:26 ( KJV ) This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit , in which Jesus cheers us, not by his personal presence, as he shall do by-and-by, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Ghost, who is evermore the Comforter of the church. It is his office to console the hearts of God ’s people. He convinces of sin; he illuminates and instructs; but still the main part of his work lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ’s name and grace. He takes not of his own things, but of the things of Christ. So if we give to the Holy Spi...