Dr Paul Allen

Is there any essential importance or even spiritual significance of the Lord’s Supper either to a Christian or the church? Is it only a church ritual, or is it really a means of grace? The Lord Jesus Christ gave His church two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism signifies our spiritual union with God through Christ’s death and resurrection so that we might walk in the newness of life.  The Lord’s Supper is the ordinance of communion with God by continuance in the grace that we received from Christ by faith. It is also called Holy Communion or the Eucharist. But a preferable designation is “the Lord’s Supper” since that name separates it from all other meals. It is the supper of Christ with His bride, the church while here on earth. Christ instituted it by giving us its menu—that is, the elements of the bread and the cup, with the former signifying His body and the latter His blood. It is the Lord’s supper because the Lord commanded its observance (Matt. 24:26–29; Mar...

Has the Lord’s Supper become humdrum for you, something you do mindlessly, something you’ve simply done for years? Is it something that you do as you travel down the path of least resistance, something that is routinely passed to you so you figure you might as well? Luke tells us that it is so much more. His account of the Lord’s Supper ( Luke 22:7–30 ) provides us five magnificent reasons why this meal is above all others. 1. It Is Rooted in Redemption Are you in need of forgiveness, of deliverance, of grace? This meal is for you. Its roots extend deep into the history of God’s people and the riches of God’s character. Luke’s account makes clear that Jesus celebrates a Passover meal ( Luke 22:8 , 11 , 13 , 15 ), recalling God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. We’re reminded that God is eager to save his people ( Psalm 86:5 ). And even as Jesus observes the Passover meal, he elevates it, claiming that it’s ultimately about his own imminent death. Jesus himself is the L...

Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt (1659) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One of the most enduring elements of the Bible and the Judaeo-Christian worldview within Western culture is the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Even if one can’t recite them all, most people have seen the fiery finger of God etch the commandments into two stone tablets as Moses—for many of us, Charlton Heston—watches in awe. It seems to go without saying that the list of the Ten Commandments is something that Judaism and Christianity have always agreed upon. Well, that is not exactly true. Historically speaking, Jews and Christians—and even denominations within Christianity—have disagreed on exactly how the Ten Commandments should be listed and expressed. In fact, how to precisely spell out the commandments was an issue of considerable importance during the Protestant Reformation . The difference concerns how many commands are to be found in the first six verses and last two...

Jesus addresses the question of who is and is not genuinely saved in His parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1–9). It is important to note the context of this famous parable. Just before it, someone says to Jesus, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You" (Matt.  12:47 , NASB ). But Jesus answers, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" (v. 48, NASB).  Then, indicating His disciples, He says: "Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother" (vv. 49–50, NASB). Jesus says that His true brother is the one who does the will of the Father, not one who simply makes a decision to follow Him. We should always keep in mind that nobody forced Judas to become a disciple. Judas chose to follow Jesus; he made his own decision to enter the school of Jesus, and he stayed with our Lord during His earthly ministry for three years. Yet we a...

Martin Luther, commemorated on February 18 Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2006), 15. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A single event on a single day changed the world. It was October 31, 1517. Brother Martin, a monk and a scholar, had struggled for years with his church, the church in Rome. He had been greatly disturbed by an unprecedented indulgence sale. The story has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster . Let’s meet the cast. First, there is the young bishop—too young by church laws— Albert of Mainz . Not only was he bishop over two bishoprics, he desired an additional archbishopric over Mainz. This too was against church laws. So Albert appealed to the Pope in Rome, Leo X. From the De Medici family , Leo X greedily allowed his tastes to exceed his financial resources. Enter the artists and sculptors, Raphael and Michelangelo. When Albert of Mainz appealed for a papal dispensation, Leo X was ready to deal. Albert, with the papal blessing, would sell...

Martin Luther, author of the text of Christ lag in Todes Banden, and who, with Johann Walter, also wrote the melody (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Have you ever wondered why people call themselves “Reformed”? The word “reformed” generally means “improved”—as in, desperate parents may send an incorrigible adolescent to a reformatory school to get them back in line; politicians promise economic reforms to undo the damage of their predecessors.  In theological circles, the word is written with a capital, and acts as a self-designation for those who consider themselves to be direct doctrinal descendants of the progenitors of the Reformation, namely Martin Luther , Jean Calvin ,  et al . For example, plain vanilla Baptists get upgraded to “Reformed Baptists” if they embrace not only the tenets of Baptists, but also the doctrines for which the Reformers risked life and limb. Exactly 499 years to the day (October 31, 1517) the Catholic priest, Martin Luther, nailed, to ...

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” ( Psalm 89:15 )   Many have been the Christians who have joined in singing “We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves; Jesus saves!” Not all have known, however, that this beautiful phrase comes from a great psalm extolling God ’s marvelous works of creation and then His promises of redemption.   “The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them” ( Psalm 89:11-12 ). Earlier verses note that “the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD” (v. 5), speaking of the angels, “the sons of the mighty” (v. 6), literally, “the sons of God .” It is exciting to realize that the very first “joyful sound” was heard when God “laid the foundations of the earth.” Then it was that “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” ( Job 38:...

Martin Luther, author of the text of Christ lag in Todes Banden, and who, with Johann Walter, also wrote the melody (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 499 years ago this upcoming  Monday , on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany , kick-starting the Protestant Reformation . Nearly 500 years later, God ’s people reserve this day to celebrate the rescue of His Word from the shackles of Roman Catholic tyranny, corruption, and heresy. The glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the sufficient Scriptures had been recovered, and it’s been doing its saving work ever since. Romans  1:16 –17 stands at the heart of the Reformation, especially because of  how central it was in Luther’s conversion . Luther speaks of how he had  hated  the phrase, “the righteousness of God,” because he understood it to be speaking only of God’s standard of righteousness by which He would judge unrighte...

It’s hard to disconnect our experience of God from our experience of the church — and that’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s why God hates the abuse of power in the church, which says, “God is an abuser” ( Psalm 94:16). That’s why God hates the neglect of the powerless, which says, “God neglects the powerless” ( Isaiah   1:17 ). That’s why God hates the worship of one gift over another, which says, “God plays favorites.” The power that the church has to sear impressions of God onto peoples’ souls is awesome and awful. For those who find their faith mangled in a head-on collision with the church, like a totaled car on the highway, what is the way forward? In between “I guess I’ll just wait things out” and “I’m leaving for good” are five realities that frame our wounds , bring them into a better light, and help us take the next steps. Every Community Wounds Itself It has become increasingly popular to tear the church apart for bearing characteristics that are simply ...