Dr Paul Allen

High resolution version, click to view full image. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We have all heard evangelists quote from Revelation : "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20). Usually the evangelist applies this text as an appeal to the unconverted, saying: " Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. If you open the door, then He will come in." In the original saying, however, Jesus directed His remarks to the church. It was not an evangelistic appeal. So what? The point is that seeking is something that unbelievers do not do on their own. The unbeliever will not seek. The unbeliever will not knock. Seeking is the business of believers. Jonathan Edwards said, "The seeking of the Kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life ." Seeking is the result of faith , not the cause of it. When we are converted to Christ , we use l...

Aldrin poses on the Moon, allowing Armstrong to photograph both of them using the visor's reflection. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) On July 20, 1969, moments after the lunar module,  The Eagle , alighted upon the Sea of Tranquility , a solitary Presbyterian church elder celebrated the Lord’s Supper in reverent silence—on the Moon. Commander Buzz Aldrin had stashed a piece of bread, a capsule of wine, and a tiny silver chalice onboard the Columbia, and smuggled it into space with him.  Before his historic walkabout, Aldrin requested a brief radio silence. He described the following moment in the 1970 issue of  Guideposts  magazine: I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements. His actions were at first kept ...

Unregenerate man is consistently described as being in a state of alienation and enmity. This is the condition that makes reconciliation necessary. Reconciliation is necessary only when a state of estrangement exists between two or more parties. Estrangement is the natural fallen state of our relationship to God . Romans 5:10: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."  Ephesians 2:12: "At that time you were without Christ , being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." How are we enemies of God? Jonathan Edwards provides an insightful summary of the problem. He lists several points of tension between God and man: 1. By nature, we have a low esteem of God. We count Him unworthy of our love or fear. 2. We prefer to keep a distance from God. We have no natural ...

Rev. Jonathan Edwards, a leader of the Great Awakening, is still remembered for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Author: Cripplegate Jonathan Edwards ’ famous sermon, “ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God ,” since last Tuesday was the 273rd anniversary of the greatest sermon preached on American soil. The doctrine of hell as the eternal conscious torment of the wicked who die outside of Christ presents many objections and such objections are very common from our increasingly-secular, anti-biblical, and Christianity-intolerant culture. Let's respond to those objections. Two Disclaimers We know there are strenuous objections to this doctrine from the various corners of unbelief—both from those who do and do not claim to be Christians. Though I vigorously believe this to be the biblical teaching, it simply falls outside the scope of this post to make a full defense of the doctrine. Secondly,  the doctrine of eternal consci...

Rev. Jonathan Edwards, a leader of the Great Awakening, is still remembered for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When Jonathan Edwards was turning thirteen and ready to go off to college, his father had a difficult decision to make. Jonathan's father, Timothy Edwards, was an alumnus of Harvard.  But, his alma mater was already showing signs of drifting away from its original commitment to orthodoxy. In those days they called it "latitudinarianism," as in professors were granted "latitude" in their commitment to the Westminster Standards . No, Harvard would not do for young Jonathan. Instead, Timothy chose the up-start college then known simply as the College of Connecticut. It would soon be renamed Yale University .  Yale was born in 1701, two years prior to the birth of Jonathan Edwards. Its original charter declared: WHEREAS several well disposed, and Publick spirited Persons of their sincere...

Rev. Jonathan Edwards, a leader of the Great Awakening, is still remembered for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We get a job so we can buy our kids shoes, so they can go to school, so they can get a job someday, so that they can buy their kids shoes, so that they . . . " In other words, work is meaningless.  In fact, from this perspective life itself becomes rather meaningless—simply an endless cycle. Or we work so that we can support ministries that do the real work—kingdom work. Now, I'm not opposed to giving to ministries. In fact, I think you can make a strong biblical case that we are obligated to do so. But I wonder if this fully captures the meaning of work. So again, why do you work? I find the start of the answer in Psalm 104. Psalm 104 is a reflection on creation and maybe even a further reflection on the flood of Genesis 6–8. We see the psalmist poetically describing not just God 's creation of th...

Unregenerate man is consistently described as being in a state of alienation and enmity . This is the condition that makes reconciliation necessary. Reconciliation is necessary only when a state of estrangement exists between two or more parties. Estrangement is the natural fallen state of our relationship to God. How are we enemies of God? Look at the list of several points of tension between God and man: 1. By nature, we have a low esteem of God. We count Him unworthy of our love or fear. 2. We prefer to keep a distance from God. We have no natural inclination to seek His presence in prayer. 3. Our wills are opposed to the law of God. We are not loyal subjects of His sovereign rule. 4. We are enemies against God in our affections. Our souls have a seed of malice against God. We are quick to blaspheme and to rage against Him. 5. We are enemies in practice. We walk in a way that is contrary to Him. Examine your spiritual condition in light of the five points of tension between God a...

Has the glory of God become a cliché? The vocabulary of glory is on the rise, but certain misunderstandings and imbalances linger. Will "the glory of God" become a cliché, much like "the love of God " to the previous generation, which too often reduced love to sentimentality? It is encouraging to hear much about God's glory as his ultimate end. I rejoice that many are captured by God's glory as the ultimate end, as it is the goal of creation; the exodus; Israel ; Jesus' ministry , life, death, resurrection, and reign; our salvation; the church; the consummation; all of salvation history; and even God himself.  Paul often highlights this cosmic goal: "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" ( Rom. 8:29 ); "all things were created through him and for him" ( Col. 1:16 ; cf.  Rom. 11:33-36 ;  Heb. 2:10 ). While there is a ...

English: Jesus ascending to heaven (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Jonathan Edwards said, "It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven … to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and true happiness?" In his early twenties, Edwards composed a set of life resolutions. One read, "Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can." Unfortunately, many believers find no joy when they think about heaven. A pastor once confessed to me: "Whenever I think about heaven, it makes me depressed. I'd rather just cease to exist when I die." "Why?" I asked. "I can't stand the thought of that endless tedium. To float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp … it's all so terribly boring. Heaven doesn't sound much better than hell." Where did t...