Dr Paul Allen

Icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Here are a three reasons you should give up Lent for Lent:  History —the idea of giving up something for Lent comes from a few factors—the growth of infant baptism, the increase of Roman Catholic traditions, and silliness of the Catholic approach to meat. Allowing for some oversimplification, for the first few hundred years of church history baptism was generally practiced on what we now call Easter  Sunday . Candidates for baptism would spend a period of preparation where they would fast, not shave, and in some cases not even bathe. While the exact length of this time varied (some say it was a few days, while other sources say 40 days), it would end at baptism, when the believer would be baptized, thus ending his fast. In some churches, the entire congregation would join the fast (but not the no bathing part), as a form of spiritual preparation for baptism  Sunday . With the legaliza...

Thomas Aquinas (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Aquinas ’s  Summa contra gentiles , written to combat Greco- Arabic philosophy , is the greatest apologetic work of the  Middle Ages and so merits our attention. Thomas develops a framework for the relationship of faith and reason that includes the Augustinian signs of credibility. He begins by making a distinction within truths about God.  On the one hand, there are truths that completely surpass the capability of human reason, for example, the  doctrine of the Trinity . On the other hand, many truths lie within the grasp of human reason, such as the existence of God. In the first three volumes of the Summa contra gentiles, Thomas attempts to prove these truths of reason, including the existence and  nature of God , the orders of creation, the nature and end of man, and so forth. But when he comes to the fourth volume, in which he handles subjects like the Trinity, the incarnation, the sacraments, and the last ...

"And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead." ( Acts 10:42) This is the climax of the first Christian sermon to the Gentiles delivered by Peter in the house of the Roman centurion , Cornelius. Peter emphasized the truth that Jesus was not just the promised Messiah of Israel , but that "he is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36), and that it is He alone who will judge the "quick and dead." This striking phrase occurs only three times in the Bible, each time denoting that Christ is Judge of all men. Paul wrote to Timothy as follows: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ , who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word" (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Peter wrote concerning the gross Gentile sins from which his readers had been delivered: "|They| shall give account to him that is ready to judge the qui...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Matthew 7:7-11 "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" ( v. 11 ). Dr. Sinclair Ferguson says, "Knowing God as judge has a sanctifying and restraining effect on our lives" (The Sermon on the Mount, p. 150). In other words, reflecting on God's perfect holiness drives us to recognize our own sin and deal with it before we judge others ( Matt. 7:1-5 ). We begin to see who we are - depraved men and women who cannot merit the Lord's forgiveness. This helps us to be merciful. If our Father in His infinite goodness can pardon us, surely we sinners can forgive others. However, we still often find it hard to show mercy even when we know the Lord's character. We still need wisdom to distinguish between those who will mock the Gospel and those who will not trample upon the good news ( v. 6 ). Moreover,...

Image via Wikipedia Just Do It Just apologize. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t let bitterness take root. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Don’t let pride sever your relationships. If there is anything that will keep you from apologizing, it is pride. Your pride will rebel against humbling yourself before God and before other people. Don’t trust your pride. Just apologize. If you’re anything like me, you won’t ever lack for opportunities to practice apologizing. As times goes on it may not get any easier or any less humbling, but it will become something you do sincerely and out of a desire to please God and to honor people created in his image. Ask for Forgiveness It is easy enough to say, “I’m sorry, ” but far more difficult to ask, “Do you forgive me?” Asking forgiveness allows both you and the offend party to understand that you are not merely seeking to salve your conscience by apologizing, but that you are seeking true reconciliation. Forgiveness is somet...

Image via Wikipedia Let’s start with the history of Lent.  What’s it all about? Lent is one of the oldest observations on the Christian calendar .  It is a preparation for the Easter Season .  Like all Christian holy days and holidays, it has changed over the years, but its purpose has always been the same: self-examination and penitence. demonstrated by self denial, in preparation for Easter .   Early church father Irenaus of Lyons (c.130-c.200) wrote about such a season in the earliest days of the church, but back then it lasted only two or three days, not 40 days. In 325, the council of Nicea discussed a 40 day Lenten season of fasting, but it’s not clear whether its original intent was just for the new Christians (Catechumens) preparing for Baptism , but it soon encompassed the whole church. Self denial…preparation…  Lent also takes us, metaphorically, back to the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert before His own ministry started.  We are re...