Dr Paul Allen

Appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene after resurrection, Alexander Ivanov, 1835 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The appearances Christ made after He rose from the dead provide the most convincing proof of the resurrection. Scripture records at least ten distinct appearances of Christ between the resurrection and the ascension: to Mary Magdalene ( John 20:11 –18), to other women who had been at the tomb (Matt. 28:8–10), to two disciples on the road to Emmaus ( Luke 24:13–32), to Peter (Luke 24:34), to ten of the eleven remaining apostles, Thomas being absent (Luke 24:36–43; John 20:19 –25), to all eleven apostles , with Thomas present (John 20:26–31), to seven of the apostles on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1–25), to more than five hundred disciples, probably on a mountain in Galilee (1 Cor. 15:7), to James (1 Cor. 15:7), and to the apostles when He ascended to heaven ( Acts 1:3–11). In addition, the risen Christ later appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascu...

Does prayer make any difference? Absolutely! And prayer makes a difference because the living God , the Holy Spirit , lives inside the one praying. Further, when God’s people get together and pray as a community, amazing things happen! I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of those before-and-after photos advertising the latest weight loss and fitness program. The Bible gives us a pretty neat before-and-after picture of the early church. Before the Holy Spirit empowered the church at Pentecost , the apostles are waiting, hiding, and hoping. And they’re praying. Then Pentecost occurs. The fire falls. The Spirit empowers. And things begin to happen. Thousands are saved and added to the church. Miracles occur. Healing takes place. The impact is so tangible that the church leaders start getting in trouble for bringing attention to the crime of the unfair crucifixion of Jesus. Peter and John heal a crippled man at one of the Temple gates and it lands them in jail where they take a beating and...

Three Marys at the Tomb. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 28:1 says that at the resurrection, Mary Magdalene and another Mary are at the tomb when it begins to dawn. And Mark tells us in chapter 16, that Mary Magdalene, the mother of Jesus, and Salome was there. And John, not to be outdone, says Mary Magdalene was there. He doesn't say only Mary Magdalene was there, but he does say Mary Magdalene was there but doesn't mention anyone else. But then says that when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb it was still dark. Contradictions—age-old, tiresome, weary contradictions. If Mary Magdalene, and another Mary, and Salome were there, Mary Magdalene was there. So what John is saying isn't contradicting anything. If they left their home when it was still dark and arrived at the tomb when the sun was coming up, there's no contradiction here. Or, 2 Samuel 24 says God provoked David to number the people. But Chronicles says Satan did it. Ok, Chronicles was written prob...

In the university town of Oxford, England , stands a monument to Reformation martyrs, who, as the inscription reads: Yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing witness to the sacred truths, which they had affirmed and maintained against the errors of the Church of Rome , and rejoicing that to them it was given not only to believe in Christ , but also to suffer for His sake. Do you see the key verbs here? They  affirmed  and  maintained  true and biblically faithful doctrine. These martyrs were theologians and pastors. They taught and defended the truths of the Word of God. Chief among those truths are the Reformation slogans of  solus Christus  (Christ alone),  sola fide  (faith alone), and  sola gratia  (grace alone). These Reformation truths summarize core doctrines concerning the person and work of Christ. They summarize the gospel. The Reformation martyrs also  rejoiced . They rejoiced that they were counted wor...

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Follow your heart” is a creed embraced by billions of people. It’s a statement of faith in one of the great pop cultural myths of the Western world ; a gospel proclaimed in many of our stories, movies, and songs. Essentially, it’s a belief that your heart is a compass inside of you that will direct you to your own true north if you just have the courage to follow it. It says that your heart is a true guide that will lead you to true happiness if you just have the courage to listen to it. The creed says that you are lost and your heart will save you.  This creed can sound so simple and beautiful and liberating. For lost people it’s a tempting gospel to believe. Is This the Leader You Want to Follow? Until you consider that your heart has sociopathic tendencies. Think about it for a moment. What does your heart tell you? Please don’t answer. Your heart has likely said things today that you would not wi...

Did the early church believe in the deity of Christ ? Ask your average Muslim, Unitarian, Jehovah’s Witness, or just about any non-Christian skeptic who has read (or watched)  The Da Vinci Code ,  and they’ll try to convince you the answer is  no .  From such sources we are told that the deity of Christ was a doctrine invented centuries after Jesus’ death — a result of pagan influences on the church in the fourth century when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion. Emperor Constantine , in particular, is blamed for being the guy who promoted Jesus to the level of deity, a feat of cosmic proportions that he managed to pull off at the Council of Nicaea in 325. As Dan Brown put it (through the lips of one of his literary characters): “Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God ’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea. . . . By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who ...

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass Baptism (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,” said the Messiah when He came into the world (Heb. 10:5–7). The writings of the New Testament, especially the four Gospels, testify that Jesus was faithful to that resolve all His life. We see in Matthew how Jesus executed the offices of prophet, priest, and king. In each case His active obedience finds expression (John 10:18). The King Who Serves the Father The glorious Son of God obeyed the Father in becoming a man (Phil. 2:6–7). Already in Jesus’ childhood, service to His Father took precedence over, and also found expression in, submission to His earthly parents (Luke 2:41–52). At Jesus’ baptism ( Matt. 3:17) the Father acclaims Him both His royal Son (Ps. 2:7) and His loyal Servant (Isa. 42:1). In the face of John’s reluctance to baptize Him (Matt. 3:14), Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus and John will...