Dr Paul Allen

Paul stresses in Galatians that his transforming encounter with the risen Christ was not dependent on any human being but came by direct revelation. In fact, his entire argument for his apostleship in the first two chapters of Galatians hangs on that very fact. Paul’s Unique Conversion Here’s what he says in Galatians 1:11–12: I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. And then, to underline the point of being dependent on no one except the risen Christ, he says in Galatians 1:15–17, When he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. Still, I went away to Arabia and returned again to Damascus. So the poi...

The imperative—“Repent!”—assaults modern sensibilities like nails on a chalkboard. Repentance is often dismissed as the sadistic mantra of self-loathers; or worse, dreaded as a pistol drawn in pulpits to scare sinners into submission. But repentance—the act of turning from sin and toward God—pervades the biblical story as a life preserver for God’s people, not a cruel waterboarding tactic. Strikingly, Jesus’s main message is summarized in the Gospels as: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven, is at hand” (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 5:32). If repentance is so central in Jesus’s teaching, why is it so peripheral (or nonexistent) in ours? Different tribes give different responses. Progressives tend to deny repentance altogether, rejecting it as fundamentalist fodder. I recently met with a local progressive church leader who feels this way, and during our charitable yet lively conversation, she remarked: “I never address sin from the pulpit. I don’t think it’s helpful to tell people how bad ...

Have you ever had a distinct experience of the power and presence of God in your life? Scripture promises that the Holy Spirit has been given to us (Isa. 59:21; Luke 11:13; John 14:16–20), and we experience this promise in many ways. Think of a sermon that moved you to great thankfulness or to tears of conviction. Think of a “chance” encounter or text message when a brother or sister in the Lord shared a verse with you at a very specific time in your life. Think of a time of communion around the Lord’s Table or a time of praise when you’ve felt so loved by Christ and so cared for by His people. Maybe you’ve been praying for an issue to change or a mission to fulfill, and God has answered those prayers, perhaps even against all human expectation. Yes, we are thankful for those and so many other evidences and experiences of our Father’s good grace to His children through Christ’s Spirit. But I want to challenge you to embrace a biblical calling that, if applied, will lead to a great expe...

How did the theological examination of a man in a presbytery (body of regional church elders) in a small town in Scotland in 1717 fuel a deep-seated theological schism among ministers in the Church of Scotland and result in a movement that still has to bear on the church in our day? In short, it was based on the Auchterarder Creed—a statement certain presbyters would ask those coming for ordination to affirm or deny. Though arguably a poorly worded statement, it read as follows: “It is not sound and orthodox to teach that we must forsake sin in order to our coming to Christ.” That particular question inevitably revealed something of what the ministers in the Church of Scotland at that time believed about the place of repentance in the life of one who wished to come to Christ for forgiveness and redemption. The concern of those who affirmed the Auchterarder Creed was that those who rejected it viewed repentance as a legal condition of the covenant of grace. In other words, ...

Most of us know that repentance is an indispensable part of the Christian life and that it goes with saving faith as two sides of the same coin. But I am not so sure how many of us know what repentance should look like in practice.  MORE THAN FEELINGS - A CHANGE OF HEART Some of us may well think of repentance behaviorally and believe that it means only saying that we are sorry or making a change in the way that we are living our lives. Others of us may think of repentance attitudinally, as though it means only being disappointed in ourselves or feeling sorry for what we have done. But, while all of these things may be a part of what it means to repent, none of them captures the essence of what repentance actually is. Genuine repentance is more than a change in behavior or feelings; it is fundamentally a change in heart. We see this, for instance, in Matthew 3:8 , where John the Baptist warns the Pharisees and Sadducees that they need to “bear fruit in keeping with repent...

Repentance—a strong word. Even many Bible-believing pastors hesitate to use the word, thinking it will come across as abrasive and will make people immediately uncomfortable. In a day where people are striving with all energy to gain wide acceptance by the public or avoid condemnation, the word and idea of repentance are far from people’s lips and minds. Recently, someone told me to stop talking about repentance. She told me the thought of repentance gives her spiritual post-traumatic stress disorder. But repentance is essential to Christian life. The gospel begins with a strong message of repentance: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matt. 4:17).” That is why Satan, the enemy of God and all of God’s people, wants you to believe his lie: “Confessing your sin brings shame upon you and you must hide it at all costs.” We’re also reluctant to confess and to repent because we understand that sin is a reproach to us since w...

This article is about two views of punishment in Hell.  ANNIHILATIONISM (CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY) VS UNENDING CONSCIOUS TORMENT IN HELL (TRADITIONALIST DOCTRINE) Pinnock argues his case below:  The principles of justice also pose a serious problem for the traditional doctrine of the nature of hell because it depicts God acting unjustly. Like morality, it raises questions about God’s character and offends our sense of natural justice.  Hell as annihilation, on the other hand, does not.   W hat lifestyle, what set of actions, would deserve the ultimate of penalties—everlasting conscious punishment? It is easy to accept that annihilation might be deserved by those whose lives turned in a definitive No to God, but it is hard to accept hell as everlasting conscious torment with no hope of escape or remittance as a just punishment for anything.  It is too heavy a sentence and cannot be successfully defended as a just action on God’s part. Sending the wic...

“Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation ” (Heb. 6:9). Ever since Judas became a disciple of Christ , the Christian community has always included people who claimed faith without really possessing it . Most, if not all, churches have members who are not saved even though they claim otherwise. This was true even for the original audience of the book of Hebrews . That is why the author continually warns His audience against falling away. He knew that there were some in His congregation who were considering leaving Christ in favor of the older, less complete, covenant. However, to do so would mean that they could not be restored and that they would be judged harshly (Heb. 6:4–8). We have seen that the author of Hebrews did not believe that a true Christian could lose his salvation. He, like the Apostle John , knew that those who left the covenant were never really saved to begin with ( 1 John 2:19). But b...

Magellan Blazer12 GPS Receiver. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Every man feels like he’s a good driver. But there is one maneuver that is challenging to perform, even for the most skilled driver: the U-turn . Most men will avoid this humiliating admission of fallibility at all costs, leading to some lengthy and circuitous routes as we choose providence over cartography to guide us to the elusive destination. The help-meet God gave male drivers is the GPS navigation system . It’s a cool gadget which tricks our egos into believing it’s manly to listen to a British woman tell us when and where we need to turn. Ever been driving and got lost? But I dutifully activated my GPS , just to be safe. The lady’s voice confirmed that I was getting on the correct freeway; then she kept quiet for six hours, lulling me into a false sense of security. Suddenly she piped up that it was time to take the next exit. But what GPS lady did not realize was that by now I was in a part of the city which...

We often take the genuineness of our repentance for granted, as if feeling sorry for our sin is proof enough. But just after Paul preaches repentance, he commands his listeners to “prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20). True repentance has corroborating evidence. Perhaps the best way to learn what genuine repentance looks like is by examining the opposite: a counterfeit. In 2 Kings we find one in King Joram. Joram rules when Samaria , the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel , is besieged by Ben-Haded, king of Syria. The siege places the people of Samaria in desperate circumstances. When a citizen pleads for help from King Joram, he tells her hope does not rest in him: “If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you?” (2 Kgs 6:27). It seems to be the response of someone who depends on Yahweh . But after discovering that some in his kingdom are eating their own children to stay alive, Joram decides Yahweh can’t help him. Rather, he decides Yahweh...

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin . But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” ( 1 John 2:1 ). There is tension in the life of the believer emphasized in 1 John . On the one hand, if we follow the Lord, we will walk in the light (vv. 6–7). Yet we will by no means do this perfectly. We will sin, and we will need the cleansing provided by God through the blood of His Son that is available to us as we confess our sins (vv. 8–10). Christians will not live sinless lives, but they will progress in holiness and be assured of salvation as they are distressed by and repent of their remaining sins. In 1 John 2:1, John refers to this tension again when he tells us his purpose in writing is that we may not sin (2:1a). Though we must be ever aware of our struggle with sin, we must never think that sin is a good thing. God is never pleased when we sin. We cannot let the forgiveness offered through J...