Dr Paul Allen

The secret things belong to the Lord our God... (Deut. 29:29). That refers to what we call the hidden will of God. Now usually when we're speaking of the hidden will of God we have in our mind the decretive will of God. And when people say to me, "What is the will of God for my life?" I say, remember that the Bible uses the word "will of God" in several different ways. The first way in which we talk about the will of God is what we call the decretive will; and the decretive will of God is that will of God by which God sovereignly brings to pass whatsoever He wills. Sometimes it's called the absolute will of God.  Sometimes it's simply called the sovereign will of God. Sometimes it's called in theology the efficacious will of God. But normally, we talk about the decretive will of God. That is, when God decrees sovereignly that something should come to pass, it must needs come to pass. The Bible frequently speaks about the determinate counsel of...

According to Jesus, it is what we do in secret that matters most. Jesus is not suggesting that the outward is unimportant—far from it. "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James  2:14 ). The answer is emphatically  no . Still, it is also possible to have outward works but no inner reality. In this instance, religion is a pretense. Six times in the Sermon on the Mount, alluding to three distinct exercises, Jesus employs the term  secret : Give "in secret…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matt. 6:4). Pray "in secret…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (v. 6). Fast "in secret…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (v. 18). The Sermon on the Mount is addressing the issue of authenticity . Just how genuine is our relationship with the Lord Jesus? It is altogether possible to practice an outward display of piety—to...

Cover via Amazon Osteenification and What it Portends By Hank Hanegraaff Virtually every morning I try to catch up on news and sports while running on my treadmill. Often the running (mostly walking) is accompanied by the vigorous exercise of my remote. Recently, I flipped into an interview involving Singaporean mega-pastor Joseph Prince . The more I tuned in, the faster my heart rate. Disregard for the meaning and context of Scripture was simply breathtaking. It all led up to taking a shower and beginning work on a book now titled The Osteenification of American Christianity . Why Osteenification? Because Joel Osteen is the prime provocateur of a seductive brand of American Christianity that reduces God to a means to our ends. A message that beckons multitudes to the table of the Master, not for the love of the Master but for what is on the table. He is the de facto high priest of a new brand of Christianity perfectly suited for a feel-good generation. And while a host of preten...