Dr Paul Allen

Religious syms (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) This appeal to “tolerance” is the way our secular culture responds to the reality in which we now live. We find ourselves today in a brave new world. If a mosque has not yet opened in your town, it will probably not be much longer before the minaret appears in the skyline. Perhaps your next-door neighbor today is a Christian. Do not be surprised if a practicing Buddhist moves in tomorrow. You might hear a knock at your door from a friendly Mormon missionary as you read this article. The world, with all its vast religious diversity has come to our neighborhoods, opening up all sorts of new economic and social opportunities. Taking advantage of this situation requires us to get along with those holding these vastly different worldviews, and the easiest way to get along with these individuals is to avoid “rocking the boat.” Of course, the only way to avoid rocking the boat is never to tell someone that they might be wrong, especially in thei...

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation . . .” ( Jude 1:3 ) The description of our salvation as “common” does not mean that salvation is “ordinary” or “normal,” but rather that salvation is available to anyone who wants it. The term is translated “unclean” several times in passages that speak of items that are accessible to everyone, rather than specialized foods or ceremonies available to just a few ( Acts 11:8 ; Romans 14:14 ; etc.). Right after Pentecost , the Jerusalem church experienced a quick growth in converts, many of whom were poor and needed practical help. The bond of the new church was so strong that “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common” ( Acts 4:32 ). That is the sense in which Jude speaks of a “common” salvation. The salvation is available to all. “For I am not ashamed of th...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel , I AM hath sent me unto you." ( Exodus 3:14 ) This unique name of God was given to stress the truth that He is timeless. The name "LORD" (Hebrew YHWH = Yahweh, or Jehovah) is essentially the same, conveying the truth that He is the eternal, self-existing One. The Lord Jesus Christ appropriated this divine name to Himself when He told the Jews : "Before Abraham was |i.e., 'was born'|, I am" ( John 8:58 ). Correctly assuming that this statement was nothing less than a direct claim to identity with God, the Jews immediately (but unsuccessfully) attempted to stone Him to death as a blasphemer. As the I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ is, indeed, everything, and He has revealed Himself to us under many beautiful symbols. It is well ...

Beauty in worship (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Does God care about truth? Clearly, the answer is yes, for the words He speaks are truth itself ( John 14:6 ). Is God concerned with goodness? How could he not be, since "no one is good except God alone"? ( Mark 10:18). Does God love beauty ? I suspect that most of us would answer, "yes," but do we really believe it? Do we design worship with beauty in mind? Do we look at writing music, telling stories, and sculpting and painting as callings? How often do we think about promoting beauty in the culture and adorning all that we do with what is beautiful? Such questions are important because it is easy for us to lose sight of the extent to which God prizes beauty. Our Creator made the world with beauty in mind, as we see in the variety of colors, shapes, and other elements in the world around us. The Lord prizes artistic endeavors such as the writing and playing of music, for He worked through David to appoint musi...

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ , that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." ( Philippians 2:16 ) There is such beautiful correlation between the Living Word (Christ) and the written Word (the Bible ) that certain Scriptures could well apply to either one. Such is the case with our text. The Philippians were exhorted to hold forth the Word of life, which presumably could mean either Christ, the Living Word, or else the Scriptures, which speak of eternal life. The same dual meaning can be discerned in such texts as 2 Timothy 4:2 ("Preach the word") and Hebrews 4:12 ("The word of God is quick, and powerful"). In fact, there are many beautiful figures of speech that are applied in the Bible to the ministries of both Christ and the Scriptures in a believer's life. For example, Christ is "the light of the world" ( John 8:12 ), but als...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Most people don’t feel the need to struggle with Descartes over how they can be sure that they exist. And most don’t doubt the existence of the sun. These things are self-authenticating when one sees them. And so is Jesus Christ . He is the supreme I am (John 8:58). He is the “sunrise from on high” (Luke 1:78). He is the most self-authenticating Reality that exists. But he must be seen. And he must be seen with true eyes, for which the eyes in our heads are but copies and shadows. Paul calls them the eyes of the heart in Ephesians 1:18 or the eyes of the mind in 2 Corinthians 4:4. These eyes are designed to see reality, what we call the truth. And they either see truth or, if the god of this world has his way, they instead see a counterfeit posing as the truth: And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep t...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father , but by me." ( John 14:6 ) This is surely one of the best-known, best-loved, most important, clearest, yet most profound verses in the Bible . There is no other way to come to God except through Christ , no other truth than that which is founded and centered on Christ, and no other eternal life except the life of Christ imparted to the believer--through faith in Christ. All who teach otherwise are "thieves and robbers" of the soul, for Jesus said, "I am the door" ( John 10:8-9 ). There is no other door to heaven and no other Shepherd of the sheep. He is the only "light of the world" ( John 8:12 ) to illumine a world otherwise blackened by sin, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts...

English: Damian. "Jesus Christ and St. John the Apostle". A detail of the Last Supper fresco from Ubisi, Georgia (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." ( John 1:3-5 ) The apostle John , designated as "the other disciple, whom Jesus loved" ( John 20:2 ), used the concept of agape love more than any other New Testament writer, even teaching that " God is love" ( 1 John 4:8 ). Likewise, John tells us that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" ( 1 John 1:5 ), and he uses the concept of light (phos) more than any other writer. In just the same way he uses the primary word for life (zoe) more than any other writer and discusses "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which w...

Image via Wikipedia "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." ( Matthew 7:13-14 )   It is sobering to realize that the multitudes who believe that all people are "going to the same place" actually are all going to the same place, for they are all traveling the broad way to destruction. It was God Himself, through Jesus Christ , who said that few (few!) ever find the way to eternal life. That narrow way to life is only through Christ , who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" ( John 14:6 ).   The word for "way" in both Old and New Testaments means a road, or journey. Figuratively, it is often used for a lifestyle. The Bible makes it plain, again and again, that there are two ways and tw...

Image via Wikipedia "And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." ( Mark 14:62 )   After His arrest, "the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none" ( Mark 14:55 ).  Then they got their sought-after witness from Jesus Himself when the high priest asked Him: "Art thou the Christ , the Son of the Blessed?" ( v. 61 ), and it only took two words from Him. "I Am!"   As a matter of fact, this was not the first time He had thus identified Himself as the self-existent, eternal God . On an earlier occasion in Jerusalem, He had told the Pharisees : "I am the light of the world," and then, "I am from above: . . . I am not of this world. . . . If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins" ( John 8:12 ,  23-24 ; the "he" in verse 24 is not in the Greek original).   He made ...