Dr Paul Allen

Aaron L. Garriott When did you become a Christian?” For years, I dreaded being asked this question. Admitting uncertainty never felt like a satisfactory answer. I thought it necessary yet found it impossible to pinpoint even a small timeframe of my conversion to conform to evangelicalism’s deeply held assumptions about conversion experiences. Generally speaking, there are two categories of conversion experiences recounted today. The first category consists of those who were reared in the Christian religion and confess to believing so early that they cannot remember a time when they were not believers. The second category consists of those who heard the gospel and experienced the effects of regeneration later in life. Though these two categories are the most common, they do not makeup how people experience conversion. Therefore, we must not insist that Christians neatly conform their understanding of conversion into one of these two categories. Rather, we must allow for diversity in how...

Philip Ryken When archaeologists dig through the ruins of antiquity, they have one certain way to identify a place of Christian worship. They look for a cross. When they find it painted on a wall, carved into stone, or even worked into a floor plan, they know they’ve found a church. Since the beginning, Christians have identified themselves with the cross on which Jesus died. And whether it’s carved in wood or etched on our hearts, the cross is the chief symbol and defining reality of the Christian faith. Why is the cross of Christ so essential? There are several reasons. Necessary to Fulfill God’s Plan First, the cross was necessary to fulfill God’s eternal plan. Not long after Jesus returned to heaven, his friend Peter preached to the people of Jerusalem. He said, “This man [Jesus] was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (Acts 2:23, NIV). God knew about the crucifixion of hi...

By Matt Smethurst Let’s face it: the word “gospel” gets thrown around somewhat loosely in Christian conversation today—so much so that its weighty meaning can get lost, or at least muffled. To grasp the good news of the gospel, then, we must first internalize the significance of the word “news.” This is, after all, what separates Christianity from every other religion. Christianity isn’t, fundamentally, good advice. It’s an announcement of good news. You don’t need to go to seminary to grasp the gospel. You don’t need to be in ministry to grasp the gospel. You don’t even need to have been a Christian for five minutes in order to grasp the gospel well enough to convey it to others. All you need to understand is that 2,000 years ago, an invasion took place. Heaven came to earth in the person of Jesus, and he inaugurated a new kingdom. For 33 years, he lived a life of unflinching, perfect faithfulness to God the Father. He lived the life that, try as we might, we cannot live. And because ...

Am I Buried and Raised with Christ? Sometimes we can get all tangled up in our terminology, and so, in answering the question, I’m going to stay very close to the apostle Paul’s terminology. Many ask the question in terms of sin nature. Now that’s not exactly Paul’s language but I think if we stay with Paul’s language, we will answer this question.  Paul teaches that when we become Christians through faith in Christ, we are united to Christ so that his death counts as our death. And that’s true in two senses, not just one. First, it’s true in that the punishment we deserve for our sin was taken by Christ so that his death on the cross was our condemnation and so there’s now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But the other sense in which his death counts as our death is that we really did die with him. In a profound sense, we really did come alive with him in his resurrection. And so the question that we’re asking is, in what sense did we die? What’s dead, and in wha...

When did you become a Christian?”  Generally speaking, there are two categories of conversion experiences recounted today. The first category consists of those who were reared in the Christian religion and confess to having believed so early on that they cannot remember a time when they were not believers.  The second category consists of those who heard the gospel and experienced the effects of regeneration later in life. These two categories—though they are perhaps the most common—do not make up the sum total of the way in which people experience conversion.  Therefore, we must not insist that Christians conform their understanding of conversion neatly into one of these two categories. Rather, we must allow for diversity in the ways that people experience conversion. Let’s consider a conversion that fits neither of the aforementioned categories. Joey was raised by churchgoing parents. Throughout his adolescent and young adult years, he had a number of conversion experie...

There may be no truth in the Bible more deeply loved and greatly cherished than the subject of the new birth .  Here is the grace-centred message of a new beginning for those whose lives have been ruined by sin. Here is the life-changing truth that sinful men can be made new.  When the new birth is caused by God, old things pass away—old practices, old cravings, old habits, old addictions, and old associations. Behold, new things come—new desires, new pursuits, and new passions. An entirely new life begins. Nothing could be more positive than this. It is no wonder that the truth of the new birth is so beloved. Yet despite its great appeal, the new birth may be the most misunderstood doctrine in Scripture. Most people naively imagine that there is something they can do to cause themselves to be born again. They hear a well-meaning person say, “Believe and be born again,” and suppose that they can. So they try to effect their own regeneration. But this they cannot do.  I...

If you are a Christian, how did you become a Christian? id you convert at a Bible study, prayer meeting, youth camp, church service, or evangelistic rally? Did you grow up in a family that introduced you to Jesus at a young age? Were you saved largely by power, meaning that God showed up in a supernatural way in your life to convince you that He is real through a healing, vision, dream, angelic encounter, or word from God?  Were you saved largely by persuasion when perhaps an author, friend, mentor, teacher, or pastor answer your questions and objections about Christ and Christianity until you were mentally convinced about the facts of faith? If you know many Christians, you know that most everyone has a unique story of how they came to Jesus. In fact, one of my favourite aspects of pastoral ministry is hearing the amazing stories of the numerous ways that people have come to trust in Jesus Christ as the way, truth, and life. On the brink of death on the cross in our ...

Have you come to put your full confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you understand that you have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Do you understand that two thousand years ago upon the cross, Jesus Christ was lifted up to die for sinners; that He died in the place of all those who will call upon Him; and that through His death and through the shedding of His blood, He has made the only atonement for our sins by which we may find full and free acceptance with God?  Have you come to repent of your sins—to turn away from a life of independence and autonomy from God? Have you come to confess and acknowledge that you have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Have you come to commit your life and surrender your life to the King of Kings and to the Lord of Lords—this risen Christ? He is the Good Shepherd, and all of His sheep He will safely transport to heaven one day. If you have never believed upon Jesus Christ, if you have never called upon His name, I urge...

Christians struggle with sin because we, in this life, are still sinners. The presence of sin in us will not be eradicated until that glorious day when we see Jesus face to face. What a day that will be! But until then, we fight sin by faith, and we can experience assurance inside the fight. But we also believe there are forms of “willful sin” that evidence a heart that has not been saved. Which leads to today’s question from Josh.  https://hopecollege.com Let's look at the book of Hebrews — specifically Hebrews 10:26–29 . The writer seems to be speaking about the ability to lose salvation by engaging in ‘willful sin,’ as it has been called.  What is the opposite of a ‘willful sin’? Is it an accidental sin? Or something else? Due to the presence of the Holy Spirit ’s conviction, all sin done by the believer is done willfully. Hebrews 10 and Hebrews 6 often give people the impression that a person possesses the fullness of salvation and then loses it. These texts can...

“To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?” ( Luke 7:31). After Jesus ’ speech about John the Baptist , some of the people praised God , but others were angry at Jesus (Luke 7:29–30). This provoked Jesus to condemn the people of that generation. He states that they are like children who refuse to play the game. First, the other children call to them to dance, but they refuse. Then the other children call them to play the mourning game, but still they refuse. Like such contrary children, the Pharisees and other leaders of Jesus’ generation were refusing the kingdom. Jesus draws the analogy to John the Baptist and Himself. “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say ‘He has a demon’ ” (Luke 7:33). John was calling them to play the “mourning game.” John was practicing a form of asceticism, refraining from strong drink and even daily bread. The Pharisees, however, said John had a demon. Then Jesus said, “...

With what, eternity ? Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Why would you want to gamble with something as important as your eternal destiny? It takes only a moment to trust Christ for your salvation. There will be an eternity of pain and regret if you don't. You don't take chances with guns do you? You don't take chances and run red lights do you? Why would you take a chance on something that is far more important than these? Don't take a chance on something eternal. It isn't worth it. Jesus said He was the only way to God . He forgave sins, walked on water, calmed a storm with a command, raised people from the dead, and rose from the dead Himself. No one else in all of history has done that. If He can do all that, don't you think you should listen to Him?

Talking about sexual history with the person you’re dating can go wrong very quickly. It can turn a healthy dating relationship into a game of manipulation and control in a millisecond. When sexual history is revealed, both parties may feel betrayed for different reasons. Every sentence takes on the cadence of a threat — an ultimatum. Every question can land like a left hook. “I thought you loved me.” “It’s dealt with in Christ, so why is this so hard for you?” “What grief or concerns am I allowed to express?” Dealing with sexual history can turn intimacy into a battlefield, and affection into a tangled web of recorded wrongs — of power plays and sharpened blades. I’ve been on both sides of this conversation. I allowed insecurity to take the driving seat. I allowed my ego to become the thing I protected and cherished, rather than the valuable and vulnerable image of God in front of me. Rarely do two Christians have the proper tools to defuse the conversation. Dating is an...