Dr Paul Allen

Why This Issue Matters I’m a pastor. My concern is with the church—what she believes, what she celebrates, and what she proclaims. Achieving some legal and political end is not my primary calling and yet, I’m concerned that many younger Christians—ironically, often those most attuned to societal transformation and social justice—do not see the connection between a traditional view of marriage and human flourishing.  Many Christians are keen to resurrect the old pro-choice mantra touted by some Catholic politicians: personally opposed, but publicly none of my business. I want Christians to see why this issue matters and why—when same-sex marriage became the law of the land—the integrity of the family was weakened and the freedom of the church was threatened. I know this is an increasingly unpopular line of reasoning, even for those who are inclined to accept the Bible’s teaching about marriage. Perhaps you believe that homosexual behaviour is biblically unacceptable.  And yet, ...

Few people understand the extent of sin and the doctrine of total depravity. Paul summarizes our sinful condition by combining several Old Testament texts: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:10–18) This is what it looks like to be “dead” in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). All sin is rooted in failing to glorify God as “the true God and our God” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 47). It is bad to be sinners before a holy God, but it is even worse to be unaware of who we are and why we need Christ to save us. However, the Bible not only tea...

According to the Scripture, the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3–4).  The heart of the gospel is Jesus Christ Himself—the person and work of Christ, the sin-bearing work of Christ, as well as the perfection of His life that is imputed to those who believe. Out of the Reformation came the great 'solas' and the three in the middle, 'sola fide', 'sola gratia', and 'solus Christus' are the heart of the gospel. In other words, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That is the synopsis, in its most succinct form, of what the gospel is. The word gospel, 'euangelion', means “good news,” which presupposes that there is also bad news. There is no good news unless you first know the bad news. The book of Romans begins with bad news (Rom. 1:18). The gospel does include a message about sin, which is any want of conformity to the law of God. Sin is a tran...