Dr Paul Allen

Grace is called undeserved favour. Romans 3:24: “[We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Grace is what inclines God to give gifts that are free and undeserved by sinners. Romans 5:15: “If many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” So, grace is that quality in God that produces free gifts for guilty sinners in salvation. Romans 11:5–6: “At the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.” So, you can’t work to earn grace. It is free and undeserved. Now, that’s what most of us have in our minds when we say God is a God of grace. And that’s true. It’s wonderful. Our eternal lives depend on it. None of us would be saved if grace were not undeserved favour, and were not a quality in the mind of God, in the hea...

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." (John 15:2) John 15:2 sets forth a major emphasis on the relationship of the believer to Christ. Jesus' exhortation throughout this portion of His discourse is that, as Christians, as His disciples, we are to be fruitful. That is, we are to be productive. This theme is declared so often in the pages of the New Testament, you would think it would be almost a cliché among Christians, but that is not the case. I frequently encounter the idea in the Christian world, and particularly in academic circles, that if you are a Christian, you do not really have to do very much. The idea is that since we are justified by grace through faith alone, works are utterly inconsequential, so we can kick back, take our ease in Zion, rest on the grace of God, and be utterly worthless for His kingdom. It seems that our proper emphasis on the monergistic sa...

Definitions are simply descriptions of the way people use words. Words don’t have intrinsic definitions. They are given definitions by the way people use them. When I say I want to define joy for you, I am asking whose joy are we talking about, or what use of the word are we talk-ing about? I mean joy as the apostle Paul uses it in his letters, and particularly in the book of Philippians. I am not just asking about the meaning of joy in general. I am talking about Christian joy, as Paul the apostle describes it. So let me give you my definition, and then take it apart one piece at a time. Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the Word and in the world. A Good Feeling Christian joy is a good feeling. By that, I mean it is not an idea. It is not a conviction. It is not a persuasion, or a decision. It is a feeling. Or — I use the words interchangeably here — an emotion. One of the marks of the differenc...

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ .”- Romans 15:28-29 In Romans 15:25-27 , we learn that Paul saw the collection of monies from Gentile Christians to provide for the Jerusalem church in its material poverty as an act of theological significance demonstrating the unity of the church universal. By giving to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, the Gentiles would be acknowledging their reliance on the Jewish nation for the spiritual blessing of salvation in Christ.  After all, Jesus was Jewish and Jewish Apostles were the first to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. We should not miss, however, that in receiving the ...