Dr Paul Allen

There are a few different ways you might answer that question. Depending on how you look at it, you might say that it’s because you accepted Christ or placed your faith in Him at some point. Or you might say that it’s because your parents nurtured you in the faith, so there’s never been a time that you did not believe in God and trust in Christ as your Savior. If you look at it from God’s perspective, you might say that it’s because He elected you to salvation before the foundation of the world and that you came to faith because of His sovereign work in your life. But what if we ask the question differently: Why are you a Christian and not a Jew? If you are like most Christians, you are a gentile, that is, not of Jewish descent or a convert from Judaism. Under the old covenant, gentiles had to become like Jews by marking themselves off from the surrounding nations—literally, in the case of circumcision, and figuratively, by abstaining from common pagan practices and worshiping the God ...

The first time I went snow skiing was also only the time I had ever seen snow. I was truly excited. The invitation to go was easy to accept and sourcing some equipment proved easy enough. The atmosphere among friends was electric. Even the lessons in the basic technique seemed straightforward enough.  But once I was on the ski lift I realized how deceptively high the looming mountain was and how relentlessly steep the daunting slope appeared. There is no way down except …down. Snow is colder and wetter and harder than I had imagined it being. This fun now seemed dangerous. I was committed, and so I slid off the lift and made an uncontrolled beeline toward a bevvy of girls who had no idea that this clumsy person was wrecking ball was about to ruin their day. The moral of that unfortunate life lesson: you might embrace the image of being a skier, you might look the part—kitted out in all the right gear—you might even master the lingo, but you are not a skier until you actually sk...