Dr Paul Allen

By John Piper We all die. We all believe in the promises of scripture regarding eternal life. But what will it be like? The prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 65:17 something pretty incredible. In the new creation, he says, “the former things” — the experiences of this life, it seems — “shall not be remembered or come into mind.” And that raises questions about eternity. In the new creation, are we mindwiped? Isaiah 65:17— Does this passage effectively say that we will be memory-wiped before we enter the new creation? How does it relate to Revelation 5:12,  which puts Christ’s sacrifice — the past-tense ‘was slain’ memorial of his crucifixion in this world — front and centre for eternity.  Well, here’s the quote. Let’s put Isaiah 65:17 right in front of us so that we can be specific. God is speaking: Behold, I create new heavens  and a new earth,  and the former things shall not be remembered  or come to mind. Does that mean a complete memory wipe — like, I assum...

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...