A Biblically-Based Family

Posted on by markwchristy
A good Christian family is one which lines up with biblical principles and one in which each member understands and fulfills his or her God-given role. The family is not an institution designed by man. It was created by God, and man has been given the responsibility of stewardship over it. The basic biblical family unit is comprised of one man, one woman—his spouse—and their offspring or adopted children. The extended family can include relatives by blood or marriage such as grandparents, niece...
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SUMMA ESCHATOLOGICA

Posted on by markwchristy
God reveals Himself, in a general way, to all peoples through His creation.[i] God also reveals Himself in a special way to the patriarchs and the Israelite community in a special way.[ii] Revelation is special when God chooses to initiate a relationship with a person or persons. Before Christ, God chose to reveal Himself through the Mosaic law and the promise made to Adam and Eve. Mosaic law clearly defined the pathway to self-sanctification. Since no man could meet God’s righteous standards, ...
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BONHOEFFER’S THEOLOGY OF THE SUFFERING CHRIST AND HIS CROSS

Posted on by markwchristy
The Jesus who walked this earth was in a very real sense a man. As a man, it would be incorrect to discern Jesus as being divine in some abstract manner.[i] Rather, one must “speak of His weakness, of the cradle, and of the cross.”[ii] The Incarnate Jesus is God in the flesh; therefore, He possessed the glory of God as well as fallen flesh.[iii] This unity between man and God in the person of Christ causes flesh to become a part of the God-head from that point on. But the question arises at the...
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DIETRICH BONHOEFFER’S ESCHATOLOGY OF DEATH

Posted on by markwchristy
God created Adam and Eve and bestowed upon them His own image. God desires humanity to bear His image with gratitude and obedience. Though Adam and Eve fully possessed God’s image, Satan tempted them into believing that they must do something else to be like God. By choosing to disobey God, Adam and Eve chose their own way. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit on the tree of knowledge, they brought death into themselves as God had forewarned them earlier.[i] Instead of enforcing upon man the full...
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The American Approach to Shooting God’s Messenger

Posted on by markwchristy
Speaking to His Jewish audience, Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!” (Luke 13:34 NASB; cf. 1 Thess 2:14-16). Throughout God’s dealings with His people in the Old Testament, they repeatedly chose to attack His messenger and disavow His message. In the time that Jesus walked the earth, King Herod chose ...
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Cessation – 5 Arguments

Posted on by markwchristy
According to Ephesians 2:20, prophecy is connected with the foundation of the church.Gift of apostle is no longer operative.Signs, wonders, and miracles are connected with true apostleship (2 Cor12:12); Sign gifts may not be the property of all believers.Purpose of the Tongues is to attest to new revelation (Heb 2:1-4).Tongues without attendant prophecy is absurd (1 Cor 14:6); and if there is attendant prophecy then sola scriptura is violated.
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Was Jesus Privileged?

Posted on by markwchristy
Quite frequently, I hear discussions in the media about privilege, especially white privilege. Usually this word is invoked to stifle the conversation of the one who is privileged in favor of the one deemed less privileged. As I considered this prevailing phenomenon, I could not help but ask, Is this concept biblical? Should we evaluate members of society based on external characteristics and matters of choice, apportion to each a degree of privilege or lack thereof, confess our inability due t...
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Silenced for My Privilege, Attitude, and Lack of Christian Love…

Posted on by markwchristy
Recently I posted this comment....During the days of Paul, the NT writers spoke in defense of the gospel against such heresies as proclaimed by the Gnostics and the Judaizers. Like them, we need to be acutely aware of any prevailing worldly philosophy that undermines the gospel. Black Lives Matter is little more than a clever attempt to push identity politics, critical race theory, intersectionality, and social justice theory, all of which are rooted in the atheistic philosophy of cultural Marx...
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Jesus response to the oppression of Jews by the Romans

Posted on by markwchristy
Luke 13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But...
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God’s Response to Social Injustice: Biblical Love Defined

Posted on by markwchristy
Many today are claiming Christ and advocating love, especially in these times of social unrest. Both sides of the current debate see injustices that pervade society from their perspectives and desire for a more perfect (comfortable) society. Instead of viewing the world with ourselves as the center, maybe we should revisit Scripture to see how God would respond to the unjust. Let us look at Jonah to see how God chooses to express His love to those who are deemed unjust. "The word of the Lord ca...
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