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The Temptations of Jesus: Worship and Glory

Here we are on the second Sunday of Lent, and this week I am looking at the next temptation Jesus faced in the desert against the devil, the one of worship and glory. Let's take a look at the text: Luke 4:5-8 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the Kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God,    and serve only him.’” (cf. Matthew 4:8-10) Last week we saw how Satan temp...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part Two)

Welcome to Part Two of my study and examination of Conditional Immortality (aka Annihilationism). If you missed part one, you can read that one here. As with part one, this will be a long post as there is still much ground to cover before we can really grasp the bigger picture about what Scripture teaches. So with that said, I’ll pick right up where we left off. In part one, I covered a lot of New Testament texts, a few Old Testament passages, plus a look at what some of the earliest church leaders also wrote on the topic to the early church. In this one, we will be looking at a few more Old Testament examples and how they relate to the imagery used in Revela...

Jesus, Yahweh, And The Power Over The Storm

Critics of Christianity will often make the claim that Jesus never said he was God or divine in the Gospels. The problem comes when they set unrealistic demands and expectations, like wanting a chapter and verse where Jesus says, “I am God, worship me”. But this isn’t how the Bible works and definitely not how Jesus went about his ministry. Throughout the Gospels, there are clear connections that reveal the true nature of Jesus in ways that would have been obvious to the Jewish people and leaders of his day who were very familiar with the Torah and other Scriptures we now call the Old Testament. One of the most striking examples is His demonstration of po...

Lent Day 22: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 11-20

...ering the Kingdom of God with how other nations attain the things they want, Anthony uses the example of the Greeks. They cross seas to gain knowledge, but believers have no need to do that, since Jesus had already said that “the Kingdom of heaven is within you” (Luke 17:21), so we “have no need to depart from home for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven, nor to cross the sea for the sake of virtue”. His encouragement here, I think, is that no matter where we are, and whatever capacity we have (or don’t have), we have no excuse nor reason to not do the work of the Kingdom which Jesus has assigned us all to do in the Great Commission. Reading this now re...

7 things the Lord hates (spoiler: questioning doctrine isn't one of them)

...bsp; The Kingdom of God is counter-culture. That means the ethics and morals often go against what secular culture says and approves of. Just look at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Everything Jesus says to do it practically the opposite of what you'd expect or want to do!   You've got no food – don't worry and trust God. Someone slaps you in the face – offer them another go. Forced to do something for another – carry on beyond expectations. Persecuted and hated by people – go and pray for them instead of retaliating.   And of course, above all, love your neighbour. That sum...

Lent Day 23: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 21-30

...Day Twenty-three: St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 21-30 Who: Bishop of Alexandria; Confessor and Doctor of the Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373 AD. He was the main defender of orthodoxy in the 4th-century battle against the Arianism heresy. Certain writers received the title “Doctor” on account of the great advantage their doctrine had on the whole Church, Athanasius especially for his doctrine on the incarnation. What: The biography of Anthony the Great’s life, which helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe. Why: From the letter’s own prologue: “The life and conversation of our holy Father...