“Imputation” simply means “assignment” or “reckoning.” But when we speak about the imputation of our sin to Jesus on the cross, we’re referring to the act in which God assigned the guilt of sinners to the person of Jesus.
Jesus performed more miracles than any other prophet in Israel’s history. The New Testament mentions at least 35 specific miracles, and the Gospel of John indicates that he performed innumerable miracles beyond these.
When Christians talk about God creating the world, our minds normally go to the person of God the Father. But Scripture teaches that the Son was at the Father’s side during creation, and that the Father created the world by or through him.
When Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized, John objected because Jesus was already righteous. But Jesus responded by saying that it wasn’t enough for him to be personally sinless; he also had to fulfill all the necessary righteous works that had been appointed to him.
Subjectivism has influenced both critical biblical studies and evangelical biblical studies. In general, we can say that subjectivists recognize that human beings and the world, and especially matters of faith, are often too complex to be discerned by scientific rationalism.
Interpreting the Bible is like having a dialog with the most authoritative figure we can imagine, God himself. It’s a dialog because it involves a type of conversational “give and take” between readers and the Scriptures. On the reader’s side of the dialog, we all come to the Bible with many questions, preconceptions, cultural backgrounds, and personal experiences. And each of these things influences what we understand from the Bible. On Scripture’s side of the dialog, God continually speaks to us through his Word, sometimes confirming what we believe, sometimes correcting it.
The Son’s motive for redeeming sinners was complex and can be described in a variety of ways. But one of the most well-known words Scripture uses to describe the Son’s motive in redemption is “love” — love for God, love for creation and love for human beings.
For centuries, objectivism has greatly influenced the interpretation of the Bible. Scholars have believed that they can interpret Scripture impartially, and that they can know its meaning with relative certainty.
The visible church includes everyone who is regularly part of the gathered church, regardless of the condition of their hearts. There are several different ways people can be counted as part of the visible church.
Humanity was so central to God’s kingdom purposes, that our rebellion brought a curse on the entire universe. We’ve constantly rebelled against God’s will, so that his kingdom on earth has failed to display his perfect glory as its benevolent King and Creator.
Like images of false gods and of kings in the ancient Near East, images of the true God are intended to reflect his character wherever they appear. And God’s character is utterly pure, holy and righteous.
Many Christians tend to think of Abraham merely as an example of faith and trust in God. This is an important theme in Abraham’s life, and it is highlighted in several New Testament passages. But we must never overlook the fact that God commanded Abraham to be obedient, to give him his loyal service.
Systematicians have to establish theological facts, and to do this they often use theological propositions.
Paul faced a serious challenge to his longstanding belief when Jesus came but didn't bring creation to its climactic end as Israel had expected. How did Paul come to his understanding of eschatology?
In a world where there were many false prophets, it was very important for Israelites to be able to distinguish true prophets of God from false prophets. For this reason, the Old Testament laid out several qualifications for true prophets of God.
The Apostles’ Creed mentions the divinity of Jesus in these words: “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” Christians have always intended words like “Christ,” “Son of God,” and “Lord” to indicate Jesus’ divinity.
Throughout history, a distinction has consistently been drawn between reliable historians and unreliable historians, between reliable sources and unreliable sources. The question for us is: Did the authors of the four gospels write reliable or unreliable records of Jesus’ life?
In many respects, the greatest strength of a life orientation in theology is that it enables us to fulfill important biblical values.
Christians began to adopt the term “theology” not long after the time of the New Testament, and it’s become a regular term in our Christian vocabulary today. Of course, throughout the millennia, we’ve understood what it means in different ways.
The Bible shows us that to be wise is to ponder what is true and to formulate sets of coherent beliefs out of those rational enquiries. In this video we examine the pros and cons of academics approaches to theology.