This past Sunday, we learned just how important it is for Christians to win the war that rages on in the mind. It is a war not easily won, but a war that Jesus demands we win if we are to truly make Him the Lord of our lives. To learn how to win this war, listen […]
Hays: Difficulties for contemporary Christian theology
Richard Hays: Difficulties for contemporary Christian theology “Difficulties for contemporary Christian theology arise wherever acute awareness of continuity with Israel’s scripture is lost – whether unwittingly forfeited or deliberately rejected. Many Christian congregations today are in fact naïvely Marcionite in their theology and practice: in their worship services they have no Old Testament reading, or […]
Goodwin: Works of Obedience Are Necessary to Salvation
“Works of new obedience are required as necessary to the possession of salvation [i.e. how we maintain it], but faith is that alone which puts us into a condition of having the title and right to it, by the blood and righteousness of Christ [i.e. how we gain it].” —Thomas Goodwin, The Works of Thomas […]
God’s Entire Counsel – Abraham Kuyper
“God’s entire counsel may be reduced to one thought, that in the end of the ages He may have a Church which shall understand His love and return it.” – Abraham Kuyper
What are the deeds by which we will be judged?
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test! – 2 Corinthians 13:5 What exactly does the Bible mean by “good deeds”? Scripture tells us that everyone, both believers and […]
The Gospel Explained in Eight Truths
The Gospel is the good news of abundant life in Jesus Christ if we submit to Him as Lord before Savior in the relationship of covenant through His Church. 1. All People All people need God the Father’s abundant blessings of forgiveness and righteousness, earthly provision and purpose, eternal salvation and life. (Romans 3:10-12, 23; […]
“In Christ” = In the visible Church
From The Baptized Body by Peter J. Leithart: 1 Corinthians 12:12 is particularly striking the way Paul identifies the Head-and- members body of Christ as “Christ.” “‘Christ” is not just the title of the Anointed Head. The anointing flows like the dew of Hermon down from our priestly Head, down the beard, down to […]
6 MORE Arguments for the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ Examined and Refuted
In the last article on this topic, we dealt with six textual arguments that are meant to be in favor of the doctrine of the imputation of the active obedience of Christ (IAO). The source of these arguments was an article written by Phil Johnson and posted at Pyromaniacs a couple of years ago. Today, […]
6 Arguments for the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ Examined and Refuted
On a couple of occasions, we have stated that the doctrine of the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ (IAO) has no textual support. Obviously, proponents of IAO disagree with that assessment and to be fair, we have spent little or no space on this blog dealing with the textual support that is […]
20 Statements Characteristic of Antinomianism
There is only one heresy, and that is Antinomianism. – Rabbi Duncan The following is taken from the article “Antinomianism” as found in The Encyclopedia of Christianity, edited by Edwin H. Palmer. As a part of the longer article, William Young seeks to provide a definition for antinomianism and then gives twenty ideas which are […]
10 Truths Taught by the Clothing Metaphor in Scripture
A metaphor is used to illustrate unfamiliar ideas through the means of familiar objects and Scripture often uses the common object of clothing as a picture of man’s standing before God. There are scores of instances where Scripture uses the metaphor of clothing in order to picture one’s standing before God. We find instances of […]
The ‘obedience of faith’ according to Paul
The following quotes are from ‘The Obedience of Faith’ A Pauline Phrase in Historical Context by Don Garlington. The work of Garlington and others like him has proven invaluable in determining the structure of the Christian faith and covenant by providing a historically accurate picture of Second Temple Judiasm. This picture shows that Judaism was […]
So, you call yourself a Christian: 10 Legitimate Evidences of True Faith
In our last article here at Sound Church, we highlighted 10 Illegitimate Evidences of True Faith. After focusing on many of the false evidences of the Christian faith, it would hardly be helpful to allow the discussion to end there. So, today, we are listing the characteristics that will be true of your life if […]
The believer and Friday the 13th
All kinds of superstitions surround the calendar event that occurs when the 13th day of a month falls on a Friday. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number “13” and friggatriskaidekaphobia is specifically related to the fear of Friday the 13th. One of the blessings of knowing Christ is in realizing that this day is no […]
The pure grace of the gospel . . .
Richard Lusk writes: The pure grace of the gospel is not threatened by a call to obedience. Indeed, the gospel, properly preached, understood, and embraced, demands and promises obedience, In the Scriptures, heralds of the gospel essentially interchange faith and repentance as appropriate responses to the message (cf. Acts 2:38; 16:34). In other place, Scripture […]
17th Century Antinomian Controversy
One of the major threats faced by the biblical Gospel in our day is that of antinomianism (against law). This is a threat that was foretold by many of the biblical authors, for instance, the Apostle Peter wrote:
Analogy between royalty and justification
We cannot earn or work our way to royalty status.
The importance of good deeds to salvation
Finding the proper perspective and place for good deeds in the Christian life can be a tricky task. The relationship between “good works” and salvation has been debated from the beginning of the Christian faith and this relationship is still controversial. While it is nearly impossible to solve all of the pertinent issues in one […]