Many people (subconsciously) consider perfection to be the opposite of hypocrisy. In other words, if you are imperfect, you are a hypocrite. For example, someone once told me that she felt guilty about going to church on Sunday because she had been partying Saturday night and didn’t want to feel like a hypocrite. Others would … Continue reading
Category Archives: Christian Living
The Meaning of “God’s Temple” in 1 Cor 3:16-17
This passage has been used in various ways to promote things like good health and sexual purity, and to teach against things like suicide and smoking. It says: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s … Continue reading
Legalism: The Word Nobody Likes
No one wants to be called “legalistic.” It’s probably worse than being called an idiot or even an expletive. So what is it? There are various definitions, but I see two aspects of it. One is relative to justification; the other, sanctification. This first aspect of legalism, related to justification, is the belief that salvation is earned by … Continue reading
Underground at my Undergrad (Part 2): Some Important Clarifications
After publishing my previous post, I had some insightful discussions, including one with a good friend of mine who is particularly keen on the issues I addressed. These discussions resulted in my desire to clarify some statements I made and terms I used, which may not have accurately conveyed what I had originally intended. I … Continue reading
Underground at my Undergrad (Part 1): The LGBTQ club at Biola and a Word on Approaches
Last week, a bunch of flyers were seen on campus at my alma mater, Biola University, advertising an underground LGBTQ group (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer; for those unaware), whose purpose is to “share our life struggles, as well as our love and support for one another” (see the full self-description here). For those of you who don’t … Continue reading
Bible Reading Plans: Fruitful or Failure?
I recently finished reading through the entire Gospels for the third time since November-ish (among other parts of the Bible; Proverbs a number of times, Psalms through once, through the Pentateuch a second time, etc.), and it has a lot to do with a Bible-reading plan I’ve been on since then. I use Grant Horner’s … Continue reading
Calling: Mandate or Mystique?
It seems to me that it’s been commonplace for Christians to speak of calling as some type of divine revelation in which God appears in a vision and tells someone to pursue a particular profession, in most cases as a pastor or missionary, saying “God has called me to be a missionary to Morocco” or “God has … Continue reading
