Posts from May 2017

​If inclusiveness here means welcoming all types of people at church, or recognizing the value of all types of people, then yes. One of the most basic tenets of Christianity is that all people are truly created equal, that every single person, of every stripe, every race, sex, color, social or economic position, is created in the image of God and therefore valuable, and that every single person is responsible to God, born fallen and in bondage to sin, and…

Spiritual maturity is measured by one’s likeness to Christ. Of course, it goes (almost) without saying that no likeness to Christ is possible at all as long as a person has no real faith-based relationship with him. That is, spiritual maturity is not even an issue when one is spiritually dead.​For a Christian, though, likeness to Christ is the goal of our election (Romans 8:29) and the purpose of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Viewed from another…

God, who created all things, who instituted the family, and whose wisdom infinitely exceeds ours, has given us his direction regarding child-rearing, and that includes corporal punishment. Proverbs 13:24; 22:15; 23:14; 29:15, 17; and Hebrews 12:7 all speak of the wisdom of such loving, measured punishment. The bible does not condone abuse, of course, but neither does it agree with those who equate all forms of corporal punishment with abuse. Many today have more and more turned away from God’s…