Category: Church & Theology

By micoots

Salvation by “Faith” Alone or “Allegiance” Alone?

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If you spend any time talking to me about the Trinity, you’ll know that I’m quick to recommend Matthew Bates’s book, The Birth of the Trinity. This book received wide acclaim from various tribes, and it’s on many people’s lists of go-to works on the Trinity and the early church. His new book, however, is getting a little more heat. I was provided a review copy of the book, and it’s certainly worth dealing with—whether one ends up agreeing with Bates’s proposal or not.
In S..

By micoots

Theology, Church History, and Guarding the Good Deposit

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Photo courtesy: Neuestock
When I began working with the Christian Standard Bible, my first priority was to dig into the history of the translation. I wanted to know who was involved, how it was developed, how it was marketed over the years, and how many Bibles were out in the wild. In order to understand fully the good and the bad about the project ahead of me, I had to take a thorough inventory of where it came from. I could’ve done my job without this investigation—but n..

By micoots

When the Book of Revelation Takes a Swing at a Roman Emperor

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Photo courtesy: Craig Koester via the Classical Numismatic Group.
While compiling notes for my dissertation and forthcoming book on the Book of Revelation, I came across this note on Revelation 1:16 in Craig Koester’s Revelation commentary:
The section climaxes by noting that [Jesus] holds seven stars in his right hand (Rev 1:16). This cosmic imagery conveys sovereignty. An analogy appears on a coin from Domitian’s reign that depicts the emperor’s deceased son as young Jup..

By micoots

Did Jesus Call a Woman a Dog?

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On the Season 2 premiere of Word Matters, Trevin Wax and I discuss a question raised in Matthew 15, “Did Jesus call a woman a dog?” Here’s the context:
21 When Jesus left there, he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.” 23 Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away b..

By micoots

How Often Should We Take the Lord’s Supper?

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As a Baptist, I’m often frustrated or confused by how my fellow denominational brothers handle the Lord’s Supper. At churches I’ve attended in the past, we’ve participated in the Supper every week in some places, ted quarterly at others. There is one instance in which I can’t remember eating a single little wafer in my entire time at the church.
But how often should we take the Supper? While I know that the Bible doesn’t give a mandate for how often churches should remembe..

By micoots

Why the 5 Solas Still Matter Today

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The young, newly ordained Catholic priest stood in front of the church, ready to officiate his first mass. These priests were expected to have clean hearts before officiating—no sin unconfessed. No heart of stone unturned.
But as Martin Luther began to recite the introductory portion of the mass, with the bread and wine on the altar in front of him, he almost passed out. “I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken. … Who am I, that I should lift up mine eyes or raise my h..

By micoots

How Does the Holy Spirit Unite Us to Christ?

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In describing the Persons of the Trinity, the argument is often dichotomized into two parts:
(1) Who the Person is (all three are God, but no Person is the other Person);
(2) What the Person does (the Father sends the Son; the Son secures salvation; the Holy Spirit seals salvation; etc.)
While this dichotomy is actually helpful in laying a foundation, it doesn’t always do justice to the intricate ways in which the Persons work together in the economy of salvation. In The W..

By micoots

How Leaders Build Strategic Teams: Spiritual Leadership Podcast

A dream without a plan is a wish. So a spiritual, team-building leader doesn’t just assemble a team of dreamers, but a team of doers.

In this Spiritual Leadership Podcast episode, we discuss what areas a pastor needs to develop strategy for his team, as well as how he can assemble a team of leaders committed to a process of growth.

(If you cannot view this video in your email or RSS reader, click here.)

At the beginning of this episode, I also answer a few questions that have been submitted f..

By micoots

10 Characteristics of a Healthy Church (part 2)

In part 1 of this post, we looked at five characteristics of a healthy church:

A Biblical Purpose
A Spiritual Passion
An Uncompromised Position
An Endowment of Power
A Growing Leadership
In part 2, we’ll look at five final characteristics:

6. A Transparent Policy
There’s a lot of talk in our day about transparency. Some of it is just talk in which people try to create an illusion of transparency where there is none. But biblical Christianity is transparent and free of guile.

Think of it: man..

By micoots

Thank You, President Trump

President Trump has certainly been a controversial figure on our political landscape throughout this past election season. Today, however, I am thankful for one of the first executive orders he signed—an order to reinstate a ban on federal funds to foreign abortions.

Often called the “Mexico City Policy” (because of the location where it was announced), President Reagan was the first to set this policy. In short, it bans federal funding to international organizations that perform or recommend a..