LIVING AN OVERCOMING LIFE requires intentionality and an exercise of faith. It involves following hard after God. Specifically, it features yearning after Him in wonder; choosing a "resurrected" life in Christ. A.W. Tozer warns us that lack of holy desire leads to a stiff and wooden quality in our spirituality. "Complacency is a deadly foe …
First Principles: Part Four
IT WOULD BE WRONG to say one kingdom principle is greater or more important than another, but I will say these first four we've been discussing are critical to beginning and strengthening our new life in Christ. It is important to identify and defeat the hindrances to living a balanced Christian lifestyle. Watchman Nee wrote, …
Paul on Reconciliation
REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHERS think of us, we are forgiven, redeemed, restored, set free from the past. Our lives have been turned around through the grace of God and the power of the cross. Lies, deceit, selfish motivation, manipulation, provocation—all are gone. We were not merely "remodeled" or "refurbished." Rather, the old self has passed …
Apologetics in Post-Christian Culture
APOLOGETICS HAS ITS ORIGIN in Greek rhetorical argument where the proponent presents an ordered defense, including the reasons he or she has for belief in a particular philosophy or religion. There are several ways in which an apologetic can be fashioned. Methods specific to an apologetic for Christianity are Classical, Evidential, Cumulative, and Presuppositional. Each …
“Basic Christianity” by John R.W. Stott
Your call is clear, cold centuries across;You bid me follow you, and take my cross,And daily lose myself, myself deny,And stern against myself shout ‘Crucify’.My stubborn nature rises to rebelAgainst your call. Proud choruses of hellUnite to magnify my restless hateOf servitude, lest I capitulate.The world, to see my cross, would pause and jeer.I have …
Only the Elect: An Exegetical Study
Steven Barto, B.S. Psy., M.A. Theology HOW CAN YOU KNOW if you are one of the "elect?" By simply trusting in Christ alone through faith alone for salvation. Regardless of whether faith leads to election, or election causes us to believe, what is sure is that our belief is evidence of our election. Clearly, the …
Set Your Hearts
Written by Steven Barto, B.S. Psy., M.A. Theology THE SPIRITUAL LIFE IS to be lived no matter the cost, as it is the means through which Christians participate in the Kingdom of God while still in the flesh. Redemption and sanctification rescued us from the bondage of sin and set us apart for divine service. …
What Does Spiritual Progress Look Like?
Written by Steven Barto, B.S.,Psy., M.A. Theology Change Requires Growth For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great …
History of the Christian Church Part One: The Advent of Christ
By Steven Barto, B.S. Psy., M.T.S. Jose Ottega y Gasset once said, “Each generation stands on the shoulders of its predecessors” (1). This applies even to promulgation of church doctrine, establishment of proper church administration, and systematic theological studies. Today's Christian church must rest firmly on the theology of its patristic fathers. From its onset, …
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Let’s Go to Theology Class: Christian Ethics and the “Good Life.”
I am now only 9 credits from completing my M.A. in Theological Studies. I have enjoyed sharing with you what I have learned. I started Christian Ethics last week. The following is from my first discussion assignment. In the first class (Classical Methodologies of Ethics) is about Consequences. Consequences. Every choice we make results in …
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