Round the Sphere Again

Discussing the terms…

Two from the Don
Have you, like me, wondered what it the difference is, exactly, between  the unintentional and intentional sins in Leviticus? D. A. Carson explains what the distinction might be. In the same post, he also explains why all sin is, at its foundation, idolatry. (For the Love of God)

Several years ago I did a series of posts on the attributes of God. The hardest attribute for me to define was holiness. D. A. Carson describes the word holy like this:

At its core, holy is almost an adjective corresponding to the noun God. God is God; God is holy. He is unique; there is no other. Then, derivatively, that which belongs exclusively to him is designated holy.

Read the whole post. (For the Love of God)

The Work of One
John Hendryx (Reformation Theology) explains the concept of monergism.

On Elders’ Children
Exactly what quality is it that Paul requires of elders’ children in Titus 1:6? Bill Mounce examines the translation issues  at Koinonia.

My Desktop Photo 97

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click on photo for larger view)

Radical Credo for the Christian Worldview

R. C. Sproul on Romans 8:28:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

This verse is, he writes,

…not merely a biblical expression of comfort for those who suffer affliction. Is is far more than that. It is a radical credo for the Christian worldview. It represents the absolute triumph of divine purpose over all alleged acts of chaos. It erases “misfortune” from the vocabulary of the Christian.

God, in his providence, has the power and the will to work all things together for good for his people. This does not mean that everything that happens to us is, in itself, good. Really bad things do happen to us. But thay are only proximately bad; they are never ultimately bad. That is, they are bad only in the short (proximate) term, never in the long term. Because of the triumph of God’s goodness in all things, he is able to bring good for us out of the bad. He turns our tragedies into supreme blessings.

Quoted from the essay Senseless Tragedy? in Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God’s Purpose & Provision in Suffering, edited by Nancy Guthrie.