January 2015

There is nothing in the Bible which can remotely give the impression that some people are good and some people are bad, and being good is how we get God to accept us. We're all bad. The Bible draws a sweeping and devastating picture of human beings in Adam as corrupt, greedy, foolish, selfish, mean, envious, hateful, sexually perverse, cruel and violent. And even if we do not always exhibit all these characteristics outwardly, the germ of all these acts dwell in each heart. That is why those who declare that certain individuals are 'born this way' and so cannot change only understand half the truth. We were ALL 'born this way' captive to our lusts and corruptions and none of us can do anything pleasing to God to appease His displeasure with us (See Rom 1-3). This is no hyperbole. Our state is so hopeless that we can do nothing, except, by the grace of God, acknowledge that we justly deserve God's wrath save for Jesus Christ alone. Given that we are 'born this way' our only hope is to be born again... and since we cannot give birth to ourselves, this is only something God can do.

But if the Holy Spirit dwells in you, He will cause you to grieve and repent over your sin and conform you your identity in Jesus Christ (1 Cor 11:31-32) ... but, because of the grace you have in Christ, you will not abide in sin nor continue in it. He loves you too much to leave you under the tyranny and bondage of of sin. Abiding in sin and being a regenerate Christian is wholly incompatible. "No one BORN OF GOD makes a practice of sinning, for God’s SEED abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been BORN OF GOD." (1 John 3:9) ..."and his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been BORN OF GOD overcomes the world." (1 John 5:3-4)

In the age to come, in righteousness, Jesus will judge and make war (Rev 19:11). He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty and will strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. (Rev 19:11-16). But thanks be to God, in this age, Jesus grants pardon in advance to all who ally themselves with Him. Because of Christ and His redemptive work, Final Justice is being delayed until the full number of the elect from every nation are gathered in, or else all of us ill-deserving sinners would all be swept up in judgement. Considering the severity of my own sins, I am very, very thankful for that.  Let us take care, then, not to "judge anything before the time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts." 1 Corinthians 4:5, For "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" 1 Cor 4:7

Comment: Your God demands human sacrifice for minor thought crimes? Sounds like a jerk.

Response: Thanks for your comment ... God is infinitely holy and we are not. Just the mere sight of Him would be too much for any person to bear. All sin, therefore, justly deserves death so it is not about being a "jerk" but about pure holy justice. Even we need human justice to live on earth... it would be utter chaos without it... Likewise God's standard is perfect and he will bring about justice for every transgression... None of us will be able to stand before such justice on our own.. But God being a God of love ... in the greatest expression of it, came to earth Himself to be a servant who fully absorbed the penalty of sin on behalf of all those who turn in faith to Him.. Jesus came to offer pardon in advance to all who ally themselves with him...And since he himself bore the penalty it could not be more opposite of being a jerk.

And we should take note that sin cannot be forgiven just by the wave of a hand. Debts against us aren't just forgiven in thin air either. Example ... If a friend came to your house and broken your Ming vase, someone has to pay for the vase. Either he pays for it or you absorb the cost of its loss. Likewise God is morally perfect so justice will be carried out for all transgressions. Someone has to pay for them.. Either you pay for them of Christ pays for you. They do not merely dissipate in the air like steam

by Nate Claiborne

There comes a point when you shift from randomly collecting books that catch your eye to intentionally gathering resources to form a working library. For me, this point came during my last semester of seminary. Partly because I didn’t know where I was moving when I graduated, and partly because I knew that being a teacher would necessitate some kind of decent personal library (key word is “decent” which is different than “exhaustive”), I started getting strategic in what kind of books I sought and bought.

I thought I’d start sharing my strategy as well as give you the rundown on what I’m assembling in my own library. I’m hoping it helps those of you who are in a position to build a modest theological library. But not only that, I hope it helps those of you who probably won’t build a library, but would find knowing what I think is the best go-to resource on a given topic or book of the Bible.

Since there are plenty of resource lists out there, I’m trying to give you more than just a list of books. Part of that means categorizing books based on whether they are more useful for pastoral applications or technical information. In doing that, I’m borrowing to some extent from the categories used on Best Commentaries.

The other part involves tailoring recommendations to different kinds of libraries. Not everyone who is interested in reading theology books is intentionally building a library. However, I imagine theological bibliophiles would like tips on books regardless, and hopefully those of you in this category you can benefit from the posts in this series. Because after all, once you get a certain number of books, you’ve got a library on your hands even if you haven’t been strategic about it (so at least make sure they’re good ones!)