Valiant for Truth

No sooner after worship on the Lord’s Day do we leave our sanctuaries that we find ourselves rubbing shoulders with unbelievers who may ask us for the reason of the hope that lies within us. Others (sometimes believers) may challenge our basic, orthodox beliefs. Are we as church leaders prepared to offer biblical responses? Are God’s people equipped to give proper answers?

We do not have to read too far into the biblical narrative before we discover something has gone terribly wrong with God’s perfect creation. Sin enters in quickly and its effects are devastating. God pronounces curses for breaking his covenant stipulations: struggles, pain, suffering and ultimately death. Since that time, man has endured great affliction, sometimes unspeakable suffering.

When Jesus was summing up the greatest commandment in the law, part of his answer included “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). But what does it mean to love the Lord God with one’s whole intellect? 

Written correspondence between Christians has played an important role in the past social life of the church. Pastors and theologians have exchanged letters between their colleagues, their friends and the members of their congregations. Some of these letters have been preserved for us and provide interesting and even edifying insights into the Christian life. 

In the last blog entry I said that I would recommend several primary sources for the history of Christian exegesis. The history of biblical exegesis has been as varied as the church’s history has been. So any recommendations I make do not necessarily reflect my own theological views; nor does the following list claim to be comprehensive or a complete representation of the diversity of church’s interpretation of Scripture.