Bible and Mission

  Romans 1.26-27 makes the point that God gave humans ‘ up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves’ (1.24, ESV) such that they engaged in lesbian and gay acts.   It reads: For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. What has been rather obvious to interpreters of this verse for nineteen centuries has recently been challenged by revisionist interpreters who wish to make a place for homosexuality in the Church.   Don Fortson and I have explored the issue in Scripture and the Church’s history in detail. [1]   We have shown that the right interpretation of Romans, consistent with the rest of Scripture ...

  How do we know what is the better choice between two morally right proposals?   Ethics is not just about what is or is not morally right.   It is also about how to choose between two right actions.   I will here compare Marcus Tullius Cicero’s (106-43 BC)   answer to this question to what Paul says in his letter to the Romans, focussing specifically on one of his points: having the right social instincts about God and fellow humans. In discussing how to choose between two moral actions, Cicero says that we must weigh matters according to four sources ( De Officiis 1.152): prudence social instincts courage temperance Note that these correspond to the four Greek cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance.   Cicero is offering a Roman correction to these by emphasising what is practical.   He defines prudence as ‘practical knowledge of things to be sought for and of things to be avoided’ (1.153).   He corrects the idea ...

  Introduction The evil people do against others is often mentioned in Scripture, yet one particular type of evil seems to sit in the shadows: betrayal.   Betrayal is, however, a theme that emerges in transformative ways with historical significance, coming to a climax in Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.   Old Testament narratives and psalms of betrayal prepare the way for this climactic betrayal of our Saviour.   Moreover, they also minister to us in the very real and painful experiences of betrayal. Betrayal by Persons in Authority Betrayal can be deeply felt when a trusted person or a person in authority, not necessarily a friend or equal, uses his position to bring one harm.  This might be a board member or director of an organisation, or the minister of a church.  By such a person’s action or inaction, someone is betrayed.  A minister simply takes sides instead of investigating some parishioner’s claims against another or passes judgement on someon...

  An essential characteristic of being a church is that it address sin.  Overlarge churches easily lose authority and relational structures that are important for a church to be a church, a community considering itself a 'body' in close fellowship and concerned with health and holiness.  Where a church or a group in a church does address sin or perceived sin, however, it might become structurally impaired and reduced to 'groupthink'.  These matters can be addressed with regard to the process that Jesus lays out in Matthew 18.15-20 to address sin in the church.   The passage in the ESV reads as follows: ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.  16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  17 If the member refus...

  When we speak of Jesus as the ‘Lord’, we do more than honour Him. [1]   To call Jesus ‘Lord’ is also to acknowledge that He exercises divine roles and authority.   One of these is that the Lord is the Creator.   Another is that the Lord is exclusively the Lord Jesus Christ.   Also, the Almighty is the Lord mighty to save us.   We therefore acknowledge that Jesus is God, participating in divine identity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.   I would like to show how the first Christians related certain Old Testament passages to their confession that Jesus is Lord and then show how this interpretation came from Jesus Himself.   In the use of the Old Testament, we can find implications about Jesus’ Lordship that the title alone does not reveal. Think about the full meaning of saying, ‘Jesus is Lord’.   This seems to have been a succinct way confession in the early Church that indicated someone was a Christian.   In 1 Corinthians 12.3, P...