Identification with Christ is the center of our Christian belief. “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col 2:9-10). Through His suffering and atonement, we are given access to God the Father by grace through faith. […]
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Author: Rick Shrader
The Primacy of the Local Church in this ...
We premillennialists understand the two comings of Jesus Christ. The first, as the suffering Lamb of God, has already taken place, and the second, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is yet to take place. There have always been those who claim that Jesus Christ has returned in some other way, or that […]
Why I Have Not Seen the Movie, The Passi...
We all must pause to express our conscience on controversial matters sooner or later even though we would rather talk only of “the common faith” and leave the “contending” to the expert apologists. C.S. Lewis said, “The greatest cause of verbicide is the fact that most people are obviously far more anxious to express their […]
The Tyranny of the Tolerant
It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. Never have Americans been as comfortable in their homes and as afraid in the world. Never have Americans enjoyed freedom of thought and expression and been so corrupt in the imaginations of their hearts. And never have Americans been so tolerant of moral […]
Religious Postmodern Talking Points
In the last few years we have been inundated with information from within political circles that has been crafted by certain individuals but is intended to be heard by the general public. Sometimes this is a “trial balloon” of information, floated in public conversation to evaluate its effect. Often it is a specific piece of […]
Who Hath Despised the Day of Small Thing...
I have been defending the small church. I have not said that a church must be small to be spiritual or that largeness is an evil in itself. But I have said that the small church is the normal church; the one seen most often in the New Testament and throughout church history. I have […]
Who Hath Despised the Day of Small Thing...
When Zechariah was asked that question by the interpreting angel in the fourth chapter of his prophecy (Zech 4:10), the present temple project looked dreadfully small compared to the glory of the former temple. But the prophet as well as the people who worked on the walls were reminded that God’s work is Not by […]
The Historical Supremacy of Christianity
Christianity claims to be both exclusive and inclusive. It is exclusive in that it claims to be the only way to God, and it is inclusive in that it claims it is the only way to God for every individual in the world. Diogenes Allen wrote, “We cannot relinquish the claim that Christ is the […]
A Minister’s Evaluation
With a little time to reflect on my pastoral ministry of eighteen years, I find myself doing constant self-evaluation. I think I am pretty hard on myself, though I cannot accept the common evaluations of many pundits. Theirs seems to be a typical crying of “so many are struggling emotionally in the ministry. . . […]
When Disciples Are Above Their Master
“Paul’s word about being all things to all men and our Lord’s eating with publicans and sinners have been worked overtime to justify unwise sociability.”1 How true! Anyone who is concerned at all about worldliness in the church has had to listen to the proposition that Jesus was accepted and loved by sinners and they […]