Doctrinal Emotive Behavior Therapy in 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5
In an earlier post, I talked about what I call Doctrinal Emotive Behavior Therapy (DEBT). It is similar to Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), but with a Biblical basis. REBT treats patients with emotional disturbances by challenging their irrational beliefs and convincing the patient to adopt more rational beliefs. That should lead to […]
Disobeying God with Good Intentions (Mark 1:40-45)
Leprosy is a terrible disease. There is treatment today, though I don’t know how effective it is. But back in the first century leprosy was a death sentence. Slowly a person would fall apart, losing parts of fingers and toes as the disease spread. Lepers were not allowed to touch others. They were to stand […]
A Free Grace Evening in Arkansas
I recently spent a whirlwind day driving to Siloam Springs, in Northwest Arkansas for our first “Free Grace Evening”—basically, a mini-regional. We do one national conference a year in Dallas and have been doing anywhere between three to four regionals a year, involving multiple speakers (for future events, see here). Organizing a regional takes a […]
The Place of Failure
Over the years I’ve had lots of failures in life. I know we all have. But I’m more acutely aware of my own failures than I am of those of others. Have you ever felt like giving up on your job, your ministry in your church, or on some major responsibility you bear? I have. […]
And the Winner Is… “Surrender Your Life to Jesus”
In American evangelicalism we often hear various phrases when people present the gospel to unbelievers. With a little reflection, what we find is that these phrases are not found in the Bible. We can look at a few as examples. With minor changes, one such phrase is: “Jesus is knocking at the door of your […]
The Second Edition of Our New Testament Commentary Is Available
The first edition of our NT commentary was released in 2010. It was hardback, 2 volumes, and 1334 pages. It took us twenty years to complete it. We received lots of corrections over the years, mainly for typos. Shawn loaded in all the changes last summer and fall. He also completely re-typeset it. Here are […]
Questions about Differences Between KJV and NKJV
Recently I wrote a blog about the claim that the King James Version used today is “inspired, inerrant, and infallible.” I showed that the reasoning behind this claim is flawed. I suggested that the NKJV is based on the same manuscripts and is simply an updating of the English. The NKJV is essentially a translation […]
Paul Zahl on Grace for Couples with Young Children
How do you live the Christian life? Or, to take a specific example, how does a married couple with young children live out grace in their new family? We all know what a dysfunctional family looks like. We’ve either experienced it ourselves or have seen it in others. But for those of us trying to […]
An Act of Courage (Mark 12:28-34)
I have spent almost my whole life around the military. My dad was in the army, and I made a career of the military myself. I have always loved hearing about acts of courage on the battlefield. I have heard many such stories and even have met many of the men who were involved in […]
KJV Is Inspired Says Dr. Shelton Smith in Sword of the Lord
In the Dec 27, 2019, issue of Sword of the Lord, Dr. Shelton Smith says that the King James Version is inspired and inerrant. The title of his article is “Can You Tell Me about the King James Bible?” Under a heading entitled, “Is the King James Bible Inspired, Inerrant, and Infallible?” he answers, “Yes! […]