Charles Parham and Agnes Ozman on Speaking in Tongues and Missions
I came across an interesting admission in a footnote in a book about Pentecostalism, missions, and speaking in tongues. The Topeka Outpouring of 1901, a book edited by Larry E. Martin, gives the reader a documentary history of the beginning of the Pentecostal movement. Long story short, in 1900, a man named Charles Parham opened […]
He’s Greater Than We Think (Mark 12:10)
In Mark 12:10 Jesus is talking to the Jewish religious leaders and denounces them with a parable that they know is directed at them. He tells them, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” The reason He does so is because He knows they are going to reject and kill Him. […]
Try Using Questions in Evangelism
I recently read a book called Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did, second edition (Kregel, 2004, 2017). It is by Randy Newman, who for a time was on college campus staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. Newman’s purpose is not to explain what the saving message is. For the most part he […]
Best Friends (Rev 3:4-5)
Have you ever had a best friend? Somebody you spent a great deal of time with, who was like family to you? My guess is that if we have, it was probably when we were young. Especially for men, it is probably a little rare for that to occur. It has only happened to me […]
How Jesus Received Hospitality
What does an authentic Christian spirituality look like? Recently I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the Biblical commands concerning hospitality. To my surprise, I discovered that it is a major Biblical theme and an important part of what it means to follow Christ. We’re called to love our neighbors, and that means showing them […]
“Running in Vain” in Paul’s Epistles
On several occasions Paul used the illustration of running a race in relation to the believer’s judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Bema (1 Cor 9:24-27; 2 Tim 4:6-8). Finishing the race is vitally important (2 Tim 4:7). It is what leads to Christ’s praise and approval at the Bema. On some occasions […]
What Edward Fudge Can’t Believe about The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)
Now that our revised The Grace New Testament Commentary is out, I can go back to finishing up two or three book projects, such as on the “atonement” and “hell.” My book on hell will, so far (I can still be convinced of a different view), defend eternal conscious torment (ECT)—though not the ECT of […]
“Castaway” and “Disqualified” Are Bad Translations (1 Corinthians 9:27)
“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (NKJV) The King James Version translates the end of 1 Cor 9:27 in this way: “lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (emphasis […]
Six Raptures?
Do you believe in the Rapture? I do. But not everyone does. The very idea of the Rapture is regularly denounced as nonsense by non-Dispensational Christian theologians (see here). But is the idea of the rapture Biblical? I was perusing this conservative Mennonite commentary/study guide on Revelation. I haven’t read through it yet, but I […]
Bye Bye Netflix
Since having kids, my wife and I have time to watch maybe one show a night. It often takes two or three nights to finish a movie. But over the last four or five years, finding things to watch has become increasingly difficult. We’ve had to tune out more and more shows because of their […]