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Theology

Then Nathan Went To His House

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In 2 Samuel 12:15, we find the phrase “Then Nathan went to his house.” It appears to be an inconsequential detail of a greater narrative. Yet every Word of God’s revelation is profitable, and we should meditate upon why God chooses to include certain details in His Word. What strikes me most about this verse […]

Sermon Excerpt: An Evangelical Atheist?

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Here is a quick sermon excerpt from our series in Ephesians. This comes from Ephesians 2:12 as we discussed what the Ephesians were like before their conversion. They were “without God.” Sadly, many who claim to be Christians live the same way. Consider the following: An Evangelical Atheist acknowledges God. Acknowledges the gospel. Acknowledges his […]

The Son of David

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There he was, the son of David — suspended between heaven and earth. Silver had been offered for the taking of his life. His followers were now scattered. Though they had thought he would lead them to an earthly victory as true King, their hopes were now dashed as he was surrounded by wicked soldiers […]

Jesus and John Wayne (book review)

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Kristin Kobes Du Mez (pronounced “doo may”) is a professor of history and gender studies at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, she lays out a seventy-five-year history of evangelical culture with an aim towards explaining the cultural rise of Donald […]

Why Heaven Now is Incomplete

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First, I’ll admit that I’m a bit hesitant about the word “incomplete.” I don’t mean to imply heaven is an existence of suffering. It’s not. The souls of believers have no more sin or sorrow or pain or suffering. And I want us to also remember the beautiful words of Psalm 16:11 — “You make […]

9 Common Emotional/Situational Pornography Triggers (repost)

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Of all my years counseling Christians and non about the dangers of pornography, there are 9 common emotional and situational patterns that trigger porn use. Some of these are simply symptoms of a deeper problem, meanwhile others only serve to justify a depraved craving. I don’t want to harshly judge those who have fought tooth […]

Christ is King

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What does it mean that Christ is King? We explored this recently as a church as we walked through Ephesians 1:21. So in today’s post, I want us to explore the meaning of Christ’s kingship by considering four attributes of His kingdom based on Ephesians 1:21. It is Unparalleled Verse 21 in the ESV begins […]

Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham (book review)

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Author’s note (02 August 2021): I have become aware of Joel McDurmon’s credible accusations of misquotation and plagiarism in Fault Lines. My own independent investigation into the misquotation issue confirms Baucham’s misquotation of CRT scholar Richard Delgado on page xvi. I furthermore find — in agreement with McDurmon — that this was not merely a matter […]

You Will Be Like ‘Gods’?: Genesis 3:5 and Mormonism (re-post)

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The following post originally appeared on Things Above Us in October 2019. A good friend in the ministry recently raised a question she was asked by someone else concerning Genesis 3:5 in the context of a conversation with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and it’s a very good one. In this […]

Rightly Understanding John 3:16 — Applications

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In a previous post, I wrote a little on understanding John 3:16. In today’s post, I’d like to walk through a few applications of understanding this verse rightly. There are negative applications for both the non-Calvinist and the Hyper-Calvinist. There are also positive applications for those who desire to be consistently Calvinistic, or biblical. First, […]

“Antiracism” Deserves a Capital Letter: A Preview of Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines

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Note: The full review is now published. Recently on Twitter, a Ph.D. student at a Southern Baptist seminary threw shade at Voddie Baucham’s upcoming book Fault Lines for many flaws such as “commitment to innuendo,” riling up a “populist mob,” and lacking integrity. He went so far as to criticize Baucham and his publisher for […]

2 Peter 1 in the Legacy Standard Bible

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With the full text of the LSB New Testament now available, we have an opportunity for the first time to look through how the translation handles one of the catholic (general) epistles. I’ve sought to explain every change in 2 Peter 1 in this post. LSB NASB 1995 head Growth in Christian Virtue Precious and […]

5 Reasons Baptist Churches Should Associate

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I may write a follow-up post on the nature of associations, but in today’s post, I just want to lay out 5 reasons that churches ought to cooperate. Dr. Gregg Allison says this: [C]hurches are to establish and promote strong associations with other churches for the sake of mutual accountability, sharing of resources, cooperative high-impact […]

Extrabiblical Revelation: Being Chained to the Ocean Floor (repost)

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Here’s a repost from August of 2018, back in the infancy of Things Above Us, that we think might encourage you today. Here in the DFW area, much has been made lately concerning Matt Chandler of The Village Church having encouraged his congregation(s) to seek extrabiblical revelation in the form of visual images. I thought […]

Someone Turned Out the Light: Guest Post from Pastor Paul Vawter

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I’ve gotten to know Pastor Paul Vawter on Twitter. He is a good brother, though we disagree on hermeneutical methodology. I subscribe to the Redemptive Historical approaching and he the Grammatical Historical Hermeneutic. Though I disagree with what he has written, I wanted to give him a platform for publishing his rebuttal to my recent […]