Our Strong Right Arm

“Have you ever noticed how naturally we take pride in our own achievement and rejoice in what our own strong right arm has been able to perform?

In matters religious, just as in all others, the tendency is for us to put the emphasis on what we ourselves do. …”

– Leon Morris, from the vaults of The Australian Church Record, October 27, 1955.

Humanity’s value and dignity

“Have you ever thought about one of the underlying assumptions behind almost every Hollywood thriller?

It is the value of human life.

Basically, because we value human life, the hero will bend over backwards to ensure that the nerve gas isn’t released into the city’s gas supply or stop the nuclear warhead from being detonated.

These movies would be pretty short if the hero simply did a cost-benefit analysis and concluded that it would be simply too expensive to save the city. No, the underlying assumption is that human life is precious. …”

— Moore College’s Dr Peter Orr reminds us why human life is valuable, when so many around us think otherwise. At SydneyAnglicans.net.

The Purpose of Humanity

“When we know our purpose it has far reaching implications for all that we do and give ourselves to.

Purpose doesn’t determine what I can or can’t do, but it will tell me what I ought to be doing. For instance, a scalpel can have very great or terrible uses depending on whether it is acting in line with its purpose. Similarly, an athlete can forgo all kinds of luxuries, not because they are ‘wrong’ but because they do not fit with their purpose.

So then when it comes to the actions and plans of humanity, discerning the ‘purpose statement’ is of infinite importance. …”

– Sam Manchester, Head of Communications at St Helen’s Bishopsgate, addresses a question few people ask, and to which fewer heed God’s answer. At The Australian Church Record.

What is at the centre of God’s mission for the church?


The latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate –

“What activities distract us from the central priority for which God sent His Son into the world? Denesh Divyanathan talks to Sam Manchester about these issues in this month’s Preaching Matters.”

– Most encouraging and timely.

Gems from Leon Morris

The Australian Church Record team have been digging into their archives to republish classic articles by Leon Morris.

Here are excerpts from some of the recent posts –

Three in One – And One in Three.

“Some people seem to think that the doctrine of the Trinity is the result of a concerted effort by the theologians to make it difficult for ordinary men to understand the nature of God. So far from this being the case history shows that theologians tried every alternative they could, and the Trinity is simply man’s effort to say what he can about the deity in the light of Scripture and the history of Christian thought.

Moreover, it is a doctrine of practical importance for every-day living, and ought not to be relegated to the position of a piece of unimportant theological lumber, as so many Christians do. …”

God and “The Wrath”.

“C.H. Dodd prefers the translation ‘the Wrath of God’ to Moffatt’s ‘God’s anger’ in Rom. 1:18, ‘because such an archaic phrase suits a thoroughly archaic idea,’ while Nicolas Berdyaev writes ‘Anger in every shape and form is foreign to God.’ And again, Sydney Cave speaks of law and Wrath as ‘almost personified powers, which, owing to God their origin, act on in partial independence of God, and are hostile to men as He is not.’

In such words many modern writers give expression to their conviction that God cannot be thought of as exercising wrath towards men, so that where the Scripture speaks of “the wrath of God’ it must either be explained away or abandoned. …”

Unless you see Signs & Wonders.

“Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe,” said Jesus to a well-educated man of the first century, but in modern times the situation seems to have reversed. Whereas in earlier days the miracle authenticated Christianity, to men of our day they often present a stumbling-block, so that they find it difficult to accept a Christianity which speaks of the miraculous. …

‘O Come, Let Us Worship’.

“O come, let us worship,” sang the Psalmist, and it seems certain that he found a more ready response among his fellows than his modern counterpart would among the men of this generation were he to sing a similar song. Whereas in earlier days it was usually accepted without question that man must worship, to-day this is often doubted even among men who have some idea of the existence of God. …

John Chapman Preaching Conference, September 23

The next John Chapman Preaching Conference is coming up at Moore College on Saturday 23rd September.

Dr Bryan Chapell is considering the topic Application in Expository Preaching.

Details from the College.

God and ‘The Wrath’

“C.H. Dodd prefers the translation ‘the Wrath of God’ to Moffatt’s ‘God’s anger’ in Rom. 1:18, ‘because such an archaic phrase suits a thoroughly archaic idea,’ while Nicolas Berdyaev writes ‘Anger in every shape and form is foreign to God.’ …

In such words many modern writers give expression to their conviction that God cannot be thought of as exercising wrath towards men, so that where the Scripture speaks of ‘the wrath of God’ it must either be explained away or abandoned. …”

– The wrath of God, in passages such as Romans 1, is never popular. Leon Morris, writing in 1955, explains that the concept of the wrath of God is necessary if he is also a righteous God. Republished online at The Australian Church Record.

The Bible and Same-Sex Marriage: A Response to Robyn Whitaker and Amy-Jill Levine

“Christians seeking guidance in the upcoming same-sex marriage ballot will naturally turn to the Bible. But what does the Bible actually say about marriage and sexuality?

It can be confusing when there are so many claims circulating about biblical scholarship on these matters. However, the Bible itself is clearer than often claimed. The real question is not simply what the Bible says, but rather what we do with what it says.

Last week, the ABC republished an article by Robyn Whitaker, claiming to be a ‘summary of critical biblical scholarship on the issue.’…”

– ABC’s Religion and Ethics has published this response by Dr Lionel Windsor to claims published by the ABC last week.

The Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture

“The Church Catechism, as well as the general tone of evangelical thinking and preaching, has taught us that we believe ‘in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me, and all the elect people of God’.

That is to say, the Holy Spirit has been given an association with the holiness of the believer, or rather, with the believer’s experience of holiness, which has almost excluded other functions ascribed to Him, and which has certainly distorted the perspective of biblical teaching on the Third Person of the Trinity. …”

– Church Society has republished this article by Alec Motyer, first published in Churchman in 1964. (PDF file.)

Marriage redefinition: What does Romans 1:26-27 really have to say?

“Today, an article appeared on the ABC News website by Dr Robyn Whitaker, a lecturer in biblical studies at Trinity College Theological School, Parkville, Melbourne. The article is titled: “Same-sex marriage: What does the Bible really have to say?”.

Whitaker looks briefly at six key passages in the Bible that are relevant to the question of homosexuality. She argues that these passages cannot be used straightforwardly in the same-sex marriage debates, because they do not directly address the issue of same-sex marriage. She also argues that there are only a small number of passages about homosexuality in the Bible, compared to the many passages about other topics such as love and justice.

Close to the start of her article, Whitaker claims the following…”

– At Forget the Channel, Moore College’s Dr. Lionel Windsor examines a number of claims made in the article on the ABC News website. Read it all here.

How should Christians engage the Same-Sex Marriage debate?

“So we’ve got a voluntary ‘Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey’ (commonly known as a plebiscite) coming up in September.

The future definition of marriage is likely to be decided in the next few months. And while most Christians I know are happy to vote in the Postal Survey (plebiscite), questions are being asked about how to engage the SSM issue – and whether we should engage at all.

There’s uncertainty: should Christians ‘force their views’ onto other people, especially a vulnerable minority like LGBTI? Is opposing the redefinition of marriage contrary to what Jesus would do? Is it unloving?

These are important questions to think through.

Here are 11 things we should understand – beginning with a basic overview of political theology …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Akos Balogh helps us think through engaging in the same-sex marriage debate.

Is the Catholic Church a Christian church?

“Sometimes, as Evangelicals approaching Roman Catholicism, we look at various parts of Catholicism without considering how they relate to the whole Catholic system.

For example, some might say Roman Catholics believe in the Trinity and the ancient creeds but that they have got the doctrine of Mary, Christ, salvation, the Bible and the church wrong at various key points. This atomization of Catholic teaching can lead us into saying things like, ‘The Roman Catholic Church is Trinitarian and creedal, and therefore more Christian than the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Mormons’. …”

– At GoThereFor.com, Mark Gilbert encourages clear thinking so that we don’t forget our Catholic friends need Jesus too.

Christianity in the Modern World

“The brotherhood of man has failed to eventuate, and while we have an abundance of gadgets, and an increasing facility for satisfying all our material needs, our deepest needs are not met, and men in general are farther from satisfaction at the deepest level than they were. …”

– Dr Leon Morris could have been writing yesterday, but this piece from The Australian Church Record’s archives was first published in May of 1955.

Marriage Once More

“Finally it seems to have come to a head. There’ll be a postal plebiscite on marriage redefinition. Lyle Shelton, Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, tweeted:

“Well, it’s game on to save marriage, freedom & gender. This is the fight of our lives.”

Regulars here know I am committed in this debate. I have written and spoken publicly in multiple venues in favour of classic marriage, on radio, newsprint, blogs and lectures.

However, Shelton is wrong. The marriage definition debate is not “the fight of our lives”.

The fight of our lives occurred two thousand years ago. And we did not win it. Christ won it for us, when he died on the cross – for the sins of people like you and me – whether black or white, male or female, civilized or wild, straight or same-sex attracted!

And whatever happens in the Australian marriage debate, Jesus will still be on his throne. He’s seated at the right hand of God, risen from the dead, conquering the grave. By that resurrection, Jesus was publicly declared by God as King of his Universe, far above all earthly powers and authorities. No politics can change that!

And Christians will still be able to live out their marriage vows as best they can, struggling to be faithful, to care for their kids, and offering forgiveness when we each fall short.

But God has placed us as citizens in a democracy. So we ought to vote and advocate for what is best for humanity. And God’s ways are good! …”

– In his Minister’s letter last week, Sandy Grant at St. Michael’s Cathedral Wollongong helps us keep the plebiscite in perspective. Read it all.

See also 1 Timothy 2:1-6 –

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Calvinist the movie

This soon-to-be-released movie, “Calvinist”, looks to be slightly different way of teaching theology.

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