What is conversion?

“Conversion is a U-turn in a person’s life. It is turning with one’s whole person away from sin and to Christ for salvation. From idol worship to God worship. From self-justification to Christ’s justification. From self-rule to God’s rule. …”

– 9Marks has a brief and helpful reminder of what conversion is – and isn’t.

Image: NSW Government.

Why is sexuality such a big deal?

“Why is the debate on sexuality and marriage in the Church of England (and other churches) such a big deal? Why can’t we just agree to disagree—to get on together and learn to live with difference?

Two groups regularly say that to me.

The first is those who want change in the Church’s teaching. Why are evangelicals making such a fuss? they ask. The Church has altered its practice on marriage in various ways in the past? Why can’t we make this adjustment now?

But the other group are those who are busy getting on with the business of planting new churches, growing current ones, and reaching young people. They are often younger, and have not been engaged so much with the ‘politics’ of the Church (lucky them!). Why can’t we just get on with the business of ministry? Will this issue really make much difference? After all, we have continued with gospel ministry in the past when the leadership has believed all sorts of questionable things—so why is this different?

An immediate response to both groups might be to say – you are right, it is not such a big deal. We are not talking about central Christian doctrines like the incarnation, salvation, or the Trinity. But here’s an interesting test case …”

– At Psephizo, Ian Paul lays out why sexuality is such a big deal, and a huge debate for the Church of England.

The Jewel and the Sun: Justification and Union with Christ according to the Reformers

“Jewellery and sunshine. These are two powerful images used by the Reformers to describe our relationship with God by his grace. The reality they illustrate is still vital for us to remember today.

One key issue the Reformers were wrestling with was understanding and explaining justification by faith. …”

– Lionel Windsor writes in the Moore Matters for Winter 2023.

Read the article on the College website – or (better still) read the complete issue online – or pick up a printed copy at church.

Created male and female — ACR Journal

Gav Perkins writes in the latest ACR Journal (Easter 2023 – PDF) – and now featured on the ACR website –

“It is foundational to what we know of God, as the one who speaks his pow­erful word to bring all things into be­ing, and who then orders, arranges, and blesses.

It is foundational also to what we know of ourselves, as uniquely cre­ated in the image of God, and commis­sioned to rule and subdue.

We learn here what it means to live and work in God’s creation and relate to the rest of that creation, leading to a genuine Christian – rather than pagan – envi­ronmentalism.

We also learn what it means to have a genuine Christian – rather than pagan – understanding of gender and sexuality. These chapters are simultaneously timeless and pro­foundly pertinent within our culture.

In Genesis 1 and 2 we see that our gender, male or female, is a central part of who we are, as created by God. …”

– Read here. Very timely.

Concupiscence and Sexual Same Sex Attraction? – The Pastor’s Heart

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“What is the relationship between concupiscence and sexual same sex attraction?

One of the most contentious issues facing the Christian Church at this moment is how can Christians think and speak truthfully, clearly and compassionately about desire and temptation in a way that does not condone or encourage sin? …”

– Rob Smith is this week’s guest with Dominic Steele. Watch or listen here.

If “Concupiscence” is a new idea (or you’re feeling a bit rusty on the idea) this will be especially helpful.

How to preach truth yet teach falsely

“In Spurgeon’s Lectures to my Students, in ad­dressing the matter of ‘The Sermon’, Spurgeon exhorts his students ‘to give a clear testimony to all the doctrines which constitute or lie around the gospel.’ His point is simple. Some preachers are reticent to teach the whole counsel of God fearing the truth they teach may be irrelevant (or perhaps, even offensive!) to their hearers. Spurgeon was a great believer in all of God’s word as good and profitable, and therefore, in his usu­al straight-speaking manner declared that ‘No truth is to be kept back […] Cautious reticence is, in nine cases out of ten, cowardly betrayal’.

However, it’s the illustration he gives to make his point which provides some real food for thought. …”

– Mike Leite writes at The Australian Church Record.

This article is also printed in the current ACR Journal (issue 1926, Easter 2023). Download your copy here. Recommended!

What is the gospel? — Dr Mark Thompson

“I remember, more than twenty years ago now, an international visitor to Sydney being asked this question.

Throughout the week that he had been here, the speaker had appealed to the gospel many times. Clearly in a part of the world well-known for the strength of its evangelical witness, such an appeal was essential if he was to get a hearing. But the appeal had not been convincing and it had become increasingly obvious that at this most basic level our guest had a very different idea of what exactly it was that he was appealing to repeatedly throughout the week.

So some brave soul — someone braver than me — publicly asked him the question. What is the gospel? …”

– Back in 2015 we published this very helpful article by Dr Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore College.

Heresy Half Hour: Donatism

The latest podcast from Church Society:

“In this episode, Chris Moore, Lee Gatiss and Mark Smith explain the ancient heresy of Donatism and its contemporary relevance for the church today as so many people are considering how to relate to ungodly authorities.”

Plenty of relevance to the Church of England today.

– Listen here.

Why is the Ascension the most important moment in the New Testament?

In a post republished for Ascension Day, Dr Ian Paul calls us to see the importance of Christ’s Ascension:

“We might miss this because of our theological tradition, but we often miss it because of our failure to read carefully.

In Peter’s Pentecost speech, the climax of what God has done in Jesus is not the resurrection, but Jesus being ‘exalted to the right hand of God’ (Acts 2.33).

In support of this, he cites Ps 110, the most cited psalm in the NT (just pause to take that in…), with its imagery of ‘the Lord’ (messiah) taking his seat at the right hand of ‘the Lord’ (Yahweh, the God of Israel).”

– Read it all at Psephizo.

King’s Birthday Conference — Monday 12th June 2023

From Two Ways Ministries:

“In May 2023, King Charles will be crowned and all will say ‘Long Live the King’.

But what does it mean? Do we want it? And why do we say it?

The topic of the King’s Birthday Conference this year will raise many issues in the Bible about kings and rulers, as well as kingdoms and our nation.

The conference will be a great time to hear Phillip and Peter Jensen teach the Bible clearly, meet with old friends and new, have a Q&A session and prayer time – all included in your registration for the in-person event at Moore Theological College, Sydney.

Archie Poulos (Head of Department of Ministry and Director of Centre for Ministry Development at Moore College) will be our chairperson for the event. …”

– See all the details here.

What constitutes Anglican identity?

“There is no doubt that the sixteenth-century Reformation changed the world. From politics and social attitudes to things like work and family life. To the art of Michelangelo, the music of J.S. Bach and the literature of Shakespeare. To those on board the Mayflower and to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.

The face of Western culture and society over the past 500 years would have been very different without the likes of Martin Luther, John Calvin and many others.

This is certainly true of the Church of England and the way it has developed into the modern Anglican Communion. And yet today, there is great ambiguity about what constitutes true Anglican identity. Where can we turn to in order to start answering such a vexed question?

Let me suggest that we can begin our answer by turning to reconsider one of the foundational Anglican texts: The Book of Common Prayer, originally composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

But since the Anglican Church has a five-hundred-year history, which edition of the Prayer Book captures the true essence of Cranmer’s vision for the Church? Is it the 1549, 1552, 1559, 1604, 1662, 1928, or 1979 Prayer Book?

What I’d like to do over the next few minutes is to take us back to the historical roots of the Anglican movement. Right to the heart of the Reformation as it unfolded in England under Edward VI from 1547-1553. And with a particular focus on liturgical reform. …”

– “What constitutes Anglican identity?” In 2017, Dr Stephen Tong spoke on “Liturgy in the reign of Edward VI in 16th century England”at the Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas, Texas.

A current reminder of why this paper is very helpful:

– Two Anglican Leaders [Calvin Robinson and Chuck Collins] duke it out over what it means to be Anglican – VirtueOnline.

Portrait of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.

Key issues in scholarship on 1 Timothy 2:8–15

“In the last few decades, there’s been an enormous amount of scholarship on the meaning and significance of 1 Timothy 2:8–15. The sheer range of interpretations can be bewildering, leading us to throw our arms in the air and declare that it’s all too hard, so we should all just do what is right in our own eyes.

This video is designed to help us to regain some clarity and perspective on the passage by giving a broad overview of the main issues. …”

– Lionel Windsor presented this seminar at the recent Priscilla & Aquila Centre conference at Moore College.

See also:

Claire Smith presented an elective on The household of God in 1 Timothy the next day at the inaugural P&A Research Conference, which is for women.

‘Vatican sends relic of true cross to Britain’s King Charles’

“As Britain’s King Charles III walks into Westminster Abbey for his coronation, he will walk behind a processional cross containing a relic of Christ’s cross given to the king by Pope Francis. …

Anglican Archbishop Andrew John of Wales blessed the cross during a service April 19.”

– Story from The National Catholic Reporter. Martin Luther

Possibly related:

Abandon the Reformation, Abandon the Gospel – Matthew Barrett at The Gospel Coalition:

“There they sat. Relics. Lots of them. There was a cut of fabric from the swaddling cloth of baby Jesus, 13 pieces from his crib, a strand of straw from the manger, a piece of gold from a Wise Man, three pieces of myrrh, a morsel of bread from the Last Supper, a thorn from the crown Jesus wore when crucified, and, to top it all off, a genuine piece of stone that Jesus stood on to ascend to the Father’s right hand. And in good Catholic fashion, the blessed Mary was not left out. There sat three pieces of cloth from her cloak, four from her girdle, four hairs from her head, and better yet, seven pieces from the veil that was sprinkled with the blood of Christ. These relics and countless others (19,000 bones from the saints!) stood ready to be viewed by pious pilgrims. These relics were the proud collection of Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, Martin Luther’s prince. And they sat in the Castle Church at Wittenberg, prepared and ready for showing on All Saints Day, November 1, 1517. …”

Also, Article XXII of The Thirty Nine Articles.

Do you know death?

“Over the past three years, it’s been sobering as the world confronts its mortality. Covid’s death toll overwhelmed hospitals, filled the morgues, converted paddocks into mass graves. The words of Hamilton have felt prophetic: ‘Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinner and the saint, it takes, and it takes, and it takes…’

In the wake of Covid, we awoke to the reality of death. Suddenly, the false hopes of medicine, exercise, healthy diets to fix everything were exposed as fake, phonies, flimsy bandaids that offered only temporary solutions. And suddenly the desire for pretty things, faster internet, on-trend fashion, tastier coffee faded in comparison to the desire for life and love and longevity.

But death shouldn’t surprise us. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Jeanette Chin shares something of her story, our story, and the sure hope we have in Jesus.

Book launch – Peter Jensen’s The Life of Faith: An Introduction to Christian doctrine

Moore College has now uploaded the video of the launch of Peter Jensen’s new book, The Life of Faith: An Introduction to Christian doctrine.

Do watch the full video – Peter speaks about his purpose in the book, and explains his use in the lecture room of some of the books he brought along. Very encouraging.

Get your copy of The Life of Faith: An Introduction to Christian doctrine from Matthias Media.

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