'That we have ‘faith’ is irrelevant; what we have faith in is everything.' Faith means ‘trust’. If this is the case, then the words ‘faith / belief’ cover far more than ‘religious actions’, as we’ve touched on. And, as an action, it is useless if misplaced.
The words ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ that we encounter so often on the pages of Scripture simply mean ‘trust.’ Although they are two distinct words in English, they are both translating a single Greek word, Greek being the original New Testament language.
The concept of maturity is related to the ideas of perfection, completion, and wholeness. Just as we may speak of mature fruit, so too might we speak of the mature Christian: grown, fully rounded, complete, and whole. Christian maturity is about fruition.
I recently saw a table of religions that listed the name of “the divine” in each religion. I was heartened to see it listed God’s name in Judaism as ‘Yahweh’, but I was disappointed (but unsurprised) that Christianity’s name for God was simply listed as ‘God’.
It is important to pause and observe that nowhere in the New Testament are Christians ever described as disciples of a fellow believer. Throughout the Gospels and Acts, ‘disciple’ is used as a term for believers exclusively with relation to Jesus.
“The evangelical vision for good works is that they are essentially anonymous." - Robert Doyle
The reformed church is always reforming. We don’t stand on giants’ shoulders so we can stomp on them; we stand on their shoulders because they put us there. The effect is to have been given a better view—a view that we ought not be silent about.
It can be very tempting as an elder to just do things yourself; you’re more experienced, more capable, and can get things done quicker. But what happens as time goes on? What are the long-term consequences of this habit, especially when we depart?
There is a model of ‘intergenerational theological decline’, and perhaps you may have heard it: the first generation wins or establishes the gospel in their context, the next generation assumes the gospel, and the third generation loses the gospel.
Reformed evangelicals are known as being devoted to Scripture: teaching it, preaching it ... but what about the public reading of it?
What is heaven? Or should we also ask: Where is heaven?; When is heaven?; and - better - Who is heaven?
Learning to pray for others is one of the first things we learn as Christians: we see it commended on every other page of the New Testament; we see it modelled in every other meeting of Christians; and Christian parents model it to their children from birth.
