"He that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." The apostle Paul's epistle to the Corinthians 1Cor 11:29 There are various interpretations of this text and its neighbouring context. Christian exegesis There is a difference between exegesis and Christian exegesis because there are specific biblical principles employed …
Category: Behaviour
Wise preaching
The wise king Solomon's advice on preaching: Ecc 12:10“the preacher sought”: a good preacher studies how to put across his teaching in an acceptable and memorable manner. “acceptable words”: to speak in a manner which will be well received by his hearers. This does not mean pleasing words, which will not upset people, but it …
Vain worship of God and a mark of effective Christianity
Jesus teaches about worshipping God in vain: 'in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men' Mk 7:7. Vain worship is empty worship, devoid of proper content, but this is not the emphasis of the Greek word used here, which points to the 'fruitless activity' of such worship. It points to …
Continue reading Vain worship of God and a mark of effective Christianity
Self-examination
"Self-examination is asking oneself the right questions and following them through until one arrives at the right answers." Bias We are biassed in our own favour, so we must call in the help of heaven by prayer and ask God "Examine me, O Lord, and test me; purify the motives of my conscience and my …
Street Pastors in Tain and early experiences
I have just the attended another Street Pastor training day today. In the morning we met with a group of new trainees who hope to launch Street Pastors in Tain shortly, and who had come to Inverness for training. It may be of interest to note some questions that Street Pastors encounter in their first …
Continue reading Street Pastors in Tain and early experiences
Pride
Pride was the first sin, originating in the devil 1Tim 3:6. It is closely allied to independence - the desire to be independent of God. This was the devil's first temptation of man Gen 3:5. Sin is a separating force and results in death Jas 1:15. The essence of death is separation. Spiritual death is …
Christian behaviour
Many Christians can reel off the five points of Calvinism, but what are the five points of Christian behaviour? They do not exist, because it is more likely to be 505, or 5005. There are systematic theologies galore, but there is no systematic theology on Christian behaviour. There are books on Christian behaviour, but no …
Calvin’s Calvinism
Calvin scholars often tell the story how William Farel hastily visited John Calvin as he passed through Geneva on the night of 10/7/1536, and detained him in Geneva with the solemn curse of God upon his literary studies if he did not stop in Geneva to help forward the work of the Protestant Reformation in …
Two significant deaths
There have been two significant deaths in the past three months - Christopher Hitchens and Steve Jobs. I feel sorry for Christopher Hitchens, an intelligent atheist, who died yesterday. He had a powerful intellect, like Richard Dawkins, but this does not help if one is spiritually blind. The smallest child can see the sun, which …
Lying to the Holy Ghost
There is a difference between the sin against the Holy Ghost and lying to the Holy Ghost. The former has no forgiveness Mat 12:31, but the latter is also very serious. Peter mentions it in Acts 5:3,9 and solemn consequences followed. When ministers take ordination vows they are making promises to the Lord as well …
Donald's Thoughts 