If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

Martin Luther, quoted by Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There

Of course our grand concern should not be to take Scripture literally or non-literally. Insofar as we claim to be Christians, our goal must be to take Scripture as Christ took it. Otherwise, we might as well claim to be “SpongeBobians” as “Christians.”

Jesus lodged a great many charges against the religious leaders of His day. He complained that their righteousness fell short of that of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:20), that they didn’t practice what they preached (Matthew 23:3), that they made proselytes who were worse than they (Matthew 23:15), and a host of other accusations.

But did Jesus ever fault them for being too literal?

via Pyromaniacs: What did Jesus (not) say about… how to understand the OT (full post).

To [CNN host Piers] Morgan, making any moral judgment amounts to judgmentalism. Of course, this leads logically to total moral insanity, since the only way to avoid being identified with judgmentalism is to make no moral judgments whatsoever — which no sane person can do.

via AlbertMohler.com – The Osteen Moment — Your Own Moment Will Come Soon Enough.

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What, then, is this verse is affirming? First, it is not an offering of salvation. The implications of this are manifold. Among other things, to use this text as a salvation verse is a perversion of the simplicity of the gospel. Many people have allegedly “received Christ into their hearts” without understanding what that means or what the gospel means. Although this verse is picturesque, it actually muddies the waters of the truth of salvation. Reception of Christ is a consequence, not a condition, of salvation. Second, as far as the positive meaning of this verse, it may refer to Christ having supremacy in the assembly or even to an invitation (and, consequently, a reminder) to believers to share with him in the coming kingdom. Either way, it is not a verse about salvation at all, for the Laodiceans were already saved.

via Parchment and Pen » Inviting Jesus into your Heart (Dan Wallace).

Logos Bible Software is giving away thousands of dollars of prizes to celebrate the launch of Logos Bible Software 4 Mac on October 1. Prizes include an iMac, a MacBook Pro, an iPad, an iPod Touch, and more than 100 other prizes!

They’re also having a special limited-time sale on their Mac and PC base packages and upgrades. Check it out!

Source: EvanTell

So, what’s the best Bible to get? There’s no simple answer to this question. I will instead offer three or four categories of Bibles that every English-speaking Christian should own.

via Parchment and Pen » What Bible Should I Own (Dan Wallace).

Wisdom so often in life prescribes moderation. It’s wise to eat with moderation, to speak with moderation, to feel with moderation, some would even say to believe with moderation.

But there’s absolutely nothing moderate about the doctrine of hell. It’s extreme in every way. It’s an extreme idea for the mind. It’s an extreme confrontation for the heart. And it blows against all the rules of social etiquette.

via eJournal : Hell: Remembering the Awful Reality | 9Marks.

…there are three reasons why we can affirm the Spirit�s indwelling of OT saints: regeneration, sanctification, and empowerment.

via OT Saints: Indwelt by the Spirit?.

I was actually just thinking about this the other night, while reading through Ezekiel 2-3. I’d heard the argument before that Old Testament saints were NOT indwelt by the Spirit ever, that that Spirit merely “came upon” them.

The text, however, shows otherwise:

Ezekiel 2:2

2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. (ESV)

Ezekiel 3:24

24 But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. (ESV)

While I include more detail in the book, the Biblical argument for conditional forgiveness is straight-forward.

� Christians are called to forgive others as God forgave them (Matthew, 6:12, Ephesians 4:32).

� God forgives conditionally. God only forgives those who repent of their sins and turn in saving faith to Him (1 John 1:9, John 3:36).

� Likewise, we also should offer forgiveness to all.

� We forgive those who repent. Indeed, we are obliged to forgive (Luke 17:3-4), knowing that whatever someone has done to offend us pales in comparison to what we have done to offend God (Matthew 18:32-33). (See what others say on conditional forgiveness here).

via Unpacking Forgiveness – Reformation21.