Have you felt any gloom this year—for your nation, your family, or your own circumstances? Gloom is the backdrop of Isaiah 9. God’s nation faced invasion, exile, and collapse. But in the first verse, the prophet says that “there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.” Light was about to dawn from, … Continue reading Christmas: The Hinge of History
Sola Scriptura: The Word of God as Sufficient for the Work of God
My dear friend and brother in the Lord, Nahum O’Brien, is a missionary to Norway with ABWE. He recently asked me to participate in a virtual conference on the doctrine of Scripture. The conference is to raise awareness for his Nordic partner pastors, their Teologihuset (“House of Theology”) ministry, and other ministries in Scandinavia. This … Continue reading Sola Scriptura: The Word of God as Sufficient for the Work of God
Questioning the Kingdom? – Part 3: Gospel Centrality
When the atomic unity of the first and second greatest commandments is split, nuclear reactions are unleashed. What God has brought together in his law, let no man tear asunder.
Questioning the Kingdom? – Part 1: Definitions
What is the kingdom of God? How is cultural, societal, political transformation related to the kingdom?
Seven Christmas Carols That Are Undeniably Missiological
Note: This article was originally published on ABWE’s blog. One of the myriad reasons I cherish the Christmas season is that it is one of the few times when the songs on the lips of the people of God truly match the missional optimism Scriptures associates with the kingdom of Christ. In our day of spiritual, … Continue reading Seven Christmas Carols That Are Undeniably Missiological
How Covenant Theology Clarifies Justice Issues
Whether we owe it to the spirit of the age or to the quirks of our own subculture, we evangelicals generally disdain labels. We prefer to be “Christ-followers,” not Christians; “gospel-centered,” not Baptist, Protestant, or Reformed. This isn’t always a bad thing. Labels carry baggage. And besides that, our primary commitment is to Scripture, not … Continue reading How Covenant Theology Clarifies Justice Issues
Be Christ-Centered, Not Just Gospel-Centered
Buzzwords have a funny way of painting their subject in the best possible light. Consider a few examples. “Progressive”—who doesn’t want to make progress? “Attractional”—who doesn’t want to attract unbelievers into the church? “Seeker-sensitive”—why wouldn’t we want to be sensitive to those whom God may be drawing to himself? As slaves of the Word and … Continue reading Be Christ-Centered, Not Just Gospel-Centered
The Great Commission Isn’t a Farewell Address
Can you identify the sources of these famous last words? “Money can’t buy life.” “I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.” “Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough.” The answers are Bob Marley, J. Gresham Machen, and Karl Marx, in that order. A person’s deathbed words are … Continue reading The Great Commission Isn’t a Farewell Address
Is Galatians 2 About Race?
One of the hardest lessons of adulthood for a young, theologically-minded Christian is recognizing that it is possible both to be right about an issue in the wrong way or to be wrong about an issue in a right-seeming fashion. We can be like Saul of Tarsus, catechized thoroughly in the seminary of Gamaliel, yet … Continue reading Is Galatians 2 About Race?
Why Your Joy Depends on God’s Hate
We live in an unfortunate cultural moment where only the small things matter, yet the big things don’t. We fastidiously strain out the gnats by burning Nikes and boycotting burgers while swallowing the camel stampede of national infanticide, sexual immorality in every direction, and materialistic hedonism as the driving impulse of life. Within evangelicalism, this … Continue reading Why Your Joy Depends on God’s Hate
Alex Kocman 