Ref21 Blog

In my previous post, I discussed how patience (along with the closely-related virtues of endurance and perseverance) is one of the most valuable Christian virtues in connection to Christian maturity. However, there is another virtue of the Christian life which,...

Editor's Note: This is the final post in this series. Part 1 [available here] introduced the connection between a biblical understanding of education and that of fatherhood. Part 2 [available here] explored the storytelling aspect of education. Now the author...

  In part one of this series, the doctrine of middle knowledge was set forth and explained on its own terms. Its principal concern is to reconcile the sovereignty of divine agency and the liberty of human agency by inserting...

Many Christians today hold to the misconception that the Lord's Supper is nothing other than a memorial meal, a time where we "look back" and reflect upon the death of Christ. This is generally the view of mainstream evangelicalism, though...

The topics of racism, social justice, and racial reconciliation have been hotly debated topics within the Church and on social media for some time now. One of the questions that I have routinely encountered from Christians in these debates...

Humans are complex creatures, consisting of body and soul. God formed us out of the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7a). He gave us bodies, making us physical creatures. And He nourishes our bodies with physical things. The Lord provides...

Middle knowledge, otherwise known as Molinism, derives its name from a 16th century Jesuit named Luis de Molina (1535-1600). There is evidence that within a decade of Molina's death, his view of middle knowledge had a profound influence upon the...

It took me a while to remember who Joshua Harris was when he "kissed Christianity goodbye." The news didn't really rattle me; he's so far from the mainstream of my life that I missed whatever it was he was selling....

Over the past several months, I've taken a break from regular writing and blogging because I've been pondering the importance of Christian maturity. The apostle Paul himself stated that one of the central goals of his ministry was to...

Why do we recite the historic creeds of the church in our worship services? There are a few ways to answer this question. First, we believe these creeds are really just recitations of the content of Scripture. All we are...

Recently, I've had three conversations that all circle around one significant topic: Christianity as a mere intellectual exercise. In the first, a seminary student told me of a conversation with his son: "Dad, I believe in the Christian faith....

If you were a Christian living in the great port city of Alexandria, Egypt in the year 320, your life would likely be full of excitement. Less than 10 years before, the great Emperor Constantine had defeated his enemies, ended...

Noah's first deed upon exiting the ark -- at least as recorded in Scripture -- was to build an altar and offer unto God sacrifices. He did this from the "clean" animals and birds which had accompanied him and his...

Editor's Note: This is the second part in a series on the relationship between education and fatherhood. Read part one here, and watch for more in the weeks ahead! As mentioned in my last post, education means shaping and filling,...

How much are you willing to give to God? Your time? Your money? What about everything? This month, the Alliance is proud to feature The Cost of Discipleship by James Boice. We hope it will serve as a helpful reminder to those...