Tag Archives: salvation

Be ye Baptized

Be Baptized Every One Of You Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are […]

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Biblical Election: It’s not a Democracy

Is God a Voter, and each of us a Politician? Since at least the Middle Ages, the Biblical concept called “Election” has been thought of in terms roughly equivalent to the democratic process. The democratic process uses the same word. But that’s not what it means in the Bible. In the Bible the word has […]

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Become like a little child; Understand the Kingdom of Heaven

The Story of Cain and Abel This basic little story is not complex. It is structured like a children’s story. But for reasons I list below, theologians almost universally fail to understand it. It means what it says: “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” ()

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Evangelism: A Revolution

That Old Question: What really is Evangelism? I’ve posted a couple of things previously which reveal my unorthodox take on what ‘Evangelism’ actually is, but more recently the threads that I had been alluding to have been woven together in a quite remarkable way in real life. It is time to review and restate what […]

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Evangelism: A View from the Inside

A State of Being: Freedom I was reflecting, as I often do, on what the chances are that I will be able to impart my joy to others before I die. What a tragedy it would be if I, having received so indescribable a gift, should die without having shared it. May it not be so! […]

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Street Theology: Justification by Faith

How Biblical Justification Looks “On the Street” Everybody loves being right. It’s even better when you are recognised as being right in front of other people. When those other people have scoffed and mocked you, the victory is all the sweeter. But the ultimate prize is when you are declared right, and your mockers declared wrong, and […]

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Christian Conversion: What’s it like?

Christian Conversion: A view from the inside I thought I’d just whack down some thoughts about my own conversion to faith. It’s not expert poetry, it’s constructed with the simplest of metres and most elementary rhyme, but it suffices to carry the message.

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Big Fella and the Promise

“This life is very real to me, God” How many of us can stand with Big Fella and testify: “The promise is calling out to me to be a witness”? That’s precisely what the promise does, if we are to understand it properly.

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Big Fella is “Justified by Faith”

Neither Death nor Life In a track that cries out about the ongoing toughness of the spiritual journey, Big Fella takes comfort from the sure knowledge that he is “justified by faith”, and concludes that “neither death nor life can separate us”. This is precisely the point! We do indeed have that assurance. Praise God.

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Big Fella is “Seeing the World Through God’s Eyes”

“No more jail cells. Bill’s been paid. No more ticket to hell” “I’m like a dealer on the street corner, pushing Christ to the junkies and the dope pushers: people I used to run with…” For Big Fella, it’s personal. He’s still got friends in the drug scene, and he wants to pluck them out, […]

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Can Christ “get a witness” in Big Fella?

Is your heart ready to deal with this? Here is a man who was so good at crime that his friends and family assumed he would be in it forever. Jesus took him out of that life, and now the call of Christ is: Are you built for this? Can you handle this? Is your […]

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Romans 8:12-14 “Flesh and Spirit”. Do the translators understand?

Discerning the Worldview of the Translators…? The Bible talks about “the flesh” and “the spirit”. Various translations treat these concepts in subtly different ways, and in those differences there can be substantial theological impact. Irrespective of what we want it to say, it is important to comprehend what the original author meant by these terms, […]

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Big Fella lays it all down, “In these Rhymes”

In These Rhymes Here’s another one from Big Fella. Notice in the lyrics that producing this work is part of the way in which God is working on the man: “Just layn’ it at your feet in these rhymes”.

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Criminal Minds

What does the heart of a career criminal, converted to Christ, sound like? This friend of mine has been part of the Ipswich Mall ministry from the beginning. He knew nothing about music but was called by God to discover, learn, and create Gospel Rap music. It’s lonely In this song you will hear selected […]

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The Psychological Gospel

Can the Gospel be described in Psychological terms? The Gospel is not a matter of psychology. It is a message about the Kingdom of God: “Jesus is Lord”. But the contemplation of this, and the comprehension of it, can have profound psychological effects on the person concerned. This is because it matters that Jesus is Lord. It […]

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Big Fella is “Moved by tha Spirit”

How’s your faith? This friend of mine has been part of the Ipswich Mall ministry from the beginning. He knew nothing about music but was called by God to discover, learn, and create Gospel Rap music. “My eyes have seen your salvation” Be encouraged. This is a genuine testimony. It’s happening in Ipswich, QLD. The […]

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You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (Jn 8:32)

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (Jn 8:36) I have a friend who has been set free by the truth. This is from her story. The story has helped me to understand more and more about human beings, and the ways in which they are wired-up. At every turn it […]

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Heaven: “a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines”

Heaven as “a banquet” There are numerous Biblical texts which liken heaven, in various ways, to a great banquet. But how  is this properly used in general conversation, in apologetics, in evangelism, or in pastoral care?

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Bonhoeffer – A scholar, a gentleman, a rebel, a martyr.

What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer think he was doing? Bonhoeffer had much to say about discipleship, and was also a vocal critic of the Lutheran Church’s inaction against the Nazis. Was he just a busybody with opinions about everything? No, he had a view of discipleship that applies as much to the church as a whole, […]

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Ecumenism in Roman Catholic theology: Lumen Gentium analysed for Ecumenism.

Summary – Lumen Gentium as an Ecumenical document Lumen Gentium, (“Light of Nations”, Vatican II, 1964) changed nothing in the ecclesiology of the Roman Catholic Church, and it was designed that way. But the whole process of Vatican II, including this document, did prove to be a catalyst for ecumenical dialogue in many ways. Again, this […]

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