All resources in the category "The crucified life"

The church and the state have become increasingly entangled since Constantine's rise to power in Europe in the early 4th century. Theologians call this time the Constantinian shift where Christianity was adopted as the state religion of the Roman Empire. As Christianity was legalized, persecution virtually stopped. The church began to acquire power, wealth, and land in Europe like never before. Theology was altered and the "spiritual interpretation" hermeneutic began to take root, dramatically affecting the church'...

From about age 9 until my early teen years I remember looking forward to camping in the woods of New England with my church's youth group. We would pack our provisions and drive several hours to set up our camp with the basics - shelter, food, and fire. We learned essential wilderness survival skills, knots, safe food storage, and water purification. The older ones taught the younger ones, and everyone learned and grew together. We were far from the comforts of running water, furnaces, air conditioning, and home cooking. We were in the wilderness.

Yet all of us knew...

In Galatians 6:14, The Apostle Paul boldly asserted that his only boasting should be in the cross of Jesus. In Philippians 3, he proclaimed that everything he had used for his own gain had been counted as loss for the sake of Christ. It does not take much to see that such confessions from a believer have a prerequisite of heart surgery from the Holy Spirit.

In our sin, we use our God-given breath, strength, finance, or wisdom in order to make much of ourselves. But the fruit of the Spirit in the life of a believer is evident when what was once used for selfish gain is now used...

In modernity, "Christ" has been used as an expletive. Christians often perceive it simply as Jesus' "last name". However, a right understanding of "the Christ" is rooted in Genesis 3:15 and the promise of the "seed". The Messiah is one who would restore humanity's relationship to God and restore creation to its original perfection.

Further developments of this anointed deliverer would be seen through the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

The surprise to the Jewish people, however, would be that the Christ must suffer before entering into His glory.

In this set of...