Blog

When it comes to biblical support for the belief in baptismal regeneration, there’s no better place to start than with Jesus himself. John 3:3-5, commonly known as the “Born Again” discourse, is the key passage for Jesus’ revelation of baptismal regeneration. Here’s the text: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second t …

Do you know the gospel? If you had to sum up the gospel in just a few words, could you? Could you get in an elevator with someone and communicate the gist of the good news of Jesus Christ in the time it took to reach your floor? The pace of modern life is intense, and this pace brings with it a ruthless pressure to communicate quickly, to get to the point. People are rushed. The world is rushed. We are anxious not to abuse other people’s time. And we know that people today rapidly filter …

Let the entire man be seized with fear; let the whole world tremble; let heaven exult when Christ, the Son of the Living God, is on the altar in the hands of the priest.—St. Francis of Assisi A study of the lives of the blessed and canonized stigmatists illustrates some significant differences among them, but it also reveals some remarkable similarities; one of those similarities is an overwhelming devotion to the Eucharist. While this might not be surprising …

Yep. There is bad news; and, if we really love others, we have an obligation not to hide it. Rather than just one part of the good news—“God loves you”—modern people need to hear a four-part gospel. In addition to the good news about God’s love, for instance, they need to hear about sin (even if we don’t use that word). Only when we have admitted that we have turned away from God and rejected his friendship can we understand that the fullness of the gospel is …

The canon of the New Testament slowly took shape over the first 300 years of Christianity. Some books, like the four Gospels, were widely accepted early on, whereas others were doubted by many for a long time. But by the fifth century, the New Testament canon of twenty-seven books was firmly settled. In spite of this, over a thousand years later, Martin Luther dismissed four of those books when he translated the New Testament into German.Four on the Chopping Block?Martin Luther was excommunicat …