Intentionality in Worship

Too often, articles or conversations considering the method an individual might use during worship becomes a discussion of (what is commonly referred to as) the “five acts” of worship. These five avenues are noted in relation to the 1st century church and what they did during the assembly and then the appropriate scriptural proof is …

A Consideration of Gender Roles and Equality in the Light of Galatians 3:28 and 1 Corinthians 11:3.

Introduction The exact question we will be taking under consideration is, “How are women equal to men (Gal. 3:28) while the man is the head of a woman (1 Cor. 11:3)?” Although there are opinions across the entire spectrum concerning this question, the bulk of opinions on this topic fall into either a Complementarian or …

Omniscience and the Preservation of Free Will

“I’ll go to the store tomorrow.” One recognizes this as a very simple sentence; yet, there is an unspoken understanding associated with the thought – provided. Humans can know what was and what is, but the future can only be spoken of in possibilities, probabilities, and potential. The simple reason lies in the fact that …

A Consideration of the Universalist View of Eternity

Introduction Although considered the orthodox position in the Church, some have taken the theology of hell from eternal conscious torment toward a transitional existence where those present suffer only a long as they continue to refuse the overwhelming love of God and the message of the Gospel. For these theologians and philosophers, the ultimate condition …

The Messiah: the Greater Prophet, the son of David, Emanuel.

The essence of eschatology, the language in which eschatological thought occurs, is a forward-looking conception of what is the ultimate outcome for mankind and the world. Most of those involved in the work of theology have a basic understanding of eschatology that conforms to this concept, and the traditional shape of eschatology is expressed in …

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Then and Now

From the very beginning of the Church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit were a remarkable and wondrous occurrence. Even as the Apostles were endowed with a miraculous measure of the Spirit in the form of tongues, healings, prophecy, miracles, and inspiration; the early Christians were also given individual gifts that seemed to follow along …

Baptismal Purification

The practice of baptism has been a part of Church orthodoxy since the beginning and is distinguished as one of the two New Testament (NT) ceremonies, along with the Lord’s Supper, enjoined upon Christians by Christ himself (Matt. 26:26-29; 28:18-20). At the conclusion of the first recorded sermon on Pentecost, in response to the question …

Punishment, Destruction, and Banishment: The Traditional Language of Hell

The doctrine of hell is certainly a Biblical topic, and a such one has a duty to examine the Scriptures in such a way that a conclusion will be supported by valid hermeneutics and exegesis. Every biblical topic has some type of controversy surrounding it, whether the controversy stems from an understanding (or misunderstanding) of …