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The last blog post in this mini-series laid the groundwork for how I initially began using the ESV, but then began having issues with the translation. I recognize that there is no "perfect" translation and that all translations have to make interpretive decisions to maintain some level of coherence. The issues I began seeing with the ESV, however, rose to such a level that it caused me to begin considering other options. This blog post will discuss one such text. Ephesians 5:32 In the fall of 2023, I took a class titled "Scripture Citing Scripture" at Shepherds Theological Seminary with Dr. Michael Vlach. In this class, I had the opportunity to research four cases of Scripture referencing Scripture and note how the later authors used earlier texts. One of the texts I selected was Ephesians 5:31 and its use of Gen 2:24. I was not aware of the depth of issues when I selected this text, but I was amazed when I started diving in. The context is Paul instructing husban...

I was thinking recently about different people who have influenced me in different ways over the years.  I don't agree with everything some of these men teach, but I was still influenced by them in ways that have stayed with me even if I no longer listen to some of them.  Al Potter and Bob Sheridan taught me to think pastorally. Al was one of my seminary professors and every time he taught and every time I had a conversation with him, practical shepherding just oozed out of him. Bob was my pastor growing up and I completed did a pastoral internship under him as an upper classman in college.  Neil Nelson and Andrew Smith taught me to think exegetically. These are my two Greek professors from Bible College and Seminary. Taking the original languages and breaking them down part by part opened my eyes up to the world of exegetical theology. John MacArthur taught me to think expositionally. Chapter by chapter, verse by verse, no one does it better than J-Mac. He's not the most...

This blog has been neglected for some time. I recently logged in and discovered several drafts that I wrote and never published. Why I never published them I do not know. Below is an article I wrote in August of 2021 while I was preaching through the book of Philippians. I lightly edited it and am publishing it now. Some time ago I preached through the book of Philippians, and it was a tremendous study. We saw the beauty and glory of Christ as he promises to finish the good work He started (1:6); we see him at work, despite our hardships (1:12-18); and we see him as the humble servant highly exalted (2:9-11) the one for whom it is worth suffering the loss of all things that we might know him (3:8). Philippians contains several verses and passages that are beloved by believers are common to commit to memory, and very well worth the effort! As we worked through chapter one, however, we came across a passage that is very well known but I became convinced often receives misplaced emphasis....

Note: I drafted this six months ago, but had forgotten about it and never published it. Now that we are into the holiday season once again, the topic has renewed relevance. I was in a situation a while back with my daughter--who had a loose tooth at the time--where she was around other children who informed her that she needed to put the tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy and she would get money from it. My daughter immediately informed her friends that the tooth fairy isn't real. They protested: "Yes she is!" and a few moments later my daughter came up to me saying "Daddy, they think the tooth fairy is real." For many parents who have chosen not to participate in this cultural game, this can be an awkward moment. You've chosen to be honest with your kids and not pretend that Santa, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, etc. are real. How do you instruct them to engage with other children who think these things are real? To be fully honest, I wasn't...

N.T. Wright, New Testament scholar and theologian Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus That’s the headline of an article on the Times Magazine Ideas section of their website. Its author? N.T. Wright. More like N.T. Wrong. First, who is this guy? N.T. Wright has been an interesting figure on the scene of Christianity for quite some time. He once was lauded as a go-to resource for information on the historical background surrounding the New Testament. However, he has since written some things that lead to questions over his understanding of key Christian doctrines, and when challenged about those issues his answers are less than clear . At best, he’s a convoluted writer/speaker who repudiates caricatures . At worst he is not an orthodox Christian because he has abandoned central Christian doctrines . Where he fits in that spectrum has been and remains a topic of debate within Christianity. I don’t intend to weigh in on my thoughts on Wright’s theol...