Does “Thou Shalt Not Kill” Preclude Every War?

Jesus said, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” (Mt 24.6). We hear of wars all the time. When Jesus said we would hear of them, he wasn’t making a prophecy, he…

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Reacting to the Supreme Court Leak

I am not an “expert” on the US Supreme Court, but I am a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court, a federal court practitioner, and I participated in 2 arguments before the High Court. Here are a few random thoughts about the latest bombshell from the Court– 1) The release of a draft…

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Do This and Live: Leviticus 18:5

Leviticus 18:5 looms large in law-grace discussions. The verse states, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in [or, by] them: I am the Lord.” Given the Bible’s emphatic teaching that salvation is a gift, the reader naturally struggles with this verse. Is it saying…

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A Right View of the Law

After a lengthy discussion of the need for and basis of justification by grace through faith in Christ (i.e., salvation or conversion), Paul now explains how this same truth should transform our mindset and lifestyle as Christians (i.e., sanctification or Christian growth). The believer’s close identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection places him or…

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Comment on the Supreme Court opinion in the New York churches case

Late last Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday the US Supreme Court issued a decision on an emergency relief petition involving attendance restrictions imposed by the State of New York on houses of worship. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court granted the emergency petition and prohibited New York from enforcing severe restrictions on attendance at…

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Smart Machines and Foolish People

An interesting law suit developed in 2016 between the electric car maker Tesla and a Korean man who bought one. That’s because Tesla offers a self-driving mode where the car is supposed to recognize walls and park itself. The plaintiff was inside his car when it drove through the garage wall, destroyed several structural posts,…

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Born Under the Law

During the calendar year of most non-liturgical churches the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem is celebrated longer than any other aspect of his person or ministry, longer even than his death for our sins and his resurrection. And yet, there are only a small number of biblical passages that speak of the actual birth of Christ.…

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So do you wear mixed fabric?

In a previous post I discussed Marcion, the false teacher who jettisoned the Old Testament. What about an opposite extreme? The “Jewish Roots” movement has recently exploded, requiring believers to carefully follow the Sabbath laws (on Saturday), the feasts in Leviticus 23 and other Jewish expectations. They contend that the church has lost its way…

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Relating to the Law

Don Johnson “Can Christians eat pork?” A fellow visiting our church asked that question a couple of weeks ago. Again, someone else asked me, “In the law, some foods were not allowed. Was it because they were not healthy to eat? Should we eat those foods now?” Both of these questions are responses to teaching…

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“Settled? … Maybe Not”

Wally Morris Should we accept that a moral issue has reached the point where continuing to fight for Biblical standards is not a wise use of our time and resources? That is the question Christians face as President Trump seems uninterested in the issue of homosexual marriage, calling it “settled law”. In his acceptance speech…

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