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Heroic Hobbyists 

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In 2018, an event made international news. A soccer team of twelve boys and their coach became trapped inside the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand. The team had gone to explore the cave. But the monsoon rains came and sealed off their exit, pushing them miles inside a twisting, waterlogged cave system. For over
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Is the Lord Jesus the Best Example of How to Evangelize? 

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A friend asked me to listen to a podcast that was discussing Jesus’ evangelistic approach. The following statement grabbed my attention: “Jesus isn’t the best example on how to evangelize.”   Is that right?  If Jesus isn’t the best example, then who is the Bible’s best example of how to evangelize?  The answer to the first question is “No.” That isn’t right. Jesus is the best example of how to
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Can Someone Believe That Faith Is Not Persuasion and Still Be Saved? 

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 David asks:  Does one have to believe that faith is a conviction that something is true (be persuaded) to be saved? Can someone believe that faith is a choice or a trust (dependence) on Christ to give eternal life and still be saved?  The title of the second chapter of Zane Hodges’s book Absolutely Free is “Faith Means
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Sarcasm Isn’t Always Bad 

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I have been told that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor. I’ll admit that I’ve been accused of being sarcastic. Occasionally, I wonder whether those who say such things are right. Maybe a believer shouldn’t be sarcastic. Is sarcasm sinful?  It cannot be. The Bible is full of sarcasm.  One of my favorite well-known sarcastic passages is Isa 44:9-20. The prophet makes fun of those who worship
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Seventy-Six Questions 

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I recently heard an interesting statistic: Children ages two to five average over seventy-six questions per hour in conversations at home. While some debate that number, most parents of preschoolers would probably say it’s even higher. For example, I was hanging out with my four-year-old grandson recently. Our family was watching a movie, and every ten seconds or so, you could hear his soft voice ask, ‘Why?’ By the
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The Righteous Are Scarcely Saved? What Does 1 Peter 4:18 Mean? 

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Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:18).  If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, How much more the ungodly and the sinner (Prov 11:31).   Tom Schreiner, a leading Calvinist NT scholar, makes this comment on 1 Pet 4:18:  The word molis can mean “scarcely” (Rom 5:7) or “with difficulty”
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Throwing a Party in Hell 

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There are many variations of a joke I often heard while in the military. I would talk to a young soldier about eternal life by faith alone in Christ. He would say something like, “I don’t want to go to heaven. None of my friends will be there. I would rather party in hell with my buddies than be bored in
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