549 results for tag: Brad Jersak

That hopeless (?) other thief – Brad Jersak

Mark 10 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”39 “We can,” they answered.Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my ...

April 2021

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: When Jesus Rode into Town– pg. 2 Laura Urista: The Heart of the Matter– pg. 4 Ed Dunn: Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled– pg. 5 Brad Jersak: Pastoral Perspective – pg. 7

Why Did Jesus Die? – Brad Jersak

Tom Wright, in his book, The Day the Revolution Began, struck a nerve with the candor of his critique of any gospel that implies, “God so hated the world that he killed his only Son.” Of course, laying bare that image of God draws charges of strawmanning – but if Wright is wrong, then I will rejoice when evangelists stop communicating that very impression. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is far more beautiful than what Wright terms the “paganized” message of wrath-appeasement through divine violence. But Evangelical children of the Reformation have been so conditioned with this ethos of ...

Q&R with Brad – “Does God have enemies?”

Question Does God have enemies? Response What a fascinating question, and one I have thought about both theologically and personally. To answer it biblically, I am drawn to two important texts:  Matthew 55:44 - “Love your enemies.”Romans 5:10 - “For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son...” What both these verses show us is that enmity—the disposition of being an enemy, in opposition, or hostile toward—can be one-sided.  While God’s enemies (or ours) are those who have chosen to hate, mistreat, or even kill God’s Son (or God’s children), God refuses to be ...

Q&R with Brad: If ‘his mercy endures forever,’ how can death separate us from God’s love?

Question I posed this question at our pastor's fraternal meeting in our area. "Seeing that we all believe God's mercy endures forever, why is it that his mercy has no bearing on us after we die? My question is: Why do we believe that death has the last or final and decisive word and not his mercy? Any comment that you could make? Response I think your question is spot-on. In my young evangelical days, I would have cited a couple of key texts as our "gotcha deal-killers." 1. "It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment" (Hebrew 9:27). We used this verse in isolation as an ultimatum with a ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: If not penal substitution…?

Question: If there is no penal substitution, which I want to believe, how do I deal with passages such as Isaiah 53 or 1 Thessalonians 1:10? I have a hard time reading so much of the Scripture in any other way. I always wonder how any less educated, less theologically trained person can read these scriptures in any other way (even if he was never taught them in this way)? Could that person come to any other conclusion? And if not, would the most obvious interpretation not be also the one God wanted us to get? I have struggled with my faith over these issues for so long, and I just don't seem to be able to "exorcise" the penal substitution idea ...

George Costanza, NT Wright and Angry God (Romans 8:3-4) by Brad Jersak

If we refrain from imposing Calvinist atonement theory back onto the text, what else might Paul mean by "God condemned sin in the flesh"?

March 2021

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: The Crux of Our Faith – pg. 1 A Far, Far Better Rest – pg. 2 When I AM Lifted Up – pg. 5 Places I've Been – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

10 Affirmations on Divine Judgement: A Inclusivist Perspective — Brad Jersak

Hopeful Inclusivists believe in Divine Judgment “Hopeful Inclusivism” - definition: 1. The belief, held by John Wesley, Billy Graham and many others, that while Christ alone is our means of salvation, those who have never heard his name might yet be saved by him because when they turn to the Light they do have, Christ is that Light. 2. The belief, taught by Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Kallistos Ware and Brad Jersak, that because Christ has conquered death for all, the event of death cannot separate us from God’s love (Romans 8) and God’s mercy indeed endures forever. Thus, in principle, Christ opens up the gates of possibility that all might ...

The Prodigal Bible – Brad Jersak

Reader's Comment  I was reading Isaiah 40-45 this morning with new eyes thanks to your ministry. It is so wonderful to read the Old Testament with the new knowledge that our God, my God, is always loving like the father in the parable of the prodigal son.  The Spirit is shining a new light on the text and a new light is penetrating my heart. Response I must say that you've inspired an aha! moment for me in terms of framing the whole of Scripture within the context of the gospel itself. If all Scripture is meant to be read in the context of the gospel and if the gospel is summarized beautifully in the parable of ...

Q & R with Brad Jersak – The Father of Love and OT genocide

Question Since our Father is the lover of the human race how do I reconcile the genocide events of the Old Testament? Response Jesus revealed God as the lover of the human race so the genocide texts do not reveal the truth of who God is. Jesus revealed that God is the life-giver and not a death-dealer. Jesus revealed God in a way that led him to say, "You have heard it said, but I say to you..." (Matthew 5:27-28). "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known" (John 1:18). So any Scripture that claims to reveal God must bow to the living God ...

Q&R: The Lord’s Supper: if not penal substitution, what’s communion about? – Brad Jersak

Question Once one has left a penal substitutionary understanding of the Cross behind, how do you understand the meaning of the Lord's Supper? Response The Eucharist (which means "thanksgiving") is a beautiful gift whereby I join the great banquet, one of Jesus' favorite images for the Kingdom of God. This is the Passover meal that commemorates our exodus out of slavery and death passes over us. This is the table of Psalm 23 that he spreads before us when the Good Shepherd anoints us with oil and presents us with his overflowing cup. This is the celebratory banquet the Father prepares for every prodigal who comes home. This is a foretaste of ...

The Exclamation Point of God’s Love

Greg Albrecht and Brad Jersak Greg Albrecht: Hello everyone, this is Greg Albrecht. We're going to remember and discuss our Lord's ultimate sacrifice for us and reflect on his life, death, burial and of course the significance and meaning of his resurrection. Helping us with his insights and observations is Brad Jersak. Brad is Editor of our magazines and a Christ-centered professor, speaker and author. Brad, in one sense it seems to me that these two events, the crucifixion and the resurrection, are the crowning jewels in God's demonstration and revelation of his love for us. When I think of the resurrection specifically, I often think of ...

PSA’s Moral Monster – Brad Jersak

"I'm afraid that the Evangelical doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) can ultimately lead a thinking person away from Christ altogether. When hate is interpreted as love there is little chance for trusting Jesus Christ to take root." - Lazar Puhalo Some people who believe in penal substitution say that they know how much God loves him BECAUSE he killed his Son instead of them. To sacrifice one's own beloved child instead of me shows how much he values me. BUT the problem with such a disturbing vision of "love" is exposed by the way it fractures the human heart in its call to respond to such perverted love. The questions ...

February 2021

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: Christ or Nothing– pg. 2 Richard Murray: Intellectual Honesty– pg. 5 Brad Jersak: Pastoral Perspective – pg. 7

Q&R: “Salted with Fire” — Hell, Self-amputation & Mark 9 – Brad Jersak

Question from a reader: I have searched at least 7 articles about Hell from the www.ptm.org search button. There is absolutely no mention of Mark 9:42-50 in any of the articles. There are many scriptures that are addressed about Hell but not this particular one. I know it not to be true but it almost seems that it is intentionally ignored. I so look forward to your response. Brad's response: I can't remember if I've included a discussion on Mark 9 in my books 'Her Gates Will Never Be Shut' or 'A More Christlike God,' but it's certainly not a passage I would shy away from intentionally, since it is quite an amazing anomaly in the NT and ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Who is Paul’s “antiChrist” in 2 Thessalonians?

Fresco showing the Antichrist directed by Satan by Luca Signorelli in the San Brizio Chapel (Capella della Madonna di San Brizio) in the Orvieto Cathedral. c. 1505. Question I left dispensational eschatology a long time ago but it seems to be on the rise again. What do you think this passage in 2 Thessalonians is referring to? 2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by ...

Spiritual Growing Pains – Brad Jersak

I have this painful memory circa 1975 when, as a middle school adolescent, I was sidelined from a series of exciting outings (including my annual Halloween junk food haul) due to excruciating leg pain associated with growing. And skinny though I was, my growth spurt even featured stretch marks at the top of my thighs. But it was the deep and untreatable ache that haunts me most. In my book, A More Christlike Way, I spend a chapter exploring alternative metaphors to the trendy word, "deconstruction." I looked at art restoration, home renovation, extreme makeovers and, my favorite, dry-cleaning my daughter-in-law's vintage wedding dress. A summary of ...

Q&R: “If hell is not eternal conscious torment, why share the gospel?” Brad Jersak

Question: If hell is not eternal conscious torment, why share the Gospel? Response:  This reader rightly perceives that I would balk at the idea of hell as eternal conscious torment in a lake of fire. That a good and loving God could somehow inflict his children with everlasting torture in a fiery furnace would render the words 'good' or 'loving' utterly meaningless and call into question how his character is any better than that of Satan. The good news (or gospel) is that in his love, God sent his Son as Savior of the world. He is the means by which God conquers "the wages of sin" (death) and flings wide the gates of ...

Q&R Propitiation, Expiation or Mercy Seat? Brad Jersak

Question Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experiences of Jesus, his Father and the Holy Spirit. I also appreciate being able to contact with a question regarding the word "propitiation" in Romans 3:25 ("whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood") in the context of a non-violent God. How should we understand that term? Response What an important question, especially when readers are often at the mercy of the theology of translators, which is why we compare translations and check in with those who have more time to dig a little deeper. 1. The Greek word you see translated as propitia...