546 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Does the Bible demonstrate an evolving understanding of inclusion?

Question The Bible seems to demonstrate an evolution of inclusion. The OT has a strong sense of who is in the nation of Israel and who is out.  In the NT it wasn’t immediately obvious to the early church that the good news was for those outside the nation of Israel.  It took until Acts 11 just to crack that pattern of thinking to include gentiles.  I think Paul evolves inclusion further with “neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” But throughout the NT the OT pattern of categorizing in terms of who is in and who is out seems to be retained, ...

October 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Faith Beyond Factions– pg. 3 Greg Albrecht: Jesus Invites Outsiders– pg. 6 Keith Giles: Attack of the "Love Buts" – pg. 10 Brian Zahnd: War of the Lamb – pg. 12 Greg Albrecht: Loving Sinners, Hating Sins? -pg. 15

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Is the book of Enoch authentic?

Question I have read the Book of Enoch. It makes for interesting reading, and I wanted to know what your thoughts are on this book.  My first question is whether it is authentic or not, or written later and attributed to Enoch.  Also, what are your opinions about the book? Response The Book of Enoch is a work of 3rd-4th century BC (at the earliest) apocalyptic pseudepigrapha (a work written under an assumed name). Like many other books written in that period (including, possibly, Daniel), the book of Enoch offers visions and prophecies using a famous Jewish figure (from Genesis) for credibility. I believe we can say with ...

“On His Shoulders” – The Cruciform Archē – Brad Jersak

Isaiah 9 6 For to us a child is born,     to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder,     and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace     there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom,     to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness     from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. The messianic ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Handling politicized faith

Question I am experiencing friends, family and ministers who continually pressure me with their political platform and tell me I'm not even a Christian if I don't vote for their party. How shall I respond?  Response A difficult question. As I see it, you have three options: 1. You can ignore them. That is, you may value the connection with that person but perceive that your relationship is not strong enough to honestly confront what they are saying and doing. Perhaps ignoring their messages or posts is the best you can do for your mental and emotional health. And maybe your silent response will send enough of a message that if ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – What does “glorified” mean in John?

Question Recently I’ve been “hanging out” in John 13-17 (for context, I’ve been starting 12:12 and reading through 18:14 or so). I’ve noticed that the theme seems to be Jesus/ Son of Man/the Father “being glorified”. In some places it reads “NOW is the Son of Man glorified”.   In Romans 8, Paul says “those God justified, he also glorified”.I’ve always heard glory defined as “the manifest presence of God” or “the goodness of God revealed”, but those don’t seem to fit here in John’s gospel (although the latter possibly could).  So, what does it mean for the Son of Man / The Father to be glorified...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Is death/hades a servant of God or an enemy?

Hades abducting Persephone (350 BC) Question Hi Dr. Brad, I am reading your book: Her Gates Will Never Be Shut and I read there about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. As I understand it, hades is a servant of God for pedagogical purposes, in order to "complete the course" of un-repentant people for causing thirst for the Water of Life and God's Banquet, leading them to humility and repentance. My question comes because I have read the Apostle Paul saying that death is the last enemy of God to be destroyed. So Death / Hades is considered somehow an enemy, meanwhile following the above logic, it looks like it is a servant for ...

September 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: The Overlooked and Ignored – pg. 1 Question the Question – pg. 2 God is Love – pg. 5 To Seek and Save that Which is Lost – pg. 6 The Prodigals – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Abba vs. Father?

Question I have a question that is as much prompted by the timid and anxious heart of a recovering Evangelical as it is by the analytical rigor of a developing theologian. If I understand you right, In your books A More Christlike God, A More Christlike Way and IN: Incarnation & Inclusion, Abba & Lamb, you argue the uniqueness of Jesus is to reveal Abba — Daddy. I want to believe that. However, as you know better than me, the word Ἀββά only appears three times in the NT: twice where Paul is talking about adoption (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6); and only once on the lips of Jesus, in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). On the plus side, all ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: The wrath of Christ in Jude’s Epistle

Question Hi Brad, I just finished reading A More Christlike God and I wanted to thank you for your thought and words, and for helping me see the pure love of the Lord. I still have one questioning pertaining to wrath, however, and I’d love to know what you think. In Jude, the author says that Jesus saved, then destroyed those who did not believe. He seems to imply that Jesus did this himself. I agree that Paul read the Old Testament differently (attributing to the Destroyer and not God), but what about this instance in Jude? Response Great question. Short answer: Jude is pulling out every rhetorical weapon in his arsenal in a ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “It is a dreadful thing…” (Hebrews 10:31)?

Question Hi Dr. Jersak, I am enjoying your books a lot. Some of those ideas I am sharing also with some of my friends that are believers. Today after a discussion, one of them mentioned a verse: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). My question is how this verse can be reconciled with a Loving Father's heart. Your comments are highly appreciated. Response I would classify Hebrews 10:31 as one of those judgment texts that identify God himself as the consuming fire, as in Hebrews 12:29 or Malachi 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.  How then do we harmonize these Scriptures with those ...

Q&R with Brad: Isaiah 54:7-8 – Does God abandon us or hide his face?

Question Hi Brad, I was just reading about your response to a question about Isaiah 59 about "separation". When I read it seems clear that it means our sins, our actions have caused us to separate from the Father, not the Father separating from us. When I read Isaiah 54:7-8 certainly seems like God is directly saying I have abandoned you for a time but goes on to say, I have compassion on you. I am just curious about the interpretation you hold when reading this. I would love to hear your input. Thank you.  7 "For a brief moment I abandoned youbut with great compassion I will gather you.8 In overflowing wrath for a ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Do you think the Bible is authoritative? And why?”

Question Do you think the bible is authoritative? If so, why? Response That's a great question, partly because it's so tricky. I can't be sure what our reader means by "authoritative" so I'll have to supply a definition and work from there. Here's Merriam-Webster's definition: Here we have two different senses. The first would describe how the Bible's authority is derived from its source. In other words, is it authorized and by whom? The second definition includes a subjective side -- is it recognized as having authority and by whom? Let's take each in turn. First, is the Bible authoritative according to its source or sources? Do ...

August 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: Destroyed But Not Defeated– pg. 3 Brad Jersak: Grace Is the Real Offense– pg. 7 Blair Baker: Keep Shining – pg. 10 Jonathan Foster: My Soul Is Like a Chiminea – pg. 11 Brad Jersak: With Hope for All, Why Share Our Faith? -pg. 15

Rethinking God’s Prophets (part 3) – Brad Jersak

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I explored an analogy that compared the Bible and the human conscience to prophets of God, such as John the Baptist or Nathan. I suggested that neither the Bible nor the human conscience should usurp Christ from the throne of grace, but they do have a God-given role in testifying to him. In this final installment, I'll suggest a third prophet-like witness: a category that we might call "these little ones" or the "least of these." God's little prophets My agenda here his two-fold. First, I want to emphasize the nature of God's prophets as Christlike in their humility, when all too often, those who self-i...

Rethinking God’s Prophets (part 2) – Brad Jersak

In part 1 of this series, I compared the Bible to a prophet. Like John the Baptist, the Bible is NOT the Light of the World but is a WITNESS to Christ, the final Word of God. Today, we will consider the human conscience as a God-given inner prophet. The conscience, Nathan & the prodigal sons A conscience trained by grace is a blessed prophet, forever calling us to the Jesus Way into the Father's house. The role of a healthy conscience is to discern right from wrong from the Holy Spirit (not independently, as Adam and Eve dared by eating from that tree). And what constitutes right or wrong? According to the Bible, the 'right' path is the ...

Rethinking God’s Prophets (part 1) – Brad Jersak

Who were God's prophets? What are God's prophets? Are there still prophets among us? How do we discern the true prophet from the false? By what criteria? If they're still around, what is the role of a prophet? In this brief series, I hope to help readers rethink the idea of the prophets a wee bit. I'm hardly going to engage the above questions at all, at least not along standard lines that generally divide charismatics and cessationists, much less those who presume to put "prophet" on their business card or genuflect before their favorite politician and take the Lord's name in vain by spouting partisan talking points in the name of God. Blech!!! ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: What about “God’s wrath” in the NT?

Question Hi Brad, Just bought and read A More Christlike God. I loved the book! I really want to believe your theology of wrath – but how do you explain these NT verses that refer to wrath? Is it all explained by "giving over"? For example: John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.Romans 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.Colossians ...

Gospel Before Translation (pt. 3/3) – Brad Jersak

Gospel Before Translation: In parts 1 & 2 of this series, I claimed that the first Christian interpreters established in their hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ before they attempted to translate or interpret the Scriptures. Apart from that gospel, they believed the Bible could not be understood, much less translated, as inspired Scripture. The gospel formed and affected all of their translation work. Sadly, modern translators seem to pretend to be unbiased by their theology (but of course they are). Our first two examples came from Isaiah 53:10, which affects our view of God, and Jeremiah 17:9, which informs our view of humanity. While modern ...

Gospel Before Translation (pt. 2/3) – Brad Jersak

Gospel Before Translation: In part 1 of this series, I claimed that the first Christian interpreters established in their hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ before they attempted to translate or interpret the Scriptures. Apart from that gospel, they believed the Bible could not be understood, much less translated, as inspired Scripture. The gospel formed and affected all of their translation work. Sadly, modern translators seem to pretend to be unbiased by their theology (but of course they are). Our first example came from Isaiah 53:10, where the NIV and KJV depicted God as taking pleasure in crushing the suffering servant (a type of Christ). But ...