Another Not-so-Usual Article
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/2006/1440_Does_the_Bible_permit_birth_control/
It's not the usual thing that we would expect from... for a lack of a better term at the moment "religious authorities".
What I really enjoy from reading John Piper's articles (or in this case, from the staff of the church he serves in) is the apparent strong desire to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [one's] mind", wherein age-old ideas are examined, analyzed, and ultimately compared to what is really found in God's Word.
There has been two seasons in my life where I had the strong desire to renew my mind: First was when I became agnostic, and second when I got to know God for who He is.
It's such a waste, to keep believing that salvation is by good works, when the bible declares that it is by faith, and that the works are simply a manifestation of such saving faith. It's such a waste, to be uncertain of one's salvation, to go with conventional thinking and say that no one could know, to shun any person's claim of his salvation as arrogance, when the bible actually wants those who believe in Jesus to know that they are saved (1 John 5:13).
It's refreshing, and at the same time inspiring to read from the works of people who take the task of going against the flow to seriously seek for the truth, to God's glory.
It's not the usual thing that we would expect from... for a lack of a better term at the moment "religious authorities".
What I really enjoy from reading John Piper's articles (or in this case, from the staff of the church he serves in) is the apparent strong desire to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [one's] mind", wherein age-old ideas are examined, analyzed, and ultimately compared to what is really found in God's Word.
There has been two seasons in my life where I had the strong desire to renew my mind: First was when I became agnostic, and second when I got to know God for who He is.
It's such a waste, to keep believing that salvation is by good works, when the bible declares that it is by faith, and that the works are simply a manifestation of such saving faith. It's such a waste, to be uncertain of one's salvation, to go with conventional thinking and say that no one could know, to shun any person's claim of his salvation as arrogance, when the bible actually wants those who believe in Jesus to know that they are saved (1 John 5:13).
It's refreshing, and at the same time inspiring to read from the works of people who take the task of going against the flow to seriously seek for the truth, to God's glory.