Four Keys to Effective Exegesis

1/22/2012 | By Will Brannon

Currently in Greek class, we are covering the basics of exegesis and textual criticism. This past week in class, the professor did a lecture on four important aspects of biblical exegesis. These four point are taken from Bock and Fanning's book Interpreting the New Testament Text: 1) The authors original meaning, 2) The text's original language, 3) Sound hermeneutics, and 4) Modern application. Read More . . .

Thoughts on T.D. Jakes' Invitation to the Elephant Room 2

1/14/2012 | By Will Brannon

Back to the Elephant Room. So, basically what we have are Trinitarians debating with a Modalist in a public forum. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Early on, I would have said no. Orthodox believers refuting unorthodox doctrine in a public forum is a great thing. Jesus did it, and so did Paul. But is that what ER2 is all about? Is this a debate among opposing wordlviews? Or a debate among "brothers" who have different perspectives on secondary issues? Read More . . .

T.D. Jakes and the Elephant Room

1/13/2012 | By Will Brannon

January 25, 2012 marks the Elephant Room 2—an event that has became Ground Zero for a pretty heated evangelical debate. Why? Because this year, James MacDonald (the master planner behind the Elephant Room conferences) has thrown a curve ball to the evangelical community by inviting T.D. Jakes to the event. Why is that a problem? Because, setting aside the issues with his word of faith and prosperity preaching, he is a Modalist. Read More . . .

Lessons From Lot

1/9/2012 | By Will Brannon

In Genesis 13, Scripture records Abraham (then Abram) talking to Lot about land. Abram’s herdsmen were having troubles with Lot’s (v. 7), so Abram proposed that he and Lot go in opposite directions to avoid conflict. Lot sees how fertile the valley of Jordan is, and chooses to settle down there. But as he settles, he ignores the fact that he will live near Sodom, a land that verse 13 tells us is filled with people who are, “wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.” In other words, Lot was willing to live in the vicinity of blatant sin in order to have farmable land. Read More . . .

Child of Whom?

11/25/2011 | By Will Brannon

The world often says we are all children of God. Mormonism teaches that everyone alive is a child of God because everyone was created by God. While the Bible clearly affirms that God created all mankind (Acts 17:24-26), it also clearly affirms that we are not all children of God. Most Christians do not have a problem with that statement. Christians are true children of God, right? But the real problem comes when you ask: if you are not a child of God, then who are you a child of? Read More . . .

Quote: Does Jesus Dying for You Show How Valuable you Are?

11/25/2011 | By Will Brannon

In the book Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Breshears gives an excellent, gospel centered answer to this question: While we do have value as image bearers of God, the death of Jesus should not fill us with pride because we are so valuable, but rather fill us with horror that our sin is so terrible that it required the death of Jesus to atone for it. Therefore, at the cross we are to see the depth of our sin and love our Savior so that we are humbled and he is praised."

.