538 results for tag: Brad Jersak

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: 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...

Q & R: Reading Romans without courtroom lenses – Brad Jersak

Question I’ve been reading through Romans and am just having a hard time *not* seeing consistent affirmations of PSA (penal substitutionary atonement) and the forensic view of “justification” and “righteousness.” But I’m aware that this is because of my background, and I’m trying to unlearn it. I know that you’re able to read Romans in a completely different way and I’d like to learn how to do that. I’m aware of some concepts, like N.T. Wright's "New Perspective," but have a hard time seeing them as I actually handle the text. So I was wondering if you have recommendations that would help me handle Romans differently? Response...

Q&R re: A More Christlike God – Brad Jersak

Question 1 I just finished A More Christlike God and was hoping you could answer some follow-up questions. In the “restorative” version of the chairs gospel (chapter 14), it struck me how you used Moses as an example of how God never turns from us. But in doing so, you glossed over the 10 plagues that did so much harm to Egypt in order for God’s people to be set free. This just feels like a “God has favorites” thing to me, so I’m curious what your thoughts are on why the harm had to be done to Egypt for Moses and his people to be freed?  Response ​Yes, the plagues, and especially the 10th plague that wiped out ...

January 2021

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Learning Pandemic Lessons – pg. 1 Here Comes the Dreamer – pg. 2 I Must Confess – pg. 5 My Sister Claretha – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Q&R: What does “prepared for destruction” mean? (Romans 9:22) – Brad Jersak

Question: Romans 9:22 "What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?"  What is the tone/intent of the phrase "prepared for destruction"? Response: I don't believe we can understand this phrase in isolation from the pastoral concern, rhetorical question and assuring response in which it is embedded. That is, we need to read it in the context of Romans 9-11 after 8 chapters arguing Gentile inclusion by faith in Jesus Christ. In what follows, I am drawing from David Bentley Hart's interpretation in his short, dense ...

When Jesus seems unChristlike – Brad Jersak

What do we do with Scripture when even Jesus seems unChristlike? I can think of a good number of occasions where Jesus seems to either depict his Father as harsh and brutal (if we incorrectly read the king/master parables as straight-across imagery for God) or seems quite "judgy" himself, to the point of what we imagine as unChristlike. While many such verses can be chalked up to rhetoric, hyperbole or figures of speech, sometimes they do seem over the top, particularly in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation (chapters 2-3). If Christ reveals the nature of God as love, as cruciform (cross-shaped) and as non-retributive, then ...

Does God “use” us? Brad Jersak

In his first non-fiction book, Lies We Believe About God, Wm. Paul Young challenges a host of commonly accepted Christian assumptions that he feels need to be second-guessed, given the track record of harm they do in the real world. In chapter six, he addresses the expression, "I just want God to use me." At first glance, we might be tempted to concur with the phrase. Pretty much all people are looking for meaning and purpose in their lives. We would rather feel useful than useless and if we feel that God has a role for us in the grand scheme of his kingdom, then our sense of self-worth and importance to God grows, doesn't it? That seems so ...

The Kingdom of the Heavens – Brad Jersak

THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS & STUFF(*Lamest sermon title ever. #ScottPilgrim) Gospel text: Matthew 13 The Parables of the Mustard Seed and Yeast  31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” 33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it ...

“Crucifying the Son of God all over again” – Brad Jersak

Today's cartoon by David Hayward's reminds me of this passage from Hebrews 6: “To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace” (Hebrews 6:6). Who is it that re-crucifies Jesus? That author says, “Those who’ve fallen away.” Whatever that means. In that context, it seems like he was referring to Hebrew Christians who were renouncing Jesus and returning to their Old Covenant lives. Under extreme pressure and persecution, it was apparently a powerful temptation. The same problem faced the Thessalonian believers who were giving their old paganism a second look because, socially, ...

That I Would Be Good – Brad Jersak

Socrates - What is the good life? What is the good life?  How can I be good person? These were the questions that Socrates asked in Plato's dialogues, 300 years before Christ. Being good mattered to him. He wanted to know what being good looked like and how to become that kind of person.  His own conclusion was that the good life was to live virtuously -- that is, according to the ancient virtues of prudence [wisdom in action], justice, temperance [i.e. self-control] and courage. Not bad, I'd say. The world would no doubt be a much better place if we all lived by such standards.  You get similar lists in the Scriptures as ...

December 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: God Is With Us– pg. 3 Brad Jersak: Phenomenal Cosmic Powers– pg. 8 Ed Dunn: The Season of Lights – pg. 10 Laura Urista: Christmas Presence – pg. 12 Richard Rohr: Centered in the Presence – pg. 14 Brad Jersak: Love or Syrupy Sentimentalism? -pg. 15