524 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Hyperbole that’s Truer than Facts – Brad Jersak

Q & R with Brad Jersak: In whom and when does the Holy Spirit “enter” us?

Question:  Thanks, Brad for bringing so much needed clarity to the issues in your blog posts. I would love to see more information in regards to the work of Holy Spirit. When does he enter, manifesting his presence as sons, etc.? Response:  That’s an excellent question, the answer to which has filled volumes of books for two millennia. My brief response will cover just the two major features of your question: First, “When does the Holy Spirit enter”? Some say we all “receive” the Spirit when we first come to faith in Christ, others say it happens at our baptism, while still others associate the ...

A Good God Who Doesn’t Always Heal? Brad Jersak

In A More Christlike God, I describe the self-revelation of God in Christ, who is self-giving, radically forgiving, and co-suffering Love. That image of God is cruciform, uncontrolling, but still deeply caring. So how do we hang onto the image of God as a loving heavenly Parent when (1) Jesus told us to pray with boldness and faith, but (2) many of those prayers seem to go unanswered? What gives? What follows is a dialogue with a friend about these complex and difficult issues: AF: Hi Bradley:  I have a nagging subject that I found myself questioning a lot. You wrote about it in this article:https://www.ptm.org/qr-if-go...

Confessing “Jesus is Lord” – Brad Jersak

Confessing “Jesus is Lord” The Bible makes four profound claims about confessing “Jesus is Lord” that defy doctrinal certitude but function to invite faith.  Romans 10:9 — Those who confess “Jesus is Lord” will be saved. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 — No one can confess “Jesus is Lord” except by the Spirit.  “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 7:21 — Some who confess “Jesus is Lord” will not enter the kingdom.  ...

Advent Hope – Beyond Wishful Thinking – Brad Jersak

In modern culture, the word hope is normally used as a subjective, psychological state of feeling hopeful—and measured on a scale from hopelessness to confidence. It can be used as an adjective for optimism or, more negatively, wishful thinking. Today, “I hope so” can even be a euphemism for “I doubt it.”  To a great degree, that inner sense of hope that good things are coming is crucial to our mental and spiritual health. On the other hand, we know from hard experience that attaching ourselves to outcomes is also perilous. And since we fear disappointment, people of my disposition are wary of ...

“Turn the Other Cheek” – Brad Jersak

“To turn the other cheek is to turn our faces from past pain and toward the face of Christ.”

CWR Video – Agape Means Respect

In this CWR video, Brad and Laura explore how the Greek word for love, Agape, also means a keen value or worth of the other, or in a word, respect. https://vimeo.com/1038672199 If this post has helped you, please subscribe and share it freely. We also invite you to help us continue to help others with a donation. Click here if you're able to partner with us

The Virgin Birth is a Christological Faith-Claim – Brad Jersak

"For us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was Incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary." Gospel claims to Mary's virgin birth (or conception) of Christ are far more than borrowed mythology, co-opted from a host of earlier hybrid-god myths. The historic Christian faith received the story as a revelation delivered via the Gospels of Luke (1:26-38) and Matthew (1:18-25). Yes, we know that the original Hebrew prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 was not about an actual virgin (and can be rendered "young woman") nor even, initially, about Mary or her Son. That said, the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT) does use the term parthenos or ...

New – Questions & Response Page

Keep checking back for more questions. Plain Truth Ministries and Christianity Without the Religion have received thousands of questions from readers like you over the years. We thought it might be helpful to bring many of these questions and their response together in one resource page Q & R - (Questions & Response). If you have questions or just want to see what other people are asking about, check out our new resource page. Click here for Questions and Response PTM’s Questions & Response feature addresses actual questions on various topics sent to us from all over the world. Greg Albrecht and Brad Jersak answer as many ...

Q&R: How can David killing Goliath be Christlike? Brad Jersak

Question: I’m reading through your books, which are faith-saving! The gospel is indeed beautiful. But after 40 years as an evangelical, I’m finding some things hard to read Jesus into… for example, David killing Goliath. I’ve heard one teacher say that God had to use violence in the culture of the day but will redeem it in the final judgment. He also says that Jesus on the Emmaus Road refers to the broad sweep of Scripture, not every last bit of the Old Testament. In a more Christlike view of God, how is David’s victory over Goliath Christlike? Response: The clarity of your question is extremely helpful. The Jewish Scriptures record this ...

Sometimes Waiting Is Hard – Brad Jersak

Advent is a word I was unfamiliar with as a child growing up in my Baptist tradition. But in my years with the Mennonites, I became familiar with the ritual of lighting candles on the Advent wreath in anticipation of Christ’s nativity. Advent, I learned, meant arrival, but intrinsic to that word was the waiting, the anticipation, and the longing of God’s people for his appearance and especially his deliverance. As a little boy, I relived that expectant hope as the calendar slowly edged forward to Christmas. Sometimes, Waiting Is Hard I think most children find waiting for the climax of Christmas morning difficult… but they may also ...

CWR Video – King Jesus

In this CWR Video, Brad discusses what is meant by Jesus Christ as King. https://vimeo.com/1011060169 If this post has helped you, please subscribe and share it freely. We also invite you to help us continue to help others with a donation. Click here if you're able to partner with us

Q&R: “Vengeance is Mine”? Brad Jersak

Romans 12:9 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” How shall we read that?

December 2024

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak Sometimes, Waiting Is Hard – pg. 2 Laura Urista Great Gifts in Small Packages – pg. 4 Greg Albrecht Believe Him & Receive Him – pg. 5

Christian Tracts? Brad Jersak

Question:  I have just finished reading your book A More Christlike God and found it thought-provoking and wonderful. I have been deconstructing my Evangelical faith. I am contacting you to ask if you know of any tracts with this Beautiful Gospel on them. I don't like most of the tracts evangelists use, so I thought I would check with you before trying to reinvent the wheel! I feel burdened to reach the "ripened harvest:" but everyone I know is preaching a gospel of fear dressed up in love! I don't find it easy to stop and speak to people, but I want something I can confidently hand out to them. Response: Thanks for reaching out. I ...

Q&R: If grace is free, why a ‘price’? Brad Jersak

If grace and forgiveness is a free gift from God, why does the Bible use payment language, such as 'ransom,' 'redemption,' 'bought' and 'purchased' to describe the Cross?  

Your Highest Moral Mountain – Brad Jersak

Photo by Alexey Trubachev Moral Mountains: Every individual and every tribe or nation lives by a hierarchy of moral standards. These standards can vary dramatically across a population or even within a person, like the peaks in a mountain range. But over time, we tend to see one peak dominate the horizon, reaching upward to a higher elevation than the others. That is not to say the highest peak is always that best. It may only be the most dominant. In his book, The Second Mountain: the Quest for a Moral Life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Brooks says, "The first mountain is the individualist worldview, which puts the desires of ...

The E-Word Reclaimed: A Good Message & a Good Path – Brad Jersak

“Conversion” isn’t about indoctrination or recruitment or colonizing. It’s an invitation to experience God’s love, joy, peace, hope, and freedom—the healing of our hearts as we join Jesus and each other on his Good Path.

Election Aftermath – Brad Jersak

Plain Truth Ministries endeavors to center our focus on Jesus at all times. Our Mission Statement says, "We proclaim Christianity without religion. Our Christ-centered ministry is based on faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone."   That said, we recognize that our gospel also directly engages events in the real world... and this means more than an exercise in journalism. We know that world events can and do affect our readers. It's important that we acknowledge rather than ignore significant events and the feelings that follow.  Some of our readers will have experienced strong feelings about the recent election in America, ...

CWR Video – Children of God

In this CWR Video, Brad reflects on what it means to be Children of God. https://vimeo.com/1011054977 If this post has helped you, please subscribe and share it freely. We also invite you to help us continue to help others with a donation. Click here if you're able to partner with us