MattPerman.com

You are here: Home / Archives for 1 Theology

Updating Edward's Teaching on Heavenly Rewards

by

Recently I’ve been thinking a bit more about Edwards teaching on heavenly rewards. Briefly, Edwards teaches, as the Bible seems to (Luke 19:13-19; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; Ephesians 6:8), that there are degrees of rewards in the new heavens and new earth. But this will not be the cause of any unhappiness, for it doesn’t mean […]

Christianity is a Religion of Joy, Not Prohibitions

by

William Wilberforce, in A Practical View of Christianity: My grand objection to the religious system still held by many who declare themselves orthodox Churchmen…is, that it tends to render Christianity so much a system of prohibitions rather than of privilege and hopes, and thus the injunction to rejoice, so strongly enforced in the NT, is […]

6 Things Christ Accomplished by His Death

by

Here’s a very brief summary of the six core things Christ accomplished in his death. 1. Expiation Expiation means the removal of our sin and guilt. Christ’s death removes — expiates — our sin and guilt. The guilt of our sin was taken away from us and placed on Christ, who discharged it by his […]

The Five Convictions of Christian Hedonism

by

Piper has written a lot of books and preached a lot of sermons. You can learn something amazing and biblical from everything he has said. But the best place to start, in my view, still remains Desiring God. This is where Piper lays out most fully the foundations of “Christian Hedonism” — the truth that […]

Can Christians Affect the Timing of the Lord's Return?

by

Yes. “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:11). Here’s what the ESV Study Bible has to say about this passage: Hastening (Gk. speudo, “hurry [by […]

Spurgeon: Grace Makes us Unworldly, Not Unearthly

by

Spurgeon, from Counsel For Christian Workers: Grace does not make us unearthly, though it makes us unworldly. True religion distinguishes us from others, even as our Lord Jesus was separate from sinners, but it does not shut us up or hedge us round about as if we were too good or too tender for the […]

Jesus: Not Just an Example

by

1 Peter 2:21 tells us that Christ left an example for us to follow, especially when we suffer as he did: “But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for […]

God-Centeredness Leads to Other-Centeredness

by

If we are God-centered, we will be on the lookout to meet the needs of others and do them good. God-centeredness does not lead to an inward focus on ourselves, or simply our own relationship with God (as important as our own relationship with God is). Rather, it leads us up and out of ourselves […]

Should We Pursue Obedience to God or Joy in God?

by

Piper, from God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards: Sometimes people ask: should we pursue obedience to God or joy in God? Edwards would answer: The question involves a category confusion. It’s like asking: should I pursue fruit or apples? Obedience is doing what we’re told. And we are told to […]