Articles

Boundaries Without Bonds: How to Keep Headship from Being a Hardship

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As strongly as I believe the Scriptures support the notion of male hegemony (i.e. that God entrusted leadership in the home and church to men rather than women), I also affirm that in Christ men and women are equal in dignity and worth before God. As the husband of a very capable, prudent woman whose judgment and good sense repeatedly have saved my bacon and father of two sharp daughters, I have emotional as well as theological incentives for giving women a wide berth to exercise their generous endowments.

How do we accomplish that within the parameters of biblical principles?

Unpublished Articles

Capitulation or Confrontation:  A Time to Man Up

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This message is for those who regard themselves as orthodox or biblical (as opposed to cultural or nominal) Christians. Clearly, we are regularly reviled, as secular radicals, circling us like sharks smelling blood in the water, one by one grab the levers and hijack the institutions of contemporary society, imposing their godless will in all directions.  In the process they seek ever more hatefully and aggressively to suppress, stifle and silence every voice in every quarter to the contrary.

How do we respond?  Do we, like many, roll over and lamely capitulate or do we man up and prophetically confront evil trying to posture as good?

Some Thoughts on Social Justice and Jesus

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Social justice is not a terminology found in the Bible, but it is a concept that resides in the Scriptures.  The big problem is that those on the so-called Christian left (hereafter referred to simply as the “Christian left”) who bandy about this phrase derive their notion of social justice from secular roots rather than biblical ones.

In order to win the day and curry favor with the “unfriendlies” all about us, some professing believers are going back to the kitchen and serving up a long-retired Social Gospel menu garnished with socialist or Marxist rhetoric. Life never ceases to amaze.

In reality, if we have a scintilla of understanding of what Jesus and the NT teaches us, we would know that there is no way that we can carry out the Great Commission as Jesus commanded His apostles to do and, at the same time, impress a godless world of unbelievers with our cultural value and relevance without giving away the farm.  They just don’t get it, and we show we just don’t get it either when we take that tact.

So, for those reasons, I think it is worth talking about the cause of “social justice” as a concern of the Church.

Where Do We Go From Here?

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The cultural war is lost. That is what many are saying anyway. That once-enticing vision for many politically inclined evangelicals is now lost in the sense that the secular red tide has come ashore so high for so long that our society is now undeniably post-Christian. Actually, if we include Europe, the West has been there for a much longer time. This is old news to the other side of the Atlantic.

Where do we go from here?

The Bible and Homosexuals: Rescuing the Biblical Teaching from Gay Propaganda

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Of all the arguments the homosexual community attempts to marshal in behalf of its lifestyle, none is more blatantly dishonest and deceitful than its efforts to disarm biblical testimony against it.

One notorious example of that type of intellectual fraud is a pamphlet someone handed me entitled “The Bible and the Homosexual,” by someone named “Merrill.” The author’s agenda is to present gays as victims of centuries of gross misunderstanding about the biblical teachings regarding homosexuality.

What does the Bible really teach about homosexuality?

Think Before You Vote: Connecting Some Dots on a Couple of Current Political Theories

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When we Christians go to the polls, we must make certain we are not duped by highly misleading terminology. Some of these political camps, if not openly hostile to historic Christianity, are by no means allies in our mission for Christ and the truth. So, I’d like to remind you that the Christian should vote for the candidates whose policies are most compatible with a Christian worldview, and I will attempt to help you make that determination by filling you in on some of the pitfalls I see, politically speaking.

What is THE GOSPEL?

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The Gospel means the good news. Specifically, it refers to the good news of salvation—God’s plan of salvation. Of course, any talk about salvation implies some bad news. The bad news sets up the good news. This article is a simple exposition of the Gospel linked together with supporting biblical texts.

The King of Gaia and His Amazing Grace

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Many folk stumble over the doctrine of divine election. The following parable, though imperfect, is designed to show this creed in a different, but truer light. It throws into bold relief these truths: 1) that unless God Himself took the gracious initiative to save some, none could ever be saved 2) in the end the real question is not why did God choose some and not others but, considering the facts, why did He choose any and 3) absolutely nothing about the doctrine of sovereign election nullifies the gospel proclamation that “whosoever will may come and be saved.”

A Mini-­Theology of the Word

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In spiritual formation, intake of the Word of God is essential and primary. Everything else is complement. Nothing is an adequate replacement. The Word generates all the other holy responses that edify. That is the premise of this paper.

Rethinking New Testament Church Polity

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One of the issues that continues to plague some of our churches is disagreement about church polity. This controversy has been percolating forever, but with special fervor since my seminary days. Wherever it pops up, it is nearly always with a view to downgrading the pastoral office. This is mischievous, and my hope in this article is to cast a little better light on the subject.

Musings of a Self-Confessed Maverick on Miscellaneous Issues of Critical Concern for Pastors and Churches

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This paper reflects Pastor Jim’s reformist perspective. It was written for a talk addressing Portland area CBA pastors during a meeting held on February 13, 1986. At that time, Pastor Jim was chairman of the Division of Ministerial Studies at Western Theological Seminary. Snatches of this paper appear in his book, Dispatches from the Front Lines: Reflections on the Glory and Grind of Pastoral Ministry, available for purchase here.

Jim Andrews, Senior Pastor, Lake Bible Church

Email: jima@lakebiblechurch.com
Church Phone: 503-699-9840

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To Contact by Mail

Lake Bible Church
Attn: Olsie Andrews
4565 Carman Drive
Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035