Dear supporter,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
When considering God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, JI Packer wrote: “We shall not oppose them to each other. Nor shall we qualify, or modify, or water down, either of them in terms of the other, for this is not what the Bible does either. What the Bible does is to assert both truths side by side in the strongest most unambiguous terms as two ultimate facts; this, therefore, is the position we must take in our thinking.”
In our recent Colin Hart Lectures series, we considered pairs of glorious Christian truths that are often perceived to be held in tension – as if to assert one is to sacrifice the other. But if we are to ‘correctly handle the word of truth’ we cannot engage in any ‘trade-offs’. Rather, we do as the Bible does and proclaim both joyfully, fearlessly and without compromise.
All five episodes of the Colin Hart Lectures series from The Christian Institute are now available to watch online.
EPISODE 1
Addressing contentious issues can risk trading off grace and truth against one another. Truth without grace is of course a travesty. Yet we cannot water down the truth in the misguided belief that this is the gracious thing to do. ‘Grace’ without truth is not grace at all. Our example is Christ himself who “came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
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Gerald Bray is a distinguished theologian and historian, and a prolific author.
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EPISODE 2
We should be as wary of denigrating good works for fear of undermining sola fide as we should of preaching a Gospel of salvation by works. The biblical position is often summed up by Calvin’s declaration that it is “faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone”. Good works are the fruit of genuine salvation.
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Bill James was a pastor for 26 years, and has been Principal of London Seminary since 2018.
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EPISODE 3
The accounts of Abraham, Joseph and Esther reveal that from our limited perspective God’s promises and their fulfilment can sometimes appear to conflict. But God will always ensure that his providence fulfils his Word. This offers no excuse for passive fatalism, rather it should encourage Christians to trust in God’s sovereignty while confronting the evils of this fallen world.
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Wyn Hughes is Pastor of Heath Evangelical Church, Cardiff.
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EPISODE 4
CH Spurgeon was once asked if he could reconcile God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. “I wouldn’t try”, he is said to have replied: “I never reconcile friends”. A right understanding of these two truths will underpin our approach to salvation, evangelism, discipleship and more.
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Stuart Olyott is well-known as a preacher and teacher. He has authored numerous titles, including his commentary on Romans: The Gospel as it really is.
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EPISODE 5
We consider a genuine tension in our Christian walk. We possess every spiritual blessing in Christ now, but we do not yet experience the fullness of those blessings. We are already adopted, redeemed, sanctified and raised in Christ, yet they are not complete until his coming. This is the life of faith.
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Rupert Bentley-Taylor, was a pastor for 30 years. He is a former President of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches and is a trustee of The Christian Institute.
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