Tried With Fire

(Read part 1 here ) Secondly, real-life experience provides ample evidence of the depravity of humankind. Continuing with the subject of children, people will try to call them “little innocents,” mainly due to the fact that they have not committed many obviously sinful actions and are relatively harmless. However, no one has to teach a one-year-old how to throw a temper tantrum. Toddlers do not need any help engaging in what mothers call the “terrible twos.” Children whine, fight over toys while yelling, “Mine!,” and talk back at adults. In general, children naturally get into trouble and need to be taught how to behave; good manners do not come naturally. Pink expresses this idea extremely well: If there were any innate goodness in man, it would surely show itself during the days of his infancy, before virtuous principles were corrupted, and evil habits formed by his contact with the world. But do we find infants inclined to all that is pure and excellent, and disinclined to whate...

This post is an argument essay written by my daughter for her college composition class last semester. I was thankful her professor encouraged the students to think critically, have strong beliefs, and to not be afraid of writing about topics that concerned them. Due to its length, I've divided her paper into 2 parts. The depravity of man is a debated issue among Christians, particularly between the two camps known as “Reformed” and “Arminian.” The Reformed viewpoint favors the doctrine known as “total depravity.” It should be clarified what total depravity is and is not. “Total depravity” means that sin taints every part of humankind, stemming from the heart. It does not mean that people are utterly depraved, or as bad as they could possibly be (Sproul 103-104). Rather, total depravity is a moral distortion that renders all people incapable of having or desiring to have a right relationship with God (Pink 136). According to its proper definition, total depravity is total because...

(This post is one of my daughter's writing assignments. Since we are beginning our study in Philippians tonight, it seemed very appropriate.) People are designed to search for what is of value. As Christians, we know that the most valuable thing of all is the Word of God. Unfortunately, many people do not know how to study it and instead look for feelings and experiences. On the contrary, proper Bible study is very much like mining for precious stones. Just as with mining, Bible study takes hard work, requires patience, but yields rich reward. Gem mining and Bible study are both hard work. Miners must dig into the earth, often tunneling quite deep. Then they break up and sort through pieces of rock all day, every day. Likewise, Christians must dig deep into the Scriptures, carefully studying what the text says. The Bible will not unpack itself; we have to exert our minds to think. Both exercises also require patience and perseverance. Miners often have to search for a long t...

(I have a very special guest blogger today, my daughter.  This short essay was a school assignment which s he graciously allowed me to share with you. ) Christians need to be joined to a local church in order to obey many Scriptural commands, build up one another in the Lord, and be fed by the preaching of the Word. First of all, many commands and instructions in Scripture require that believers be church members. In Hebrews 10, we are told not to neglect to meet together (Heb. 10:25). Matthew 18 gives instructions regarding church discipline, an act which cannot be executed without church membership. For example, Paul told the Corinthian church to exclude someone who was unrepentant in immorality. Logically, the church could only exclude him if he had first been included, and therefore inclusion in the church must have had a concrete definition. Hebrews 13:17 tells us to submit to our leaders in the church, because they will have to...