Growing up Baptist, justification was a really big deal. Because like good Protestants (even though we weren’t always sure we were Protestants… long story) our teaching emphasized salvation by grace through faith alone. But I have to confess that ever since I started seminary (5 years ago) I’ve had another kind of justification on the brain. This kind of justification is where you have to defend yourself to other people. I’m not just talking apologetics, although this definitely has application there. I’m talking about defending whole fields of inquiry and their use in biblical studies. See, as a Baptist, I was taught to just focus on the Bible. Church history…

The man who wants to build a house begins with blueprints. Without instructions, he is playing a dangerous game trying to construct something exceedingly complex by more or less shooting from the hip. If house-building is your thing, all you have to do is find a set of suitable blueprints and work from there. The same holds true for the man who would master a theological system. If his whole point is to end up with a workable system, there are many to choose from. The blueprints you choose for your theological system will have different strengths and weaknesses, as well as a broad range of costs. The man with…

If you would, stroll across the lawn with me. I have something I’d like to show you. It’s just around this corner here. I’d like to give you a tour of my soul. What’s that you say? “It’s just a garden”? Of course it looks like a garden! What else would you expect a soul to look like? But it’s not “just” anything. It’s one of the most precious things on earth. I’m not out to compare gardens or even to show off what I’ve done with mine. My garden isn’t all that special, I just mean that every garden is sacred. You gaze upon hallowed ground. For this earth…