When Christian leaders talk about how to live a godly life, they eventually turn to the gray areas those things that are right for some but wrong for others. You know the...

by C Michael Patton

Evangelism

Grace

Soteriology

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Does Sola Fide Means You Can Do Whatever You Please?

The other day, my daughter did the dishes without me asking. Wait…there’s more. Get this: it is not even her job to do the dishes anymore! It is my other...

by C Michael Patton

Difficult Issues in Scripture

Grace

New Testament

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Was James Being Legalistic in Acts 15? or “Can I Eat a Rare Steak?”

Last week I went to lunch with a student here in Edmond, OK. While I rarely get the chance, whenever I can, I go to a stake joint just down the road. I love steaks. After I...

Some Advice About Confronting Others (Especially About Theological Error)

You know what I hate? I hate when I am corrected by my wife. Especially when she is right! My first tendency is to get defensive. “Michael, do you think you can start...

Beware of “Professional Weaker Brethern”

My daughter, Katelynn, who is eleven, wants to start wearing make-up. I have a rule: No make-up at all until she is twelve. My wife does not agree with me. She thinks I am...

I Am Tired of All the Options

Jeffrey Bingham, the chair of the theology department at Dallas Theological Seminary, has a phrase he uses when people advocate something that is not a part of the historic...

For Christians Struggling with Sin

For those of you who, like me, struggle daily not only with sin, but with the “How-Can-I-As-A-Christian-Still-Struggle-With-Sin?” thing, find encouragement in...

Could Esau Repent? The Difficulty of Heb. 12:17

I was talking to someone the other day. He was distraught and depressed about his faith. Though he had experienced a dramatic conversion a few years back, the last year has...

by C Michael Patton

Ecclesiology (Church)

Grace Killer #1: “Biblical” Ways of Doing Church?

In theology, I have learned what the three most controversial topics are: 1. Women in ministry 2. Creation/Evolution issues 3. Calvinism/Arminianism stuff I would put them in...

Let Ninety-Five Percent Roll off Your Back

“Don’t write me!” That is the classic preemptive strike of Chuck Swindoll during a sermon. If he says something that he knows people will have problems with...

by C Michael Patton

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