Hey there. I’m Phil and this is my blog.
I sometimes write things about my life or random thoughts I have. I hope they’re of some benefit.
My topics are usually related to my Christian faith and stem from a evangelical Christian perspective. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ who seeks to live every day in the Gospel. My opinions are not representative of the positions of any denomination, church, or ministry.
If there’s a topic you really want to see me weigh in on, I’m open to suggestions. Feel free to post here or send me a message with suggestions.
God Bless!
Delivered From Darkness 
What are your thoughts on the Sabbath day, keeping it holy, and the Sabbath being made for man?
The Sabbath day issue is part of the broader issue of Law and Gospel. The two questions that have to be asked before answering your questions are: (1) What has happened to the Law following the introduction of the New Covenant? (2) Everyone believes that some degree of the Law has been abrogated; does the Sabbath fall into this category?
Perhaps I’ll hit this in a post sometime soon. It’s a tough topic, but well worth studying.
Thoughts on dispensational, covenant, and new covenant theologies? …not as labels but as doctrines. Thanks! By the way, I know these may take a while.
Thanks for the question, Clint! I may do a thread on that at some point. I’m not really good at all the deep theologizing, but I’m willing to give it a try! 🙂
I get it. That was my #2 wrestling at BJU: being told to read my Bible and pray every day and yet hitting a wall of Dispensationalism in my Bible classes because it didn’t match what I was reading in Romans, Galatians, or especially Hebrews and Ephesians 1-3. So, I’m interested in how you handled it. Take your time, or you don’t have to write about these at all, and thank you, Brother.
Clint: what do you see as the top 3 difficulties for dispensationalist hermeneutics in those books? That might give me a good jumping off point.
The key question is “Who are the people of God?”. When I began to finally answer this question Scripturally, I began to read the Old Testament and actually understand what I was reading.
The next question is “What is my hermeneutic?”. Do I interpret all of the Bible literally? Or do I let Jesus and the Apostles tell me what the OT means and interpret according to genre?
The third question is “How does Scripture divide itself?”. Does it speak of dispensations? Does it speak of any overarching “Covenant of Grace?” Or does it speak of covenants, promises, and fulfillments?
In answer to these three questions, which are vital to simply understand the Bible as a whole and understand who we are in relation to God, the following passages ushered me headlong into a whole new world of Spirit-driven understanding of the Word.
Eph 1-3: God made “one new man.” The people of God are Jew and Gentile united in Christ.
Romans: the children of faith are the true children of Abraham. Those who are Jews inwardly are the true Israel of God. Bloodlines are completely irrelevant now. Ch 9-11 make it clear that the “restoration” of Israel is done by preserving a remnant in the Church (Paul includes himself in this remnant).
Hebrews simply crushes everything Dispensational in all three questions above. There’s not so much a chapter-verse for the letter; the whole discourse is addressing the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant to all other beings and covenants.
Galatians(3) and Romans(4,9) both deal with the word (depending on translation) “seed” or “offspring.” Paul clearly states who these different offspring are, then concludes that the true offspring(s) of Abraham are those who believe in the Offspring of Abraham.
So, i hope this gives an idea of what I’m picking your brain about. If you’re not too big on the theology side of things, then I understand; don’t waste any time. Like you, I crave fellowship with like-minded Brothers and crave a better understanding of the Word in a community forum. Thank you, again.