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Articles published by various authors. (More recent articles appear first.)
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| The Doctrine of the Trinity - Part 1 by Steve Lewis The goal of this study is to present an introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity as well as an exegesis of a specific passage that provides key facts which must be considered in any systematic treatment of the Trinity. The first part of this discussion will include the definition and importance of the doctrine, the early historical development of the doctrine, and important theological concepts relating to this doctrine. Part two will undertake an exegetical analysis of a key Scripture passage on the Trinity (John 15:26-27) in order to understand its contribution to this important doctrine. This article was published in The Journal of Dispensational Theology, Vol. 12 No. 35, March 2008. This article appears by permission of The Journal of Dispensational Theology which is published by the Society of Dispensational Theology. (35) |
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| The Date and Authorship of the Book of Daniel by Charles Ray It is no accident that the three most attacked books of the Bible are also the most significant (Genesis, Daniel, and Revelation). It is commonly known that if the foundation is faulty, the building will soon fall. This article will seek to refute the view that the Book of Daniel was written in the second century BC (as many liberals claim) and thus could not have been written by Daniel (ca. 622 – ca. 536). This article was published in The Journal of Dispensational Theology, Vol. 11 No. 34, December 2007. This article appears by permission of The Journal of Dispensational Theology which is published by the Society of Dispensational Theology. (34) |
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| Does Pretribulationism Lead to Idleness? by Steve Lewis The common view of 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 is that the unruly believers had forsaken their normal livelihood in order to wait for the Rapture of the Church. This view, however, opens the doctrine of Premillennialism to undue criticism. This article was published in The Journal of Dispensational Theology, Vol. 10 No. 30, September 2006. This article appears by permission of The Journal of Dispensational Theology which is published by the Society of Dispensational Theology. (33) |
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| A Study of Daniel 9:24-27, Part 1 by Charles Ray The first in a four-part article examining the famous prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks. Have all 70 weeks been fulfilled in the past? Is there a gap between the 69th. and 70th week? What starts the 70 weeks and when do they end? Dr. Ray guides us on a detailed exegesis of this important passage. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 5 No. 15, August 2001. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (29) |
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| A Study of Daniel 9:24-27, Part 2 by Charles Ray The second in a four-part article examining the famous prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks. Have all 70 weeks been fulfilled in the past? Is there a gap between the 69th. and 70th week? What starts the 70 weeks and when do they end? Dr. Ray guides us on a detailed exegesis of this important passage. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 5 No. 16, December 2001. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (30) |
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| A Study of Daniel 9:24-27, Part 3 by Charles Ray The third in a four-part article examining the famous prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks. Have all 70 weeks been fulfilled in the past? Is there a gap between the 69th. and 70th week? What starts the 70 weeks and when do they end? Dr. Ray guides us on a detailed exegesis of this important passage. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 6 No. 17, March 2002. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (31) |
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| A Study of Daniel 9:24-27, Part 4 by Charles Ray The final installment in a four-part article examining the famous prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks. Have all 70 weeks been fulfilled in the past? Is there a gap between the 69th. and 70th week? What starts the 70 weeks and when do they end? Dr. Ray guides us on a detailed exegesis of this important passage. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 6 No. 18, August 2002. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (32) |
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| The Nature of Saving Faith by Steve Lewis There is much confusion in the Church today over the nature of saving faith. Many contradictory theories have been proposed over the years, ranging from the Arminian view of absolute human free will to the extreme Calvinistic view of the complete inability of man which requires that faith itself be a gift of God. Many theories regarding the nature of saving faith are based on logical inferences that have been reached in an attempt to create coherent systems of theology, rather than being based on clear statements in Scripture. The present study will examine the evidence regarding the capabilities of fallen man, the pre-faith work of the Godhead within the unsaved, and the ultimate nature of saving faith as it relates to the process of salvation. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 9 No. 27, August 2005. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (28) |
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| Canaanite Genocide by Andy Woods Biblical genocide has proven to be a stumbling block preventing people from trusting Christ as savior. Many rationalize that the God of the Bible is no more humane than the God of Islam on account of the fact that divinely sanctioned genocide is found in the major holy books of both religions. Thus, an explanation of biblical genocide has become a key Christian apologetic issue of our day. To this end, this paper will attempt to offer a balanced perspective on the subject of divinely sanctioned genocide of the Canaanites. (27) |
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| DISPENSATIONAL HERMENEUTICS: The Matter of Genre by Andy Woods Despite the fact that genre can be a helpful device in interpreting Scripture, today's evangelicals have pushed the concept too far. Today, genre is often used as an excuse for suspending the ordinary rules of hermeneutics. (26) |
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| DISPENSATIONAL HERMENEUTICS: The Grammatico-Historical Method by Andy Woods What makes someone a dispensationalist? While many view Dispensationalism as a mere theological system, this assessment is inaccurate. In actuality, Dispensationalism has more to do with commitment to a particular hermeneutic then it does to adherence to a theological model. The Dispensational theological system arises out of a hermeneutic rather than from a theology imposed upon Scripture. The purpose of this paper is to describe this hermeneutic and explain how Dispensationalism is its natural by-product. (25) |
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| The Doctrine of the Remnant and the Salvation of Israel in Romans 9-11 by Steve Lewis This article presents a contextual and grammatical analysis of Romans 9-11 in order to provide a consistent interpretation of the different aspects of God's plan for the salvation of Israel. Special attention is focused on Romans 11:25-26 regarding the eventual salvation of Israel on a national scale. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 9 No. 26, March 2005. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (24) |
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| The Significance of Systematic Theology by Andy Woods This final article in a three-part series on the subject of systematic theology (published in the Conservative Theological Journal) gets to the most fundamental issue by answering the question, "Do we really need theology at all?" Although previous generations of believers would have never entertained such a question, this query is crying out for an answer today on account of the fact that more and more Christian leaders are beginning to view theology as something that is somewhat irrelevant to the health and life of the church. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 8 No. 25, December 2004. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (23) |
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| Enthroning the Interpreter: Dangerous Trends in Law and Theology - Part I by Andy Woods The disciplines of law and theology have much in common. Perhaps the most significant similarity between the two entails the relentless quest for authorial intent through the vehicle of a literal method of interpretation. In other words, a literal hermeneutical procedure is the key toward understanding the author's intended meaning when interpreting either legal documents or Scripture. This series of articles will demonstrate that the use of a literal method of interpretation in order to pursue the author's meaning is a time-honored practice in both fields. In addition, these articles will also draw attention to disturbing interpretive trends well under way in both disciplines that have introduced a gradual shift in authority from the text to the interpreter. This article (part one) will focus on how literal interpretation is a foundational interpretive method within the American legal system. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 8 No. 23, March 2004. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (19) |
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| Enthroning the Interpreter: Dangerous Trends in Law and Theology - Part II by Andy Woods Part I in this series of articles demonstrated that the utilization of a literal hermeneutic in order to ascertain authorial intent is a key component of American jurisprudence. This article (part II) will establish that the employment of this same method of interpretation is also the cornerstone of proper biblical interpretation. It stands to reason that if jurists employ literalism in order to discover the author's meaning in contracts, testamentary documents, statutes, or constitutions, interpreters of Scripture should do no less when seeking to discover what God Himself has declared. Thus, one notices distinct similarities when comparing traditional maxims of legal interpretation with basic maxims of biblical interpretation. Specifically, this article will show that both biblical and legal interpretation use the identical interpretive approach and underlying philosophy. This series of four articles was published in three installments in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 8 No. 23, 24, and 25 (March, August, and December) of 2004. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (20) |
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| Enthroning the Interpreter: Dangerous Trends in Law and Theology - Part III by Andy Woods Part II in this series of articles demonstrated that use of a literal hermeneutic in order to ascertain authorial intent is foundational to proper legal and biblical interpretation. The next two articles will expose a drift away from these bedrock principles in both fields. Over the course of the previous century and a half, American jurisprudence has experienced a progressive movement away from seeking authorial intent through what the author has plainly stated. Although this trend is not necessarily discernible in all facets of legal interpretation, it is particularly noticeable in the field of constitutional interpretation. While Justice Story's previously mentioned classical approach to constitutional interpretation called for seeking the meaning of the Constitution based upon the plain language of its drafters, modern constitutional interpretation places the ability to determine the Constitution's meaning almost exclusively within the subjective discretion of the interpreter. Thus, the end result is that the field of constitutional interpretation has undergone a radical shift in authority from the objective constitutional text to the subjectivity of the interpreter's mind. This series of four articles was published in three installments in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 8 No. 23, 24, and 25 (March, August, and December) of 2004. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (21) |
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| Enthroning the Interpreter: Dangerous Trends in Law and Theology - Part IV by Andy Woods The first two articles in this four-part series showed that proper legal and biblical interpretation involves pursuing authorial intent through the mechanism of a literal hermeneutic. The underlying philosophy behind such an approach is to dethrone the interpreter's personal ideological or theological preferences and instead to enthrone what is objectively revealed in the text. In other words, the goal of applying a literal hermeneutic is to transfer the authority in the interpretive process away from the dynamic and subjective imagination of the interpreter and instead toward the objective standard of the unchanging text. Part three of this series traced an erosion of this time-honored principle in the area of constitutional interpretation. Because modern judicial philosophy determines the Constitution's meaning based upon what the judge says it means rather than based upon what the document actually says, the true authority in the interpretive process has transferred from the text to the interpreter. This series of four articles was published in three installments in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 8 No. 23, 24, and 25 (March, August, and December) of 2004. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (22) |
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| The Contribution Ancient Near East Background Material Makes To Understanding And Interpreting Isaiah 14:12-15 by Andy Woods Many modern interpreters reject the idea that Isaiah 14:12-15 represents the fall of Satan on the grounds that Isaiah is drawing from a pagan myth. However, a careful comparison of Isaiah 14:12-15 with alleged mythological sources indicates that any similarities between the two are outweighed by vast differences. (18) |
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| Revelation 1:7 - Past or Future? by Tony Garland John wrote that "every eye will see Him" and that "all the tribes of the earth will mourn" when He appears. Did Jesus "appear" to the Jewish tribes at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 as preterism maintains? Or are there reasons for understanding this passage to teach a future event of world-wide impact? This article was subsequently published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 9 No. 27, August 2005 which is a publication of the Conservative Theological Society. (17) |
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| Systematic Theology and Premillennialism by Charles Ray Premillennialism touches on almost every major branch of systematic theology to one degree or another. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the significance of this pervasive influence, and, by contrast, the perverting influence of amillennialism and postmillennialism. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 8 No. 24, August 2004. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (16) |
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| The Meaning of "The Husband of One Wife" in 1 Timothy 3:2 by Andy Woods This paper examines eight possible interpretations of the phrase "husband of one wife" found in 1 Timothy 3:2. The merits and deficiencies of each approach are explored. The paper will conclude that the this phrase does not deal with the candidate's legal married status but rather pertains to fidelity as part of the candidate's character at the time he is considered for the office of elder. Although it is acceptable for the church to examine the candidate's past sins in order to ascertain the present content of his character, it is inappropriate for the church to use 1 Timothy 3:2 as a basis of holding a candidate's past sins against him in isolation of his current character. (15) |
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| Why is "Darwin on Trial"? by Deb Garland This article discusses liabilities of evolutionary theory identified by Phillip E. Johnson's book, Darwin On Trial. (14) |
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| An Introduction to the Open Theism Controversy by Andy Woods This paper provides an introductory overview of the new theological movement known as "Open Theism." Although this new movement impacts one's understanding of several of God's attributes, this paper will specifically focus upon how openness theology impacts one's understanding of God's foreknowledge. This paper will offer a critique of the openness view of divine foreknowledge from a classical theist perspective. The hermeneutical, biblical, historical, and practical issues in the debate will be explored. This paper was presented at a workshop of the Grace Evangelical Society conference held on February 23, 2004. (13) |
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| What is the Relationship of the Church to the New Covenant? by Andy Woods Exposition of the New Covenant and its relationship to the church has traditionally proven to be a "sore spot" for dispensational interpreters. Because dispensationalism has all too frequently emphasized Scripture's discontinuity at the expense of its continuity, dispensationalists have often had difficulty explaining the New Testament verses that seemingly apply Israel's New Covenant to the church age. This paper will attempt to demonstrate how the New Covenant relates to the church in a way that maintains the continuity as well as the discontinuity between God's programs for Israel and the church. In pursuance of this end, the following three areas will be explored: the Old Testament's presentation of the New Covenant, what the New Testament presents regarding the New Covenant's ratification and relation to the church, and inadequate views some interpreters have offered concerning how the New Covenant relates to the church. (12) |
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| The Use of Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15 by Andy Woods A straightforward reading of Hosea 11:1 yields merely a historical statement regarding Israel's Exodus experience. Verse 2 corroborates this understanding by highlighting the events of the nation following the Exodus experience. Thus, these verses are merely focusing on the history of the nation rather than the coming messiah. Therefore, at first glance, this passage is not in need of receiving any future fulfilling. However, what makes the passage problematic is that Mathew 2:15 indicates that Hosea 11:1 was fulfilled by events that transpired in the early life of Jesus. In other words, Christ's departure into Egypt to escape the slaughter of the infants by Herod somehow fulfilled the words of Hosea 11:1. What in the context of Hosea 11:1 needed fulfilling when the verse merely looked backward to Israel's historical experiences rather than forward to the coming messiah? (11) |
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| How Do We Know We Have the Author’s Intended Meaning? by Andy Woods This article offers a conservative approach regarding where the author's intended meaning is found. The remainder of the article attempts to rebut possible objections raised against this position. (10) |
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| Ten Lies the Church Tells Women by Andy Woods Andy responds to Lee Grady's book, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women. (9) |
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| A Testimony of Jesus Christ by Tony Garland A commentary on the Book of Revelation. The text may also be downloaded for offline viewing. (8) |
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| What is the Identity of Babylon in Revelation 17-18? by Andy Woods This paper surveys five prominent approaches for identifying Babylon in Revelation 17-18. These approaches include identifying Babylon as the world, Jerusalem, Rome, an end time religious system, and futuristic, literal, rebuilt Babylon. The author leans toward identifying Babylon as the literal, historical city on the banks of the Euphrates as this view seems to have fewer problems than the other views. (7) |
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| The Dispensational Implications of Galations 3:17-19 by Steve Lewis An examination of the implications of this passage concerning three aspects of dispensationalism: (1) the relationshp between the covenants; (2) the role of Jesus in the fulfillment of the covenants; and (3) the progress of revelation. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 7 No. 22, December 2003. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (6) |
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| Theological Presuppositions and the Interpretation of Revelation by Steve Lewis While it may be true that there is common ground among evangelical Christians regarding some areas of Bible prophecy, the important question is, "What is the underlying cause for the differences on points of prophecy?" Whatever accounts for the differences may be more significant and far-reaching than the fact that there is agreement on some issues. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 7 No. 21, August 2003. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (5) |
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| Does Dispensationalism Teach Two Ways of Salvation? by Tony Garland This article explores the accusations made by non-dispensationalists that dispensationalism teaches more than one way of salvation. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 7 No. 20, March 2003. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (4) |
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| The Work of Christ on Our Behalf by Deb Garland This article provides a helpful overview of Christ's work on the behalf of those who believe in Him. Key elements of His atoning work are summarized. (3) |
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| The Implications of God's Infinity for "Open" Theism by Steve Lewis Proponents of the "Open" view of God claim to believe in God's infiniteness; therefore the implications of the infinity of God will be explored to determine whether they are consistent with the tenets of open theism. This article was published in The Conservative Theological Journal, Vol. 7 No. 20, March 2003. This article appears by permission of The Conservative Theological Journal which is published by the Conservative Theological Society. (2) |
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| Why I Believe by Tony Garland A short pamplet which discusses scientific and historical evidence for the truth of the Bible. May be freely duplicated for evangelistic use. (1) |
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