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Introduction to Healing

 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (I Cor 15:53) I have begun to discuss some preliminary matters related to the charismatic gifts. I now intend to delve into a discussion of individual charismatic gifts. The first two will be healing and miracles, and I will take them together. But before I discuss healing specifically, I want to give Biblical background on healing in general. I hope this background will help you avoid some common misunderstandings of Biblical healing. The Christian faith certainly involves spiritual matters.  One cannot deal with…

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An Interpretive Help for Understanding the Charismatic Gifts

In my last blog I talked about the legitimacy of the charismatic gifts as well as some false doctrines surrounding those gifts.  Here I want to focus on the Biblical interpretation that brings about many of those false doctrines.  Generally speaking,  when people believe a false doctrine about charismatic gifts, they do so on the basis of how they view the relationship between the Acts narratives and Paul’s explanations in I Corinthians.  In my experience, people who say that tongues are required for salvation, for the filling of the Spirit, or for a higher level of spirituality all believe that…

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The Charismatic Gifts

We are in the middle of a series on spiritual gifts. I have now discussed the major noncharismatic gifts the Bible mentions. But before I discuss the charismatic gifts individually, I want to talk about my approach to them generally. Since in Scripture, tongues gets most of the press, it will get most of the press here as well, but I do intend this discussion to apply more broadly than just to tongues. When I was a young believer, I attended a charismatic church for a time.  I did not myself speak in tongues, so one day two men, concerned…

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Hospitality

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another (I Pet 4:9) God wants us to share life with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  He also wants us to welcome the stranger.  Hospitality is a means toward both those ends.  Hospitality brings people together and makes them feel welcome and important.  Hospitality builds community and helps the stranger.   Hospitality was one of the central traits that God used to build the early church.  They were constantly meeting in one another’s homes.  Those with the gift of hospitality use…

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Evangelism

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never hears?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Rom 10:14) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  (Acts 1:8) Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations.  Evangelism is part of that command.  Without evangelism there can be no discipleship.  All Christians are, thus,…

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