Wyatt Graham

Faith | Books | Culture

God Is Love. So Shall All Be Saved?

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“God is Love,” writes John (1 John 4:8). Out of this love, God loved us even while we were yet enemies (Rom 5:10; cf. 5:8). And this love accords with the divine desire that none “should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Hence, God takes no “pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezek 18:23). 

Given all of this, shall all be saved in the end? Do God’s love and power mean that God has both the motive (love) and means (power) to save all? Of course. He truly has made salvation available for all by his death and resurrection. But this perfect sacrifice does not entail that all will, in fact, be saved since not all do, in fact, believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation. 

Here are 3 reasons why I believe that not all shall be saved.  [Read more…] about God Is Love. So Shall All Be Saved?

What Is at the Centre of Christian Faith?

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Gregory of Nyssa once wrote, “The chief point of Christian piety is to believe the only begotten God” (John 1:18). His contemporary and friend Gregory of Nazanzius similarily said, “The Trinity is the chief topic of Christianity.” 

I suppose if someone asked us what the chief topic of Christianity is, then we would reply, “Jesus” or “the Gospel.” But our answer and the earlier answers do not disagree with each other. In truth, they speak about the same reality but from different viewpoints. To confess the Trinity is to confess the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the only begotten of God. [Read more…] about What Is at the Centre of Christian Faith?

God Is Impassible. Therefore, He Loves You Passionately.

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Adolf Harnack advanced the thesis that early Christians used Greek thought rather than Jewish or Biblical categories to define God. Following him (and others), many commonly make the accusation that: “Early Christians were beguiled by Greek thought. So they imported Greek thinking into their conception of God instead of using the Bible.”

This accusation does not make sense of the evidence. It is a weak argument that we should leave behind and forget about entirely. Here is the reality. [Read more…] about God Is Impassible. Therefore, He Loves You Passionately.

How to Talk to Christians Who Differ Politically—even If It Is Abortion Or Climate Change

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Human life begins after conception. Yes, there may be a small gap in time before the fertilized egg can be defined as a human being in potentiality. But it starts early. The climate is changing, but the eleven-year time-table as well as all current solutions to the problem do not convince me. I want nuclear power and investment in better technology, not carbon taxes and radical plans to undercut current energy production. 

So my cards are on the table. I have conservative views, and I am what many would consider a simpleton for them. So be it. My point here is not to defend my views but to persuade those who share mine to treat Christians who differ from them better. I am not going to argue for any of these political positions, but I am going to sketch out ways that we can speak the truth in love even with Christians who hold different political views than us.  [Read more…] about How to Talk to Christians Who Differ Politically—even If It Is Abortion Or Climate Change

What Is the Gospel of John about?

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The Gospel of John aims to persuade readers that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

The means by which the Gospel communicates its purpose is eye-witness testimony. The evangelist identifies himself as “the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24). 

Putting the purpose and mode of delivery together, we can say that John as an eyewitness of Jesus Christ carefully selected and organized his Gospel book so that readers would believe and have life in the name of Jesus, the Christ and the Son of God.  [Read more…] about What Is the Gospel of John about?

What Was God Doing before Time?

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What was God doing before time? According to Scripture, God created everything (Gen 1:1) and apart from him nothing was made (John 1:3). So God alone is uncreated. And this means God existed before creation, before the universe, and, I think we can say, before all time. He is, after all, said to “alone possess immortality” (1 Tim 6:16). And it is impossible for him to have a beginning if nothing but him existed before any created thing came into existence.  

How then can we conceive of God before all time? And how can God relate to us in time? It is an odd question but one that, I think, has an answer that leads to profound worship.  [Read more…] about What Was God Doing before Time?