Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 02041 Of all the attributes of God presented in Scripture, holiness occupies a unique place. It is not simply one characteristic among many; it is the attribute that the biblical writers single out for the most intense emphasis. The angels in Isaiah’s vision do not cry “love, love, love” or “power, power, power.” They…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 2072 The question of whether beauty is a genuine divine attribute, something that properly belongs to who God is rather than merely a poetic description of how creation affects us, is one that systematic theology has sometimes neglected. The traditional list of divine attributes tends to run through omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, holiness, love, and…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 2062 “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” Those words from 1 John 1:5 are among the most compact and striking theological statements in Scripture. They arrive without qualification, without hedging, and without any parallel phrase to soften them. But what exactly does John mean? What kind of light…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 2061 Few questions surface more persistently in pastoral conversations than this one: why does the God of the Old Testament seem harsh and demanding, while Jesus appears gentle and compassionate? The apparent contrast unsettles sincere believers and provides a ready objection for sceptics. But the contrast, once examined carefully, tells us more about how…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 2077 The account of Uzzah’s death in 2 Samuel 6 is one of those passages that stops readers short. A man reaches out to stop the ark from falling, an instinctive act that seems entirely reasonable and even admirable, and God strikes him dead on the spot. David is angry and afraid. Many modern…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 6007 Once we become Christians, is it possible to reach a point where we no longer sin? Some have taught a doctrine of “entire sanctification” or “Christian perfection,” claiming that believers can achieve sinless perfection in this life. Others seem to think that since we are saved by grace, it does not particularly matter…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 6010 In Psalm 19, David prays, “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” (Psalm 19:13). This suggests there is a category of sin that is particularly dangerous, something beyond the ordinary sins we all commit. What are presumptuous sins, and why should they concern us? Understanding…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 1115 Every honest reader of Scripture encounters passages that make us uncomfortable. Commands that seem severe, judgements that appear disproportionate, language that strikes modern ears as offensive. Whether it is the destruction of the Canaanites, the curses of the imprecatory psalms, or Paul’s instructions about slavery, these “harsh” texts challenge our sensibilities and raise…