Third Millennium Ministries

When theologians speak of God’s simplicity, they have in mind that God’s essence is not a composite; it’s not divided.

When we say that Scripture is “clear,” we don’t mean that everything in the Bible is easy to understand, or that everything in the Bible is stated plainly and directly. Instead, we mean that the Bible is not obscure. It’s not filled with hidden meanings that can only be discovered through mysterious means, or through special spiritual gifting, or by those who hold special offices in the church.

The Bible consistently speaks of God’s own personal goodness as the absolute standard by which all ethical issues are to be evaluated. God’s law is right and good because it comes from God, who himself is right and good. Because he is righteous, everything he does and everything he expresses — including his laws for us — manifests his goodness.

All four gospels are unified by the theme of the kingdom of God. But the Gospel of Matthew is the only book in the Bible that uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven.”

It’s generally obvious to most people that actions can properly be considered right and wrong. The Bible teaches Christians to conform every aspect of our lives and beings to God's moral standards. So, Christian ethics must address not only behavior, but also emotions, orientations, predilections, inclinations, preferences, thoughts, imaginations, beliefs, and even our very natures.

To introduce our approach to the proper standard, we’ll touch on three aspects of God’s revelation.

All good works must be done with the proper goal in mind. If our works are to please God, immediate goals like caring for our families, honoring our parents, going to church, and the like, must be part of a bigger picture.

Although some theologians treat the Ten Commandments as if they were just another portion of the Mosaic law, the Bible indicates that the Ten Commandments have a special primacy over Scripture’s other commandments.

“Imputation” simply means “assignment” or “reckoning.” But when we speak about the imputation of our sin to Jesus on the cross, we’re referring to the act in which God assigned the guilt of sinners to the person of Jesus.

Jesus performed more miracles than any other prophet in Israel’s history. The New Testament mentions at least 35 specific miracles, and the Gospel of John indicates that he performed innumerable miracles beyond these.

When Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized, John objected because Jesus was already righteous. But Jesus responded by saying that it wasn’t enough for him to be personally sinless; he also had to fulfill all the necessary righteous works that had been appointed to him.

When Christians talk about God creating the world, our minds normally go to the person of God the Father. But Scripture teaches that the Son was at the Father’s side during creation, and that the Father created the world by or through him.

The Son’s motive for redeeming sinners was complex and can be described in a variety of ways. But one of the most well-known words Scripture uses to describe the Son’s motive in redemption is “love” — love for God, love for creation and love for human beings.

Subjectivism has influenced both critical biblical studies and evangelical biblical studies. In general, we can say that subjectivists recognize that human beings and the world, and especially matters of faith, are often too complex to be discerned by scientific rationalism.

For centuries, objectivism has greatly influenced the interpretation of the Bible. Scholars have believed that they can interpret Scripture impartially, and that they can know its meaning with relative certainty.

Interpreting the Bible is like having a dialog with the most authoritative figure we can imagine, God himself. It’s a dialog because it involves a type of conversational “give and take” between readers and the Scriptures. On the reader’s side of the dialog, we all come to the Bible with many questions, preconceptions, cultural backgrounds, and personal experiences. And each of these things influences what we understand from the Bible. On Scripture’s side of the dialog, God continually speaks to us through his Word, sometimes confirming what we believe, sometimes correcting it.

Humanity was so central to God’s kingdom purposes, that our rebellion brought a curse on the entire universe. We’ve constantly rebelled against God’s will, so that his kingdom on earth has failed to display his perfect glory as its benevolent King and Creator.

The visible church includes everyone who is regularly part of the gathered church, regardless of the condition of their hearts. There are several different ways people can be counted as part of the visible church.

Like images of false gods and of kings in the ancient Near East, images of the true God are intended to reflect his character wherever they appear. And God’s character is utterly pure, holy and righteous.