Testing Tradition

The word "apostle" literally means "sent one."  Apostles in general were those sent out as traveling ministers (e.g. Luke 9:1-2).  Below I will proceed to make a high level case in bullet form for why the role of Timothy in the early church was more apostolic than it was pastoral (not that there isn't overlap between the two).  Some who have a strict criteria for who can be an apostle might get tripped up by me saying that Timothy was an apostle.  I don't want that to be the main stumbling block.  So, if it helps, consider my use of the term "apostle" in association with Timothy as "lower case a" apostle, not "upper case A" Apostle.  Or, if that's still a stumbling block, then just use the term "apostolic worker" rather than "apostle" to describe Timothy.  The main point is functional in that Timothy was primarily a traveling minister, not so much about an office Timothy filled. Timothy traveled wit...

Note: This is the first of a two-part series.  You can read part two  here  and part three here . I recently watched a forum discussion considering whether a sacrificial death is necessary for the forgiveness of sins:  The Protestant position was represented by a friend of mine, Joshua Camacho, and the Eastern Orthodox position was represented by Gabriel-Allan Boyd.  Representing the Protestant position, Camacho makes the case that a sacrificial death is necessary for the forgiveness of sins.  And, representing the Eastern Orthodox position, Boyd makes the case that a sacrificial death is not necessary for the forgiveness of sins. I found the two-hour discussion to be helpful and thought-provoking but wanted to touch here on just one area where Camacho and Boyd disagree: the wrath of God and how it relates to the cross of Jesus Christ. For pretty much all of my Christian life (beginning around 2002), I have understood the cross of Christ to be about solving...

A couple of years ago I read Getting the Garden Right by Richard Barcellos. It's a well-written book with great insights, especially as he draws a biblical theology of Adam's vocation and its fulfillment in Christ as the last Adam. But one of the things that I found myself provoked by was a constant return to the idea that all human beings by nature have the law written on their hearts.  This is something the London Baptist Confession of Faith states in 19.1 and 19.2 (referencing Romans 2:14-15) and which Barcellos repeats again and again and is foundational to the argument for a covenant of works in the Garden. [14] For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. [15] They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Romans 2:14–15, ESV) From what I can see, there ...