August 17, 2009
N. T. Wright’s new book, Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision, is primarily a response to John Piper’s The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright though he engages others as well (e.g., Westerholm). For another extended review of Piper’s book, sympathetic to Wright, see Trevin Wax’s interaction with the book as well […]
61 Comments | Books, Theology | Tagged: Christology, Evangelicalism, Justification, N. T. Wright, Participation, Reformed Theology, Righteousness, Sanctification, Soteriology', Union with Christ | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
June 16, 2009
[Note: I am attempting to keep these SBD installments under 2000 words each, but that is–of course–quite inadequate for the topics covered. Consequently, these contributions are more programmatic than they are explanatory or defenses of the positions stated. You may access the whole series at my Serial page.] The Father elects, redeems and saves in […]
8 Comments | Theology | Tagged: communal, Community, Declarative, Discipleship, Ecclesiology, Faith, Forgiveness, Glorification, Grace, individualism, Justification, Kingdom of God, Participatory, Salvation, Sanctification, Soteriology', Transformation, Trinity, Works | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
May 22, 2009
[Note: I am attempting to keep these SBD installments under 2000 words each, but that is–of course–quite inadequate for the topics covered. Consequently, these contributions are more programmatic than they are explanatory or defenses of the positions stated. You may access the whole series at my Serial page.] The Holy Spirit, as the personal presence […]
6 Comments | Theology | Tagged: Assembly, Eschatology, Glorification, Holy Spirit, Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Pneumatology, Presence, Redemptive-History, Sanctification, Transformation, Trinity | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
April 17, 2009
If the life and ministry of Jesus is our pattern, then we all fall woefully short. Consequently, whether it is conforming our character to the image of Jesus or embodying the ministry of Jesus through the church, we all–individuals and congregations–need divine mercy since we all fall woefully short of the image of God in Jesus. […]
15 Comments | Hermeneutics, Theology | Tagged: Antinomianism, Faith, Grace, Legalism, Libertinism, Patternism, Perfectionism, Salvation, Sanctification, Soteriology', Transformation | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
March 15, 2009
Yes, it is true. I wrote articles for Contending for the Faith, edited by Ira Y. Rice, Jr., in the late 1970s. Ira Y. Rice, Jr. was a good friend of my father Mark N. Hicks. Ira would stay in our home, it seemed, at least once a year. He would either hold a meeting […]
19 Comments | Personal, Theology | Tagged: Authority, Church Organization, Church Polity, Elders, Holy Spirit, Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Ira Y. Rice, Jr., Leadership, Pneumatology, Polity, Sanctification, Scripture, Shepherds, Word | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
March 13, 2009
This is quite daring, I must admit. Or, it might be rather idiotic. But in my quest to place my published writings on this webpage, I now turn to the 1970s. It is rather chilling and sometimes quite illuminating to actually read what I wrote thirty years ago (wow! I really am that old). It […]
6 Comments | Personal, Theology | Tagged: Apostleship, Authority, Baptism, Bible-2 Thessalonians, Bible-Corinthians, Bible-Galatians, Bible-Romans, Calvinism, Creation, Divorce, Faith, Gender, Homosexuality, Justification, Marriage, Original Guilt, Original Sin, Patternism, Paul, Sanctification, Scripture, Speaking in Tongues, Spiritual Gifts, Tongues, Total Depravity, Women | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 24, 2009
My quest continues as I post older materials to my website, some published, some previously unpublished. 1. On October 8-9, 1993, I led a Men’s Leadership Retreat at Camp Idlewild, Virginia on the topic “Where’s the Grace?” (It is not my fault, Bob Clark invited me!) I have uploaded the lesson handouts and my rough […]
5 Comments | Biblical Texts, Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Assurance, Bible-Ephesians, Bible-Hebrews, Churches of Christ, Faith, Fellowship, Grace, Justification, Sanctification, Works | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
December 24, 2008
While in Montgomery Alabama for a summer meeting in 1902, James A. Harding answered several questions from the “Question Box” which was available to hearers there. He answered a few of these through the pages of The Way (“Questions and Answers,” 4 [July 17, 1902] 121-123). One concerned the name “Christian Church” (which he opposed […]
14 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Assembly, Bible, Bible Reading, Christians, Denominations, Fellowship, Giving, James A. Harding, Means of Grace, Poor, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Sects, Stone-Campbell, Stone-Campbell Movement | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
October 24, 2008
Spiritual formation the hard way? Spiritual formation–being formed into the image of Christ by the Father through the power of the Spirit so that Christ is formed in us from the inside out–comes in at least two ways. Neither are easy; both are difficult. Neither are instantaneous; both are processes. There is a disciplined, habitual approach to […]
7 Comments | Books, Personal, Spirituality | Tagged: Authentic Faith, Books, Faith, Forgiveness, Gary Thomas, Sanctification, Spiritual Formation, Spirituality, Test, Testing, Transformation | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
August 1, 2008
“It ain’t that complicated.” My recent series on “theological hermeneutics” may seem complicated. I may have made it look complicated. But I don’t think it is complicated at all. The method for which I argued does call for inductive Bible study, reflection, contemplation, holistic thinking, attention to the plot (metanarrative) in the theodrama, prayer, communal dialogue, […]
23 Comments | Hermeneutics, Spirituality, Theology | Tagged: CEI, Churches of Christ, Commands, Example, Hermeneuticals, Holy Spirit, Inference, Interpretation, Metanarrative, Narrative Theology, Objective, Objectivity, Patternism, Patterns, Restoration Movement, Restorationism, Sanctification, Spiritual, Spirituality, Stone-Campbell, Subjective, Subjectivity, Theology, Transformation, Understanding, Wisdom | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks