A student says to you: “To be a Christian is to be a forgiven sinner, no more no less” How  does your understanding of adoption affect how you would respond to this question? Being a Christian has not just to do with justification, but also adoption and sanctification.  A forgiven sinner means you’ve been justified - it sounds very distant, legalistic. Though justification is necessary for someone to stand right before God, it isn’t the only privilege of being a Christian. We are called righteous through Jesus’ sacrifice, but we are also adopted and called sons/ heirs of God. Adoption also has legalistic dimension, the part where we were redeemed from a cursed  way of life - to being in line to the inheritance of God’s kingdom and having security that this is going to happen. We understand that we don’t work to be a son/ heir, but believe and enter the family with a sure inheritance. This point about the security we have is the one that stuck out the most to me as...

Core Study Response Four: Seminar titled ‘Creation: Made to be Human’ Rewind back 3 years ago, when I was helping out on a cereal bar with Kingston CU (the idea was that passer-byers came with a question and we gave them an answer and free cereal in return); there came a young man enquiring about my view on evolution. In attempt to fast-forward to the good stuff of the gospel, my reply was something along the lines of ‘well if I’m honest, I don’t think there’s a point in discussing evolution because it’s claimed to have happened so long ago we cant check, and I dont think it matters to our lives whether the world came about in a million years or in five days.’ I remember the conversation distinctly because of its abruptness. After my reply this young man sternly said ‘I think this is where our conversation comes to an end’ and walked away. I later tried to find him and apologise for my miscommunication, but I really did hold to that belief for a very long time. So, when I first he...

The God who Speaks - Core Study Response 3 Question:  In the midst of small group a discussion arises about the role of the Bible today. Some talk about how dry and irrelevant they find reading the Bible and how they would much rather God just spoke to them directly. They turn to you and ask what your view of the Bible is? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What do I think of the Bible? Well I agree with Mike Reeves, when he points out that through the Bible we get to know God. How? Because Jesus makes God known, as shown in John 14: “Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9 - NIV) “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”  (John 14:6 - NIV) and the ...

When I sat in science class about eight years ago, my teacher dissected a cow’s heart in front of us and proceeded to tell us we all had similar hearts pumping blood round bodies right now; leading to my sudden belief in the heart and its functions, and my inability to live without one. Akin to that revelation, has been the revelation of the Trinity to me thus far. If I had never known details of God’s three in one-ness, His triuneness would still not fail to continue making everything that is true possible; since every aspect of God is closely related to His creation and His will for it. Just as I lived ignorantly to my heart’s vital pumping efforts for many years, so have I to God’s truinity. Upon learning of the truth of my heart’s daily efforts to keep me alive, I was first led to awe and wonder. God, in the same way, revealing His existence in being an eternal and simple trinity has left me in wonder and a grown understanding and trust of Him. Being raised up as a Hindu meant...

------------------------------------- Key: route taken Transcript of Ben Virgo's Speech -------------------------------------- Standing at the top of the stairs at the front of St Paul’s Cathedral  1300s - the time of John witcliffe Minister of churches in London back then didn’t know the 12 commandments, where they were in the Bible nor who wrote the Lord’s Prayer. Different to them Whitcliffe was born again from reading the gospel and then preached it - ‘the God against whom you’ve sinned has taken the punishment for you and is coming again. He was arrested. His trial happened here in St Paul’s for heresy. They burned him alive. John of Gaunt was in charge of Whitcliffe’s trial with Lord Percy: The conversation between them is said to have gone like this: Percy: Whitcliffe would you like to be seated? Bishop: Are you inviting the heretic to be seated? Percy: do you know who I am? Bishop: do you know whose house this is? And a riot breaks out Wh...