According To Luke

According to Luke is the official blog of Kingstone Press. New posts every Tuesday at 7 PM EST.

1 What shall we say then (rhetorical question; continuing from preceding chapter) that Abraham (first Old Testament example; lived before the giving of the Mosaic Law) our father (physical father of the Jewish nation and spiritual father of all believers; cf. vv. 11-12), as pertaining to the flesh (from a human perspective; according to natural descent), hath found (discovered; obtained concerning justification)? (Paul deliberately begins with Abraham and then proceeds to Dav

There is an entire generation of young girls watching. Observing. Imitating. A role model will form them one way or another; the only question is who will influence them the most. This is not a preventative warning about some mystical evil hovering on the horizon. The evil is already operating and already shaping countless lives. The question under consideration is not whether these girls will be discipled by someone. They will be. The question is whether the women of God wil

The transition from the Gospel According to Luke chapter 3 into chapter 4 is not merely chronological narrative movement. Luke presents it as a deliberate theological progression in which ethical instruction and Messianic testing are arranged in a recurring triadic structure. The same moral domains appear in both chapters—first in the preaching of John the Baptist, then in the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. —————————— Read together, Luke 3–4 forms a unified literary u

After creation and the fall, the first sons of Adam, Cain and Abel, appear at the appointed place of worship, where the pattern of acceptable and rejected offering is first revealed. In Genesis 4:7, God’s words to Cain are often interpreted as a warning of imminent danger: “Sin lieth at the door.” Under the traditional reading, sin is portrayed as a crouching beast waiting to devour Cain. The language would function as zoomorphic imagery rather than a literal depiction. Yet t

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be (not doubting like Zacharias, but asking for understanding), seeing I know not a man? (euphemism for virginity; confirms her purity). 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost (third Person of the Trinity) shall come upon thee (divine overshadowing; power of God initiates conception), and the power of the Highest (God Himself) shall overshadow thee (language of God’s presence — cf. Ex. 40:35; Ps. 91:1): the

The Problem of Evil Has Already Been Answered For millennia, skeptics and biblical thinkers alike have debated what is known as “The Problem of Evil.” Libraries have been filled with philosophical systems attempting to reconcile suffering, death, calamity, and judgment with the existence of God. Yet after centuries of debate, no universal consensus has been reached. But perhaps the reason is simple: the debate often begins with false presuppositions and either ignores the ans

What If the Man You’ve Been Calling a Heretic Was Bought by the Blood of Christ? An examination into the orthodoxy of Novatian “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment… but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” — Matthew 5:22 Christ does not treat words as trivial. Even careless speech against a brother places a man in danger of judgment (Matt. 5:22; cf. Matt. 12:36). To call a

An Ecclesiastical Succession Argument Featuring the Tewkesbury Baptist-Minded Congregation 1.) The Waldenses were also called Lollards because of the Waldensian preacher Walter Raynard Lollard (this is undisputed until the late 19th century). Lollard was a Baptist-Minded missionary to England: •14th Century. Concerning the Waldenses, ”In England they were called Lollards, of the name of one Lollard who taught there.” —Jean Paul Perrin, The bloody rage of that great Antichrist

A widely debated term in modern religious and political discourse is the Arabic word jihād. Popular discussions often flatten its meaning into either purely spiritual striving or past militant actions. A careful examination of standard Arabic lexicons alongside primary Islamic texts, however, reveals a more complex picture. —————————— I. Lexical and Qur’anic Foundations 1. What Arabic Dictionaries Actually Say The triliteral root j-h-d etymologically means: to strive, to exer

Luke 1:28-33 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail ( a greeting; “rejoice” or “greetings” ), thou that art highly favoured ( perfect passive participle — “graciously accepted” or “made the object of grace”— Grace = unmerited/unearned favor ); the Lord is with thee ( divine presence and blessing ): blessed art thou among women ( she is honored uniquely — cf. Judges 5:24; Luke 1:42 ). 29 And when she saw him , she was troubled ( disturbed; perplexed — not at th

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” — Hebrews 10:22 The verb used in this passage is the Greek word ῥαντίζω (rhantizō), meaning to sprinkle. The imagery clearly reflects the purification rites of the Old Testament, in which blood was applied in drops as part of ceremonial cleansing. If someone were to argue that this word should be expanded to include meanings such as to bathe, to immerse, to su

Lutheranism (out of Roman Catholicism) — Martin Luther — 1517 (95 Theses) Zwinglianism / Swiss Reformed (out of Roman Catholicism) — Ulrich Zwingli — 1519 (Zurich reform begins) Anglicanism (out of Roman Catholicism) — Henry VIII — 1534 (Act of Supremacy) Reformed Church (out of Roman Catholicism) — John Calvin — 1536 (Institutes published) / 1541 (Geneva) Presbyterianism (out of Reformed Church/Calvin) — John Knox — 1560 (Church of Scotland) Congregationalism (out of Anglica

There is something about the present moment in online theological discourse that should trouble anyone who cares about truth. The internet has always been a breeding ground for unmerited confidence untethered from accountability, but the rise of AI has taken the problem to a new level entirely. Any man with a browser and a low moral compass can now generate what looks like a carefully researched theological argument in seconds — without having spent any time in the Scriptures

The New Testament describes the Lord’s Supper with two distinct concepts: Thanksgiving and Remembrance. Christ first gives thanks, and then he commands the church to perform a memorial. Yet over the course of patristic and medieval theology these categories were gradually reversed — and with them, the very vocabulary used to describe the rite was transformed in ways that have shaped every subsequent controversy over the Supper down to the present day. ——— In Scripture: ∙ Euc

The Fifth Lateran Council (1512–1517), under Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X, issued decrees that formally regulated both preaching and publication. Session 11 (19 December 1516): Regulation of Preaching Session 11 states: “We command all who undertake this task of preaching… to preach and expound the gospel truth and holy scripture in accordance with the exposition, interpretation and commentaries that the Church or long use has approved and has accepted for teaching until now

Core Eschatological Terms Eschatology — The theological study of the “last things.” Apocalypse — A revelation or unveiling; often associated with prophetic disclosure of divine mysteries. Parousia — Greek term meaning “presence” or “coming,” used in the New Testament for Christ’s return. Rapture — From the Latin raptura (from rapio, “to seize or catch up”), referring to the catching up of believers described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In many modern systems—particularly dispens

The question of whether Christians may adopt or reinterpret symbols that originated in pagan religious contexts has been discussed at various points throughout history. Some have argued that such symbols can be redefined and used to express Christian truth, while others have warned that it is in violation of the second commandment. The following sources document a line of interpretation that has received relatively little attention in contemporary discussions of Christian sym

Luke 1:24-27 24 And after those days ( some time later; unspecified ) his wife Elisabeth conceived ( miraculous conception in old age — fulfillment of the angel’s message ), and hid herself ( withdrew; remained in seclusion — reasons may include reverence, humility, or caution ) five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me ( the Lord is the one acting; acknowledges His intervention ) in the days wherein he looked on me ( God’s gracious attention; cf. Gen. 29:32

OR, The Synodus Attrebatensis of 1025 AD: A Record of True Christianity In 1025 AD, Bishop Gerard of Cambrai convened a synod at Arras to examine a group of Christians travelling from Italy, teaching and living according to what they described as pure evangelical and apostolic doctrine. Their teacher was a man named Gundulfi. What we know of these believers comes entirely from their enemies — Gerard himself recorded the proceedings — and yet even through that hostile lens, th