Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.

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The baptized do not celebrate sin—they grieve it.
When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
Sometimes in hanging on to our useless guilt, we are idolaters. We believe our sin or conscience is more powerful than our God.
The power of the Word of God is the power of God himself, for he is always faithful to his Word.
In contrast to the human courts of our land, the Divine court never makes errors nor excuses
When God cancels you, it is an occasion for all of the canceled who are in heaven and earth to rejoice in that one more is added to our number.
This earth is not the place where your promise is to be found. Rejoice because the kingdom of God comes to you!
Into our world of sin, broken hearts, physical ailments, and psychological suffering, our Lord of grace descended.
We sing, and in so doing, we are blessed as we are instilled with the word of God in word and song.
Jesus Christ has finished his work of delivering you from the consequences of your sins and the brokenness of this fallen world.
It was reported that Hus died singing, “Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me.”
The words “for you” are what deliver burdened hearts into the glorious light of freedom, for they deliver the precious, life-giving cargo of God’s relentless grace to each of us.