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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This is the first installment in our Lenten series, Through the Tombs of the Kings, where Steve Kruschel explores God’s faithfulness to Judah’s kings—and to us—through life, death, and the burial of his Son.
Repentance is not limited to a season.
You cannot sever the saint from the sinner. Christians remain both simultaneously.
In the upside-down wisdom of God, the place of the cross becomes the place of life, absolution, and triumph.
The gospel gives us faith, hope, and love, all of which proceed from Christ’s death and resurrection.
It's a new year, and you are still the same you: a sinner who is simultaneously perfect in every way because Christ declares it to be so.
The crucified and risen Christ comes to renew, restore, and build up.
Show me a sinner, and I’ll write you a story of a God who saves them.
More certain than death or taxes and more certain than “anything else in all creation” is the fact that God loves you.
Jesus Christ is relentless. He does not give up. And with him comes the certainty of redemption.
The story of Jesus's temptation has much more to offer than merely giving us a "how-to" guide on kicking Satan to the curb.
The sinful nature loves self, and pride is its native tongue.