Alex Chediak

Helping young adults thrive at college and beyond

Header Right

Theology

The Reality That God Casts Some Into Eternal Hell

by

John Piper offers a helpful, necessary correction for C.S. Lewis' mistakenly truncated and distorted theology of hell. It is noteworthy that Lewis may have been heavily influenced in this regard by George MacDonald, an outstanding writer who penned gripping novels with stunningly authentic, righteousness-seeking lead characters, but who was sadly a universalist. An excerpt from Piper:The misery of hell will be so great that no one will want to be there. They will be weeping and gnashing their teeth (Matthew 8:12). Between their sobs, they will not speak the words, “I want this.” They will not … [Read more...] about The Reality That God Casts Some Into Eternal Hell

God is Sovereign, Wise, and Good

by

Justin Buzzard, a young adult pastor in the Bay Area of northern CA (who I enjoyed having lunch with a year ago when we were living in Berkeley), is back to blogging, with a solid post on God's sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness: Forget your past. Forget how you used to operate, how you used to be a prisoner to your circumstances and feelings. Build your life on the truth. Preach more gospel to yourself. Tell yourself every hour that God is sovereign, wise, and good. The truth will set you free. Your emotions will begin to come in line with the truth. Doubt your old doubts and saturate … [Read more...] about God is Sovereign, Wise, and Good

Good Sermon On Work – Tim Keller

by

Keller makes an excellent contrast between our society's view of work and the biblical model. We work not for money or for status or for ourselves (personal fulfillment). We work for God's sake, for people's sake, and for the work's sake. The irony is that losing ourselves (working for God's sake, not ours) is the path to true fulfillment (quietness, and true rest). Keller also explains how working to please God is very different from working to appease God. We don't do things for God (i.e., to get things from him), but simply because we want to live in a way that is pleasing to Him (in … [Read more...] about Good Sermon On Work – Tim Keller

Should Christians Aim To Convert Others?

by

John Piper reflects on the question: Should Christians Say That Their Aim Is to Convert Others to Faith in Christ? He raises this issue for three reasons: 1. Because in our delicate and dangerous setting of global religious pluralism, how we speak about our aims can get us kicked out of a country or worse. 2. Because we want to follow Paul’s pattern of honesty: "But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 … [Read more...] about Should Christians Aim To Convert Others?

Counterfeit Gods – Tim Keller

by

Tim Keller's new (soon to be best-selling) book is out: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. In the coming weeks, Lord willing I'll have a review and an interview with Pastor Keller on the book. (I was supposed to have a copy of the book by now, but it appears to have gotten lost in the mail or something and another is en route.) I came across this post of Tim Keller telling a little bit of his own story with counterfeit gods. Here's an excerpt: I often get asked how I personally became acquainted with the pervasive influence of … [Read more...] about Counterfeit Gods – Tim Keller