R. L. Solberg

Praising God’s Law in a New Covenant Context

Abstract This paper contends that, for Christians, the proper understanding of the praise of God’s law in the Torah Psalms is as an expression of the holiness and moral purity of Yahweh and the benefits of obeying God’s instructions for his covenant community. Thus, the proper locus of such praise for Christians is not the […]

R. L. Solberg 1 year agoJune 10, 2024

Culture Faith Theology

Tribalism in the Church

Enjoy this article from friend and guest contributor, Pastor Joshua Lewis. Tribalism is rampant in our culture. If you’re a Macintosh enthusiast, you likely feel compelled to disdain Windows. If you prefer Ford, you’re expected to despise Toyota. Being a Cowboys fan isn’t enough; you must also detest the Eagles. And politics? Well, your social […]

Joshua Lewis 1 year agoApril 16, 2024

Faith Theology

Jesus as Our Sabbath Rest

In a recent episode of our apologetic Bible study series on Hebrews we discussed the idea of Jesus as our Sabbath rest. This episode stirred up a bit of controversy and a lot of questions, so it seemed fitting to take a moment to focus solely on the “Sabbath rest” aspect of Hebrews Chapter 4. […]

R. L. Solberg 1 year agoMarch 29, 2024

Faith Personal

Happy (Improbable) Anniversary!

Back in the early ’90s, when my wife Debra and I were in a band touring around the upper midwest, we drove past a restaurant called Happy Chef. In front of the restaurant stood a 20-foot-tall statue of an endlessly smiling chef raising a wooden spoon in the air. Our drummer, Chris, laughed and said, […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoJanuary 11, 2024

Academic Faith Theology

Forgery in the Bible?

A pithy meme making the rounds states, “When God put a call on your life, he factored in your stupidity.” I take great personal comfort in this idea. The foibles, flaws, and sins of a believer who has submitted to God are not enough to overcome His sovereign plans for their life. The more I […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoOctober 1, 2024

Apologetics Hebrew Roots Theology

Why Peter’s Vision is About Food

When it comes to Peter’s vision of the sheet of animals, our Hebrew Roots friends really have just one argument. And that argument, when worked out to its logical conclusion, reveals why Peter’s vision must be speaking about food, rather than Gentiles, being made clean. The vision is recorded in Acts 10. The next day, as they […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoDecember 4, 2023

Academic Apologetics Hebrew Roots Theology

Acts 15 in its Historical Context

In ~50 CE, believers in Jesus held the first recorded Church council. Following a clash with men from Judea, the apostles and elders—including Paul, Peter, James, and Barnabas—gathered in Jerusalem to discuss whether new Gentile believers were required to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to follow Jesus (Acts 15:5). The […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoNovember 18, 2023

Academic Philosophy Theology

Genesis v. Science

What strikes me about the scientific and theological approaches to the question of the origins of the universe and mankind is that neither will ever be able to produce the level of articulation desired (or perhaps expected) by modern minds. Technically speaking, there is no such thing as “proof” outside of the discipline of mathematics. […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoNovember 18, 2023

Academic Apologetics Hebrew Roots Theology

The Law & the Land

“The legal materials in Exodus–Numbers and Deuteronomy include explicit indication that they are meant for the new land, itself already promised to the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the book of Genesis (cf. Gen. 12:1–3, 7; 26:2–5; 28:10–15; Deut. 1:8; 12:1; Lev. 18:1–5).”1 The laws given to Israel were tied not only to the […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoJuly 23, 2023

Academic Theology

Abraham’s Righteousness

An Exegetical Paper on Genesis 15:6 The fifteenth chapter of Genesis says of Abraham, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6, ESV). This paper will evaluate this theologically significant verse. Word Study: וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן The Hebrew word וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן is formally rendered into English as the phrase, “and he believed” (ESV), although […]

R. L. Solberg 2 years agoJuly 6, 2023