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Walking in Good Works
Ephesians 2 is filled with the good news of grace for both our justification and sanctification. The chapter begins by describing our natural condition—trapped in sin and by sin, rebelling against God to pursue our own ends on the one hand and suffering as the victims of those ends on the other—and then moves to how God loved us and rescued us by His grace, His sheer goodwill. The first half of the chapter focuses on what happened in the past—how God took pity on us and rescued His people, delivering us from our sin and His wrath. But the … View Resource
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The Ethics of Personhood
Human history is tragically full of examples of the persecution and oppression that arise when those in power create their own definitions of human personhood and rights so as to exclude and misuse certain groups of people. Scripture is clear that God has given all human beings dignity, personhood, and rights. The biblical understanding of personhood provides the essential foundation for ethical decisions about how to treat other people. The Biblical View of Personhood The Bible begins with God, the sovereign Creator of all things: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). His handiwork, everything … View Resource
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Human Trafficking in God’s World
Genesis 3 records the terrible day when humanity fell into sin and shalom was violated. This was a moment of cosmic treason, when Adam and Eve violated their relationship with God by rebelling against His command and fell into the severe ignobility we all experience. The entrance of sin wrecked the order and goodness of God’s world; it was the disintegration of peace. Sin inverted love for God, which in turn became idolatry, and inverted love for neighbor, which became exploitation of others. One clear way this exploitation of others takes place is human trafficking. Trafficking is modern-day slavery and … View Resource
Justin Holcomb
Dr. Justin Holcomb is canon for vocations in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, and he is an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla.
