"There is no fairness if you do not let us cheat" — Chinese parents

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 10:52 pm By Brad Vaughn

This is one of the most telling articles you may ever read about Chinese culture.Here are the opening words of an article titled “Riot after Chinese teachers try to stop pupils cheating”––– What should have been a hushed scene of 800 Chinese students diligently sitting their university entrance exams erupted into siege warfare after invigilators tried to stop them from cheating. To read the details, you can click the link. The following quote captures the scene. By late afternoon, the... Read more

Justifying Honor and Shame in Romans

Last updated on: August 15, 2015 at 8:53 am By Brad Vaughn

Simply put, Romans is about honor and shame. In the latter sections of Saving God’s Face, I do a detailed exegesis of Romans. Although I definitely discuss Romans 1 and later chapters, I mainly focusing on chapters 2–4 since these are so foundational to determining the meaning of the entire book. Here are just a few key themes in the letter. Each theme involves honor and shame. –Law (Does Paul refer to the Mosaic Law or a human moral law... Read more

We Need a New Perspective on Glory

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 at 8:10 am By Brad Vaughn

No one can read John Piper and miss this single point: GOD WANTS GLORY. Piper’s impact on contemporary evangelicalism and missions is incalculable. Among the missionaries (ages 40 and under) whom I have personally met, I would estimate 70-80% of them list Piper as one of the major influences on their doing cross-cultural missions. He is also the face of what has been called “The New Calvinism” or the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” Movement. As a result, every other contemporary... Read more

Ministry Success or Mission Failure?

Last updated on: August 11, 2022 at 1:32 am By Brad Vaughn

A friend of mine, Ben Stuart, recently wrote an excellent post for the Desiring God blog. The post is called “Fighting the Tyranny of Ministry Success,” where he offers sober comments about ambition and ministry. Here is a snippet–– What is the most loving thing God can do for a 22-year-old minister? In my case, it was ordaining that my inaugural, epic, game-changing, well-publicized ministry event be attended by one kid. One single human being. A junior high boy named... Read more

John Piper + N. T. Wright = A Chinese Theology of Salvation

Last updated on: June 18, 2013 at 8:16 am By Brad Vaughn

What do John Piper and N. T. Wright have in common? China. Together, they give us a better understand of a Chinese theology of salvation. “Picking Truth” or “Picking Teams”? Piper and Wright’s influence on me is quite evident in the last major chapter of Saving God’s Face. I can’t tell you how many times people told me that I need to be careful about using NT Wright’s ideas in my book. “They will think you are a liberal,” I... Read more

Week 4 Winner of Book Giveaway….and What's Ahead

Last updated on: June 17, 2013 at 3:32 pm By Brad Vaughn

Last week was Week 4 of the book giveaway. The theme of the week focused on the interaction of missiology & theology. The winner gets 5 books free. My book–– Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame …and each of these 4 books… Theology and Practice of Mission: God, the Church, and the Nations Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology... Read more

If Christ Did Not Die, God Would Not Be Righteous

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 9:17 am By Brad Vaughn

We don’t have to choose between God’s honor and his righteousness. That idea, however, contradicts some evangelical thinking. Here’s a quote from my book Saving God’s Face. [Bruce] Demarest is representative in characterizing God’s righteousness as that which justification overcomes. He says, “The biblical doctrine of justification deals with the fundamental issue of how guilty sinners can be acquitted and restored to favor with an infinitely righteous and just God.” Therefore, one of the “obstacles” to acquitting sinners is the... Read more

Does Christ Satisfy God’s Honor or His Justice?

Last updated on: November 25, 2020 at 9:07 pm By Brad Vaughn

Of making many atonement theories, there is no end. It can be a real headache trying to sort out all the different theories in history. Unfortunately, people can feel pressure to pick one biblical metaphor over another when describing the atonement. The consequence can easily be that we start pitting one text against another such that we unwittingly ignore (or underemphasize) key teachings in Scripture. I would agree with Scot McKnight’s basic contention that we need to do a better... Read more

Christ Died to Save God’s Face

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 2:54 am By Brad Vaughn

For whom did Jesus die? Ultimately, Jesus died for God. I have found that statement is a bit jarring for some people. “God doesn’t have any sin,” is a common reply. That response illustrates how easy it is for us to focus so much on one particular glorious truth that we miss a bigger reality being revealed. When discussing the atonement, people typically debate whether Christ died for all people or for the Church only. To be clear, I am... Read more

Like Theology and Missiology Books? Want 5 Free Ones?

Last updated on: June 10, 2013 at 8:10 am By Brad Vaughn

This is the 4th and final week of a series giveaway in which I’m giving away a lot of books. Each book concerns the interaction of theology and missiology. Why? All the posts this week will discuss how to contextualize salvation, in particular Christ’s atonement and justification. This is the subject of the last third of my book. This week, if you have entered the drawing, you could win the following books. My book–– Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization... Read more