CHRISTIANPAPERS.NET
Where truth is worth the trouble
My longform studies tackle difficult biblical topics. They address fellowship, paid leadership, and remarriage and adultery. Each paper strives to meet a high standard of systematic exegesis and disciplined reasoning. Scroll down to explore.
If you’re reading carefully, I’m listening carefully. Send me a note.
RM Barnes
Read the Papers
CHURCH ETHICS AND INSTITUTIONS
Fellowship
as Joint Equity
Fellowship may be one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in all the church today. How do you define or practice it? More importantly, can it live up to the original model presented in the New Testament? Let’s find out.
CHURCH ETHICS AND INSTITUTIONS
Financial Support
for Christian Leaders
Should church leaders (or pastors) be paid? If not, how do we make sense of passages cited in their defense? This paper expounds the way leaders could draw support from churches, to include a refined exegesis of 1 Timothy 5.
CHURCH ETHICS AND INSTITUTIONS
Marriage and Adultery
Under Christ
Jesus called remarriage adultery—but what did he mean, and when does it apply? This paper prioritizes Matthew 5 and unlocks new perspectives on Matthew 19 in defense of an uncompromising New Testament standard.
About
What These Papers Are
These aren’t blog posts. They’re longform studies written to stand. Each one takes up a hard question and refuses to let it go vague.
I’ve written them because I’ve needed them—because half-answers and loose theology don’t hold up under pressure. The Bible deserves better. And so do those who take it seriously.
How I Got Here
Approaching 40, it feels like it’s taken about that long to gain any real footing with the thornier edges of Christianity. Good resources are rare. A productive approach even rarer. And trying to make progress inside a silent age of biblical history requires a certain persistence.
Relentless striving to know what’s true (even when others despise the trouble) moves things forward more than anything else.
Who Helped Me
I know a sincere group of believers near St. Louis, Missouri who do care. Two in particular (contributors at biblestudying.net) have sharpened me through their own research and writing. To say they shaped my study method would be an understatement. I try to put those skills to work here.
This is me giving back. I’ve long been on the receiving end of sensible ideas, redirects, and impartial voices on critical matters. What you’re reading is downstream of that help.
How I Work
Grammatical, historical, and logical reasoning are the primary tools I rely on. Subjective approaches to knowledge are only along for the ride—strapped into the rear-facing backseat of a ’90s station wagon, far from the wheel. Claims should be tested by internal coherence and careful thinking. Traditions, feelings, or popular appeals don’t hold up.
This approach can be strenuous. But if we want surety, it’s dependable for our time.
Why It Matters
Life is difficult, and our interests compete. But nothing surpasses the joy of knowing Jesus and learning how to walk in the light.
These papers are just spiffed-up versions of a much less attractive process happening behind the scenes: the toilsome and indelicate manner in which men work out their faith.
If you’re after clarity and are willing to work for it, you may find something useful here.
RM Barnes