What kind of “judging” is Jesus talking about? As in all cases, the context is a great help in understanding what Jesus is getting at. This text is in the Sermon on the Mount, which demonstrates the nature of true righteousness versus superficial religion. In this text, Jesus is concerned about the hypocrisy of the... Continue Reading

Why would a child of God who has been justified by the blood and righteousness of Christ alone, adopted into God’s family, and freed from slavery to sin by the powerful regenerating work of God in their life fight to apply such an abominable label, homosexual, to themselves? Our Lord bled and died not only... Continue Reading

It is now considered “standard practice” to treat gender-dysphoric children with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery. But is it really a good idea to turn children into lifelong medical patients? We are talking about powerful drugs with negative side effects, not to mention surgeries that amputate healthy body parts.    From a young age,... Continue Reading

The mission was to create bogus academic papers and submit them to academic journals in the areas of cultural, queer, race, gender, fat, and sexuality studies. The authors’ intent was to expose problems in “grievance studies,” a term they apply to a particular approach to studying these academic topics that proceed from a radical political... Continue Reading

Revelation and Inspiration is a worthy place to start, because in it you will not only discover Warfield’s understanding of how God is providentially, and thereby supernaturally, bringing about what he eternally decreed, but also that this is unavoidably joined to and corresponds with the very character of his entire creation, in both its sinless and sinful conditions,... Continue Reading

It’s pretty clear that Satan is going to be no friend of the family. Think about all that Satan can disrupt if he disrupts family. He disrupts our task of bringing more of God’s image-bearers into this world while also eroding the most basic and foundational social structure that supports and strengthens human beings so... Continue Reading

At the risk of oversimplification, I think understanding the nature and danger of elevating human autonomy is a starting place for helping kids understand the modern worldview, which counters Christianity. Underneath the message of so many songs, the moral of so many movies, the principles of so many causes, and the promises of so many... Continue Reading

I’ve noticed something of a concerning trend over the past several years. It is the way in which believers speak about culture-impacting individuals at their deaths. Instead of simply expressing appreciation for their life and achievements, it has become commonplace for Christians to use the shorthand “R.I.P.” (rest in peace) on social media when speaking of individuals... Continue Reading

This verse contains comforting words, to be sure. But what does Jeremiah mean? Some have taken this verse and applied it to themselves and others in an unqualified way. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” they say. “He has mapped out the course of your life, and you only have... Continue Reading

Paul tells Timothy not only that the congregation needs to pray; he also tells him for whom they should pray: “for all people.” Included in the “all people” would be those spreading error within the church. For them, the church ought to pray that God might grant them repentance (2 Tim. 2:25). But they must... Continue Reading

The doctrine of creation tells you what you are: A body/soul unity. God made the body of Adam from the dust of the ground. It was a biodegradable corpse, but then into this corpse, he breathed the breath of life. So the life of Adam is a body/soul union.    There is a good, better, best pattern... Continue Reading

When the focus is on Christ, who is proclaimed to us in the gospel, we can pray with honesty, casting ourselves on God’s mercy. We aren’t coming to a judge, or even to a therapist, but to our heavenly Father who has accepted us in his Son. We’re not rubbing a lamp and making a... Continue Reading

The book, Revival & Revivalism by Iain H. Murray (Banner of Truth, 1994), uses the records of participants in both the First Great Awakening (1GA) and Second Great Awakening (2GA) to present a history of revivals in early America and their impact on modern American Christianity.  Murray assesses both revivals through the lenses of history and theology... Continue Reading

As I have been reading through volume 2 of Mastricht’s work, I have been struck by the way in which both men constantly dealt with the importance of the economic Trinity. For instance, Edwards dealt extensively with the idea of the economic Trinity when speaking of the ad extra work of God in redemption.    In a... Continue Reading

The God-breathed Scriptures are profitable for doctrine (teaching), reproof (exposing our errors—mental and moral), correction (restoring to an upright position), and instruction in righteousness. This last phrase is particularly interesting. The word Paul uses, usually translated as “instruction” or “training,” literally means “child training”—referring to the patient, repetitive, and illustrative manner in which children learn.... Continue Reading

Reportedly, Islamic clerics are expressing serious concern about many young people converting to Christianity. One Islamic seminary leader, Ayatollah Alavi Boroujerdi, remarked that “accurate reports indicate the youth are becoming Christians in Qom and attending house churches.” The seventh-largest city in Iran, Qom is the country’s epicenter for Islamic studies.   As persecution against Christians intensifies in Iran,... Continue Reading

A single proverb is not designed for every circumstance in this life. We do not expect an uninspired proverb to apply at all times. The same maxim applies to the Spirit-inspired Proverbs of Solomon. Dr. R.C. Sproul uses the English proverbs “look before you leap” and “he who hesitates is lost” to illustrate this point.... Continue Reading

What is the greatest commandment? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And the second? Love your neighbour as yourself. Now, how do those two great commandments stack up next to: I preferred basketball to meeting with God’s people to worship him... Continue Reading

The Bible is solid food that strengthens the mature. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food…” (Hebrews 5:12)   We Christians spend a lot of time reading the Bible, hearing it... Continue Reading

While many have expressed sympathy for the fallen former church leaders, I believe that the Lord is much more concerned for the sheep who have been harmed by their former shepherds’ abandonment of Christ and His church. Woe to such false shepherds (Ezek. 34:2), who fed themselves by soaking up the adulation of the crowds... Continue Reading

Go ahead and scroll through your favorite feed and tell me that people aren’t continually berating, belittling, mocking, and smearing each other. They are, and Jesus has a word for that – murder. Matthew 5:21-22 is absolutely clear that anger and name-calling are the fruit of murderous hearts. To avoid confusion let me say, I’m... Continue Reading

The heart of Christian discipleship is growing to know Jesus, beholding Him through faith, loving Him who first loved us. To grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ sets the trajectory of the Christian life. Grace points us away from self to Christ. We decrease; Christ increases. Our unworthiness, waywardness, and inability lead us... Continue Reading

It’s not hard to be upset at the evils and ungodliness around us in the culture. But, walking with this holy God is not only relevant for the world around me. It has implications upon my thoughts and attitudes inside of me. It’s easy to turn on the TV and get mad at everything going... Continue Reading

When it comes to motivating our people, we may need to be firm, yet we should always be gentle. We do not need to breathe fire, nor do we need to yell at them. Back in the day people might have been motivated that way, and in some circles maybe they still are. But that... Continue Reading

Not only are many of the Psalms examples of prayer, but even those that are not give us wonderful resources for opening our own hearts to God. Look, for example, at the opening verses of Psalm 18. David calls God his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his refuge, his shield, the horn (that... Continue Reading

I’ve been wanting to get better at scheduling more intentional one-on-one time with each of my children. Life keeps pushing in on my idea, though, and it’s easy to put it off and say “after this week, things will be different” or “this is just a crazy couple of months”, while waiting for some magical... Continue Reading

That night dear Billy got up and started at Genesis and went right through the whole Bible and he talked about every single blood sacrifice you can imagine. The blood was just flowing all through Great St. Mary’s everywhere for three-quarters of an hour. And both my neighbors were terribly embarrassed by this crude proclamation... Continue Reading

I love the church. I fully endorse Calvin’s way of putting it (and the shadow of Cyprian that lies behind it): “For there is no other way to enter into life unless this mother conceive us in her womb, give us birth, nourish us at her breast, and lastly, unless she keep us under her... Continue Reading

If you are a follower of Christ, the same Spirit who hovered over the waters of creation now dwells within your heart, guarding your fragile spirit and bringing the Truth to bear upon your mind. Dwelling within you now is the same Spirit who emboldened Peter and John—those uneducated and common men—to powerfully proclaim the... Continue Reading

The good news of the gospel is that God has a family, and we are invited to become part of it. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are adopted by the Father and become his children. Ephesians 1:4 says, “In love, he [the Father] predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through... Continue Reading