How Jesus Trains Husbands
Our love for our wives must be sacrificial.
It is far more difficult to daily sacrifice our pride, our reputation, our selfishness, our perceived “rights,” or our desires to be served than it is to sacrifice our lives. And yet, these daily sacrifices are part and parcel of what it means to love our wives sacrificially. I have never met a husband who... Continue Reading
Pastoral Ministry: The Tornado Bomber Shows Us How to Endure for the Long Term in Ministry
We need pastors and church leaders who are similarly able to serve in the front line for a lifetime of ministry.
The pattern for effective pastors is laid down in the Bible, including the requisite gifts and character. There is no need to re-invent the model, and it is dangerous to do so. Those who try to innovate may seem spectacular for a time but are then likely to crash out or hit early obsolescence. The precursor... Continue Reading
The Bitter Fruit of the Self-Focused Life
The ultimate cause of any misery or lack of joy is separation from God.
All moments of unhappiness in life are ultimately due to the separation. A person who is in real communion with God and with the Lord Jesus Christ is happy. It does not matter whether he is in a dungeon, or whether he has his feet fast in the stocks, or whether he is burning at... Continue Reading
God’s Will And My Special Needs Son
As I father, I want to share with you what has benefited our family the most.
I believe that Levi was knit together in Amy’s womb. I believe that Levi is fearfully and wonderfully made. I believe that God has a desire for Levi and a purpose for Levi. I believe that at this moment in time, Levi is precisely whom he is supposed to be with the limitations that are present. I believe this... Continue Reading
How Did He Know?
It was with full knowledge as God and also with full faith as God-Man.
Jesus, in faith, was persuaded that this prophetic zecharianic text was written of Him – and was now literally being fulfilled, as J.C. Ryle, in Matthew, 213-214, points out. Christ believed with all his heart that His disciples would find the foretold colt – the Word of His Father could never disappoint. He sends them out trusting... Continue Reading
3 Things Our Desire for Revenge Reveals About Our Faith
What someone has done to us pales in comparison to what we have done against God.
According to Paul, we should not take matters into our own hands. It’s not that there’s not justice to be served; there very well might be. But it’s not for you or I to administer it because we aren’t capable of doing so in a true and good and noble way. This belongs to the... Continue Reading
Pleading for Life Outside an Abortion Clinic
Logic and convincing arguments do not save sinners; it is only the power of the gospel that can do that.
The examples of God’s power at work at this clinic are numerous, and a whole book could be written on them. However, I will mention just two here. The first is the power of God working through John Barros, the abortion ministry leader. He has seen many fruitless days go by—days when everyone turns away... Continue Reading
The Natural State of the Fool Is Unbelief
How does a man get to be such a self-deluded, allegedly autonomous, fool?
A fool is one who does not make God and His revelation the starting point (the presupposition) of his thinking. Fools despise the preaching of the cross, refuse to know God, and cannot receive God’s Word (1 Corinthians 1-2). Those who are self-proclaimed, autonomous people, or unbelievers, will not submit to the word of God... Continue Reading
You’re So Depraved, You Probably Think This Church Is About You: How Total Depravity Upends Attractionalism
I want this piece to address how total depravity ought to focus our philosophy of ministry and confound the well-meaning practices of attractional churches.
Simply put, total depravity refers to the natural, post-Fall state of all humanity, in particular our innate inability to save ourselves. Apart from God’s supernatural and regenerating work of grace, we’re all spiritually dead God-haters—curved in on ourselves and insatiably satisfied with sin (Eph. 2:3–5). The last time I wept during a church service... Continue Reading
Facing Division, United Methodist Church Gathers in St. Louis
The 2019 special session of General Conference is tasked with deciding between competing proposals to either liberalize church teaching on sexual morality, or uphold current standards and increase accountability.
There have been growing tensions around liberal bishops and other church officials violating rules forbidding same-sex union ceremonies and “self-avowed practicing homosexual” clergy. The 2019 special session of General Conference is tasked with deciding between competing proposals to either liberalize church teaching on sexual morality, or uphold current standards and increase accountability. ST. LOUIS, Mo.,... Continue Reading
Understanding the Sovereignty of God
As Christians our ultimate hope is not in the rulers of this age, nor in the state of our economy, but in the sovereign Creator of the universe.
The truth that God is indeed sovereign should be of immense comfort and a source of strength for us. What does God’s sovereignty actually mean? In short – God is in charge, he is in control. Let’s look at four points the Bible makes concerning the sovereignty of God. We are living in deeply... Continue Reading
The Theological Logic of Worship
Two millennia of the previously pagan cultures of the world being transformed by the presence and influence of the church – especially in the West – are rapidly being put into reverse.
Instead of the people of God being ‘salt and light’ and incarnating the presence of God derivatively in the world, the church is incarnating the world under the guise of professed Christianity. The clamour in many congregations and denominations is ‘to be more like the world in order that we might attract the world’. This... Continue Reading
Governor Northam, Pharaoh, and the Incredible Patience of God
A friend was recently preaching from Exodus chapter 1, and it really struck me just how patient God was with Egypt.
Egypt is committing copious amounts of unconscionable evils that would make American history blush. They are enslaving thousands of people and making them work. Then, out of fear of their slaves fighting back, they are taking their children between the ages of 0-2 and drowning them in the Nile. They are outrageously evil. And while... Continue Reading
A Manual for Creating Atheists Who Create Straw Men
A view can only be properly assessed after it is properly understood.
When we—wittingly or unwittingly—misunderstand an opposing view, it’s easy to erect a straw man. A straw man argument is when you misrepresent a view in order to refute it. A straw man is a lot easier to knock over than a real man. In the same way, a straw man argument is a lot easier to... Continue Reading
American Gospel: Christ Alone, Film Review
In the U.S. there has arisen a particularly virulent form of false teaching—a gospel which promises cash and comfort to Christ’s followers, and in so doing bilks the poor, the needy, and the ill.
One of the great blessings to the church recently has been the emergence of quality Christian documentary filmmaking. We’ve been blessed by the fruits of the creative labors of folks like Media Gratiae and Stephen McCaskell. The work of Brandon Kimber and his Transition Studios adds to that growing library of excellent films which are educational, entertaining,... Continue Reading
The Reproductive Health Act of Horror
The Lies Behind Abortion Without Limits
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) on January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This law legalizes abortion in New York throughout all nine months of pregnancy, even up to dilation. It repeals the safeguard requiring all abortions be performed by a licensed physician. It decriminalizes all state abortion laws, and it removes all... Continue Reading
How Should We Understand “Shall Rule Over You” in Genesis 3:16b? (Part 2)
Coming from man, the woman will desire to return to him to seek oneness just as man desires to return to God in oneness because he came from God.
This desire and longing is the natural longing instilled at Creation by virtue of God having created woman from man (Genesis 2:21-22). This means that woman will naturally long to return to man, just as man longs to be one with his Creator. This Creation Longing is now to become the source of her frustration,... Continue Reading
Where Has the Presbyterian Church in America Gone Wrong?
The work of the ministry is committed to sessions and presbyteries and should be confined to those two courts in a truly grassroots denomination.
The PCA claims to be a grassroots denomination, and in many respects it is. Yet, it is also a hybrid between a grassroots denomination and a bureaucratic, hierarchical denomination. At the bottom, it is grassroots. At the top, the various committees and agencies of the General Assembly are woven together through the Administration Committee and... Continue Reading
Five Truths About the Holy Spirit
Jesus also spoke of the Spirit as the Helper in John 14 and introduced Him as “the Spirit of truth.”
We need to notice that the Holy Spirit is a unique person and not simply a power or an influence. He is spoken of as “He,” not as “it.” This is a matter of import because if you listen carefully to people speaking, even within your own congregations you may hear the Holy Spirit referenced in... Continue Reading
“Fairness For All” But A Growing Unfairness For Many
Those of you who stay abreast of the news doubtless sense that Christians are facing profound challenges to the public expression of their faith in once “Christian America.”
Instead of hiding out, Christians surely have the responsibility not only to be proponents of fair play but also to be public witnesses to the “non-religious” man (who is religiously pagan) concerning the natural law of God inscribed on his heart. The innate moral sense that God the Creator has placed in the human heart... Continue Reading
The Gospel Of The Synagogue Vs. The Gospel Of The Son Of God
Mark is explaining the gospel as the person and work of Christ in fulfillment on behalf of his people.
The presentation of the gospel of the “Son of God” is pressed with urgency upon people to repent and believe the Gospel of Mark. Mark uses the word “immediately” an astonishingly forty-two times throughout the book. This is not intended to impress upon us the need merely for ethical change, but to receive by faith, all... Continue Reading
When Everybody Plays, We All Win!
The most joy-filled people I saw during the Super Bowl were in a Microsoft commercial titled “When Everybody Plays, We All Win.”
We were introduced to six kids who love to play video games with their friends. Each of these beautiful kids has a physical limitation that makes using standard video-game controllers quite difficult. One says, “When I am playing with a regular controller, there are some things that don’t work for me.” Another bravely says, “I... Continue Reading
A Response to Donald Lowe’s, “A Brief Critique of ARBCA’s Position Paper: Concerning the Doctrine of Divine Impassibility”
Further discussion on the doctrine of divine impassibility as presented in the position paper of The Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America
The economic statements of Scripture certainly help us as Christians to fill out our understanding of the ontological statements about God, but the ontological statements that God makes about himself must of necessity have interpretive priority or else the economic statements are meaningless. It is because human reason valued the economic statements above the ontological... Continue Reading
4 Questions a Pastor Should Ask Himself Before and After Giving a Sermon
Preachers must responsibly preach Christ from the Bible.
Did I explain the text? Related questions are, Did the congregation walk away from the sermon and have a better understanding of the biblical passage? Did the congregation learn something about the text? The last thing you want your congregation to do is to walk out of church and be filled with awe and wonder,... Continue Reading
The Spirituality of the Church Speech
"Sir, we will always humbly reverence your majesty in public; but since we have this occasion to be with your majesty in private...we must discharge our duty, or else be traitors both to Christ and you. "
With news of an impending Spanish invasion, King James VI of Scotland (later King James I of England) had given orders to the ministers throughout Scotland to charge their members to “take up arms, provide supplies and meet mediated attacks.” Additionally, he relayed his desire to bring back certain Roman Catholic officials who would reestablish... Continue Reading
Why Christians Must Be Readers
But in his prison cell he longs for something which Timothy can bring — books and parchments.
We cannot know for sure what these books and parchments were. They might, of course, have been the Scriptures of the Old Testament. We bear in mind that the New Testament Scriptures were only beginning to exist at this time as a collection of books. They certainly were not yet put together in the form of a completed... Continue Reading
Quiet and Deep Christianity
How should the church address the issue of our overladen minds and emotions – via accommodation or revolution?
The twenty-first century has largely abandoned being informed in favour of staying notified, we have rejected leafing through the pages of great minds in favour of scrolling through the curated scenes of one another’s lives, we have repudiated analysis in favour of rolling coverage, and we have become addicted to allowing the facts to play... Continue Reading
The Life of a Sower: A Life of Faith
Sowers don’t always get to reap.
At the end of the day, many of the people that I have invested in have either rejected Christ or walked away from their previous commitment to him (sigh). Our current lives are no different. We are “front line” missionaries living among a lost people group. And what do I spend my days doing? Mainly... Continue Reading
What Job Teaches Us About Endurance
Job cannot give up on the God he has known even though he no longer understands him, nor can he give in and believe that he himself is a hypocrite in order restore an idyllic past.
It seems God has turned against Job without just reason, refusing to explain his action, indeed refusing to speak to him at all, and instead keeps on hounding him to death. This is the antithesis of Eden; it is a kind of hell. This being so (or seeming to be so, for in the dark... Continue Reading
T.V. Moore on “God’s University”
Moore takes the Biblical position that we should look to the Scriptures to understand both the problem of and the remedy for juvenile delinquency.
To the extent that the youth of Moore’s day were involved in the common vices of the era, he began exploring the problem by looking at the failure of the family to train its young people in the ways of piety and obedience in the Lord. And although he speaks with conviction about the necessity... Continue Reading
