Am I Really a Christian? Lessons from John Owen on Assurance
When it comes to assurance, what matters most is not sin’s persistence, but our resistance.
With God there is forgiveness — free forgiveness, abundant forgiveness, glad forgiveness, based on the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. But Owen knew that some Christians would hesitate to believe that forgiveness was for them. He knew that some introspective believers, bruised with a sense of their indwelling sin, would respond, “Yes, there is forgiveness... Continue Reading
Mourning for Moabites on Lyres of Love?
Heartless lack of concern is NO attribute of Yahweh: the converse is true - the LORD expresses sorrow over the tragic doom of the wicked.
I’ve never plucked a lyre to recall is doleful tone: but a mark of the Spirit at work deep within our hearts is an aching, godly, concern for God’s stray sheep who are lost & under threat. That’s why it is hardly a surprise, to find in Isaiah 53, that the King who offers shade... Continue Reading
Critical Race Theory Is A Classic Communist Divide-And-Conquer Tactic
Rather than serving to heal the nation, critical race theory has proven to be poisonous to liberty, true community, and our common humanity.
Saddest of all is how critical race theory exploits the tragedy of racial divisions in America. The tragedy is thus reduced to nothing but a vehicle for a power grab by elitists in the circles of academia, media, and Big Tech. Ironically, those power elites are vastly and disproportionately white and in it for their... Continue Reading
When Amazon Erased my Book
A people can struggle against the natural law for only so long. And that’s true for both economics and gender ideology.
It’s not about how you say it, or how rigorously you argue it, or how charitably you present it. It’s about whether you affirm or dissent from the new orthodoxy of gender ideology. Amazon never informed me or my publisher that it was removing my book. And Amazon’s representatives haven’t responded to our inquiries about it.... Continue Reading
The Chalcedonian Definition
A definition is a commentary on a creed, designed to give more terminological precision to the content of that creed.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Chalcedonian Definition is actually about five pages long—far too long to recite as part of a worship service. It includes the full text of two different version of the Nicene Creed: the original form from the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325, and the expanded version (the one familiar... Continue Reading
The Seminary of Suffering
As I look upon the person of Christ, I find a Savior who can sympathize with my darker moments. He is good.
Believing in the sovereignty of God is easy when life is good. That was true of my life. I was comfortable. Trials were minimal, at worst. But then my wife and I had to take our firstborn to the emergency room. It was not long before we were checked into the hospital and told that... Continue Reading
Preach The Difficult Sermon
There is one glaring problem when we preach to people outside of our church. The people who need to hear the sermon are not there.
We need to preach to the people in our pews. Those are the people we have been called to reach. Those are the people we might actually change with the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, it is scary to preach to those people. They pay your paycheck. But, the people in the pews... Continue Reading
Critical Theory … For Kids?
New title releases show the spreading influence of a controversial academic framework.
Critical theory is problematic, perhaps more for what it leaves out than what it teaches. Oppression has sown tragedy the world over—not exclusively by the West. Men in power often take advantage of the vulnerable (as do powerful women)… There’s plenty in American history and culture to criticize, but critical theory casts a pall of... Continue Reading
The Bible Warned Us About This
There is only one hero. Others may good models in some areas, maybe even in most areas, but all but Christ are fallen.
Putting our faith in someone other than Jesus will inevitably lead to disappointment. Yet we do it anyway. That’s why it hurts so bad when our heroes fall. The solution isn’t to never have a hero. I don’t think we can live that way. We need someone to look up to. We just must be... Continue Reading
What Has Happened to Our Sense of Shame?
Shame is a product of a society that prioritizes the soul over the body. It is a defense mechanism against all that is low, vulgar, and sinful.
Shame serves as an early warning system. When triggered, it compels us to change our ways. It represents a spectacular clash between right and wrong. This strong sentiment makes us see the malice of our acts and their lasting consequences to our reputations. Thus, a sense of shame benefits society. It is not limited to... Continue Reading
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