Comfort in Revelation
What if Revelation is less about decoding the events of the 21st century but a word of comfort and consolation for Christians down through the ages?
We have all had our share in the thread of suffering that began in Genesis 3, but it ends in Revelation. Sin and evil will be no more. “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first... Continue Reading
Creed or Chaos?
If Christian dogma is irrelevant to life, to what is it relevant?—religious dogma is in fact nothing but a statement of doctrines concerning the nature of life and the universe.
If the average man is going to be interested in Christ at all, it is the dogma that will provide the interest. The trouble is that, in nine cases out of ten, he has never been offered the dogma. What he has been offered is a set of technical theological terms that nobody has taken... Continue Reading
Luther and Calvin’s Quiet Discussions in Heaven
Was Calvin influenced by the writings or ministry of "the Initiator" of the Reformation?
“Much remains uncertain about which of Luther’s works Calvin read and which of Calvin’s works Luther read. It is, however, clear that Calvin had knowledge of the controversies that surrounded Luther’s theological writings and debates and that Luther read Calvin on certain theological issues.” Those who cherish the Reformation have often sought out what,... Continue Reading
Rightly Regarding Our Sin
Without the bad news about sin, Satan, and spiritual death, the good news is superfluous at best.
It is certainly true that sin, Satan, and spiritual death are among society’s dirty words, and you dare not speak them in polite company lest you incur the wrath of the most outspoken, self-appointed, religiously correct person present. To the gospel’s great misfortune, if it could know such misfortune, many in our churches have fallen... Continue Reading
Sola Scriptura: A Brief Historical Summary of the Seige Against Scripture
"Did God really say...?"
The doctrine of Sola Scriptura is a doctrine that has been under siege since the beginning of history and has continually been a main target for Satan’s lies and schemes. But we who follow Christ and live in submission to His living and active word alone, we continue to read and love and fear His word so... Continue Reading
Six Things You Need to Know About God’s Wrath
The hope for sinners is that between us and the wrath of God stands the cross of Jesus.
This theme of the wrath (or anger) of God toward sin and sinners is clearly and widely taught in the Bible. This truth is so interwoven with the hope of our peace with one another and with God that if we lose our grasp on the one, we lose our hope of the other. ... Continue Reading
The Uncomfortable Subject Jesus Addressed More than Anyone Else
If we don’t accept the reality of hell, we won’t rightly understand the glory of the gospel.
A friend once challenged me to show her where Jesus talks about hell in the Gospels. Even a cursory read-through shows Jesus talked about it plenty. In fact, Jesus talked about hell more than any other person in the Bible. In Luke 16, he describes a great chasm over which “none may cross from there... Continue Reading
What If I Don’t Feel Forgiven?
There is an important difference between guilt and guilt feelings. The distinction is between that which is objective and that which is subjective.
Just as there are objective and subjective aspects of guilt, so there are objective and subjective aspects of forgiveness. First of all, forgiveness itself is objective. The only cure for real guilt is real forgiveness based on real repentance and real faith. However, we may have real and true forgiveness before God and yet not... Continue Reading
5 Sources of True Change
The difficulties that we experience necessitate grace by awakening a true sense of weakness and need.
God works on us in the midst of trouble because trouble catches our attention. Difficulties make us need him. Faith has to sink roots, as profession deepens into reality. Martin Luther called tentatio— affliction, trial, difficulty, struggle—the “touchstone” of Christian experience. He said that hardships were his greatest teacher because they made Scripture and prayer come... Continue Reading
You Can’t Anxiety Attack Your Way Out of God’s Love
Stop taking your spiritual temperature so much
To act like God would be more satisfied in your anxious self if you “believed harder” (whatever that even means) would be acting as if you contributed to your salvation, and to think you did anything to be loved by God is asinine. God’s love for you has absolutely nothing to do with your lovableness.... Continue Reading
