A Summer of Courage and Cowardice in the Evangelical Heartland
As the dust settles from the annual meetings of two major evangelical denominations, the contrast between the PCA and Southern Baptist Convention could hardly be more stark.
Seen in the context of the 2,000-year history of the church, the PCA’s deliberations were hardly revolutionary. But in 2021 cultural revolutionary America, the language commissioners proposed be added to the PCA’s Book of Church Order ring with Christian bravery before a hostile world: “Those who profess an identity (such as, but not limited to,... Continue Reading
The Whole Counsel of God: Courageous Calvinism for the Twenty-First Century
How much we have inherited from those who have gone before. What a responsibility for us to preserve and advance what we have received.
Our responsibility is not to produce great success in our strength. Our responsibility is to be faithful and thereby to be instruments that God may use just as He will. Our great concern should not be our success or our will, but it should be God’s will and God’s success. And as Calvinists, our confidence... Continue Reading
On the Absence of Systemic Racism
Critical Race Theory is the “study” of this so-called systemic racism, if by “study” we mean “treasure hunt to find racism in everything.”
It is now glaringly obvious that critics of the Left and Critical Race Theory have been right all along: Critical Race Theory and the broader Leftist agenda making use of it are not serious endeavors; they’re tools for seizing power, cynically applied. According to Critical Race Theory, “racism is ordinary, not aberrational—‘normal science,’ the... Continue Reading
Do Black Men Matter?
All men, including black men, matter most notably in their children’s lives.
My father appealed to his sons as young men growing up in his house, aiming toward what I see missing in the lives of so many young men—Godliness. Much more important than the color of his skin was the content of his character as a man who pointed us to Scripture. Do black men... Continue Reading
The Force, the Spirit, and Romans 8
God the Father has sent the Son and poured out the Spirit for the sake, yes, of his glory, but also your freedom. Be free.
Unlike the Force in Star Wars, which one “masters” over time through meditation and other self-calming practices, the Spirit of Christ sovereignly confronts us. It is not we who make use of him; it is he who makes use of us. For, apart from God’s Spirit, we are utterly lost in a plethora of destructive patterns... Continue Reading
Taking Troubling Thoughts to Christ
Christ does not leave us to fend for ourselves but rescues us out of our distress to produce peace in our thought lives.
For believers, over time, our belief systems and thought patterns are conformed more and more to God’s Word. Triggers will lose their power to tempt us towards sin and self as God’s Word becomes more real to us. “What are you thinking?” We ask this of each other often, don’t we? When our minds... Continue Reading
Of Minds and Machines: Transhumanism and the Christian
Rather than seeing the body as a key part of being human, transhumanism joins the rest of modernity in preferring the mind over matter.
Transcendence, for the Christian, is more than a life of eternal consciousness. It is a visceral, bodily eternity, where men and women live in a glorified earth with glorified bodies (Rev. 21). Whereas transhumanism dreams of a disembodied, mechanical immortality for humanity, we Christians—trusting in the sure promises and work of our Lord Jesus Christ—look... Continue Reading
It is My Business
Identity politics has emerged as a major point of conflict in both the culture and the church. Specifically, sexual identity is one of the most important aspects of a person’s life.
The emergence of sexual liberation as a rising public value and an essential human right means that Christians are accused of “bigotry,” “hatred,” “homophobia,” “heterosexism,” and “heteronormativity.” As gay people believe that their gayness is “who they are,” an in-born aspect of their essential personality, there will be an inevitable clash between biblical truth and... Continue Reading
Pray for the Persecuted
Pray that the Lord would expand our capacity to sense the bigness of his kingdom and our union with Christians around the world, especially those facing persecution for the sake of his name.
Pray that the Lord would protect our neighbors a world away, especially those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). Pray that as God delivered Paul from the sentence of death (2 Corinthians 1:8-10) he would deliver those who have entrusted their souls to him in faith by any means necessary. Pray that the Lord... Continue Reading
On Church Scandals and Scandalous Christians
Whenever a Christian does some decidedly unchristian or anti-Christian things, that is a real problem. But throwing the baby out with the bathwater is not the wisest way to proceed.
If the church has hurt you, or if Christians have hurt you, that is bad news indeed. And I am sorry that has happened. But Christ is in a different category altogether. His love for you is constant, His support of you is unending, and His fulsome commitment to you is unwavering. It is... Continue Reading
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