Preaching is Indispensable
A church that does not emphasize and value preaching is not simply a different style church, it is an unfaithful church.
Everything God has revealed about Himself is to be proclaimed and the preacher who is faithful to the written Word of God is functioning as God’s mouthpiece to deliver God’s message to the people. Preaching is not optional to the life and health of the church. A church that does not emphasize and value... Continue Reading
The Model
The value of the model in Christian discipleship cannot be overestimated.
For every model there is an anti-model. When the Creator speaks so does the serpent, when wisdom shouts, so does folly, when the Spirit influences, the flesh is always nearby. The anti-models at Philippi were within the church, those seeking the benefits of the cross yet living as its enemies. The purpose of the cross... Continue Reading
Don’t Wait for the Perfect Situation
Decision making becomes difficult when faced with an abundance of options.
Don’t wait for the perfect situation to make a decision. Oftentimes, you don’t need more information, you need to trust the Lord and then act based on the information you have. The amount of choice you and I have in the modern world can be paralyzing. You go to a store to buy paint and... Continue Reading
The Bereans Had No Bibles: Re-Envisioning Acts 17
We would all benefit from evaluating anew what it means to be a Berean.
To be Bereans is not just to search the Scriptures as we now have them in full, but to search the Old Testament in particular and there see God’s plan of redemption through Christ’s death and resurrection. As I grew up in conservative Baptist churches, there was no Christian trait more valuable than Bible... Continue Reading
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters—Part 4
Consequences of pitting rationality against faith.
The foundation for Francis Schaeffer’s basic approach to apologetics is simply to recognize that man is an image-bearer. Man even in his sin has personality, significance, and worth. Therefore, the apologist should approach him in those terms. The decisive result of falling below the line of despair is a pitting of rationality against faith. ... Continue Reading
Creation: A Form of White Supremacy?
More Mendacious Agitprop from Scientific American
Evolution has no answers to our racial divides. In fact, evolution was the major scientific justification for many of the causes of the racial divides that continue to plague us. Evolution is a white man’s idea, from a white culture, used for much of its history to justify white supremacy. The Bible has been a thorn... Continue Reading
Sentimentalism and CRT
Long before CRT, evangelicalism has been experiencing the dulling impact of sentimentality.
Sentimentalism gives us a view of self that is far too high while providing a view of Scripture that is far too low. It replaces the holiness of God with the hollowness of self. It removes men from their roles and replaces them with women who advocate rights. It minimizes sin. It maximizes partiality, and... Continue Reading
First Principles
Subtle biblicism is hazardous because it replaces a tradition faithful to the scriptures with a tradition of its own, a tradition of one. A tradition of me, myself, and I.
Tradition serves to correct our assumptions, expose our blind spots, and cultivate accountability in a garden we have turned into a wasteland. But most of all, she introduces us to creeds so that we do not gather as one but join the assembly of believers now and yesterday to praise the King of glory with... Continue Reading
Yes, the Bible is Sufficient for Dealing with (Even) Grievous Sins
Christ has given the sword of the Spirit to churches to deal with sin through church discipline.
For those who desire to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [our] God” (Micah 6:8), yes, the Bible is the answer. The God who commands us to do these things is the One who defines what they are and the One who provides instructions for us in His Word and... Continue Reading
History and the Human Heart
Heresies do not appear as mushrooms overnight.
Deviations from God’s truth arise from deep within the human heart, which is deceitful above all things (Jer.17:9). Hence the warnings of the apostle Paul against being deceived on a number of issues (1 Cor.6:9-10). We are not born neutral; we are, in C. S. Lewis’ words, “bent ones.” Our wrong desires are not to... Continue Reading
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