A Godly Citizen: Help From the Past
Individually and pastorally Calvin had to deal with the question of godly citizenship.
Civil government, Calvin argued, was not a construct of society but was itself ordained by God: “[T]hey have a mandate from God, have been invested with divine authority, and are wholly God’s representatives, in a manner, acting as his vicegerents” (4.20.4). He goes as far as to say that civil authority is “by far the... Continue Reading
Yes, There is Only One Way to Heaven (No, That’s not Unfair)
God providing a way to Himself, only through Christ, is the most gracious thing that has ever been done.
Humans demonstrate our fallenness by our never-ending insistence on being autonomous, that is, being free from any and all standard—including God. People don’t naturally want accountability nor a standard to live up to. But that’s what God gave us in the Ten Commandments. That is His righteous standard, so to speak. And for humans, it’s... Continue Reading
Men’s Wisdom Versus God
Wicked men will always consider themselves to have more wisdom than the most wise God.
The wisdom of the wicked is foolishness before the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. Like Ben-Hadad they may try to take and harm the Christian. They may find out where the Christian is. They may have armies to send after him. But the Lord brings the plans of the wicked to nothing for the wisdom of... Continue Reading
Meant to be Astonished
God often does His works of providence and the application of redemption safe from the prying eyes of man.
You’d like to be able to explain it, wouldn’t you? Do you think if God explained how He did this, your mind would be capacious enough to take it in? Or do you think if He gave the scientific formula for creation out of nothing, you’d be able to say, ‘You know, I think I... Continue Reading
A Distinct Church
The example of the early Church stands as a reminder that radical distinctiveness need not inhibit the spread of Christianity.
Modern Christians find themselves in a similar position to Christians in the ancient world. Both inhabit a society in which Christian views of religion, ethics, and culture stand at odds with the prevailing views and accepted opinions of the day. Both provide a distinctive identity that is often despised and dismissed by the social and... Continue Reading
If God Didn’t Mean What He Said, Then Why Didn’t He Say What He Meant?
Only one solution exists to the present crisis: A return to the sufficiency of Scripture, which means a return to expository preaching.
Sadly, ours is a day of allegorists, many of whom don’t even recognize they hold that infamous title. The same principles Origen used are being repackaged in our day, often by those who in theory reject the allegorical method. Luther was correct: “When this happens Scripture perishes,” and that has disastrous implications: flawed soteriology, flawed... Continue Reading
A Plan to Read through the Bible in 2021
I created a plan that calls for reading all the books of the Bible in canonical order in one year.
Christians need the Bible like humans need water. The Bible is our life-blood. The Lord Jesus plans to perfect His people by means of His word. That is why He prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Since the Bible is the word of God written, our progress in sanctification relies... Continue Reading
Discernment in 2021: We Have Work to Do
More than ever, we need to recover the heart, skills, and habits of discernment.
There’s a temptation to think that as Christians (especially evangelical and conservative ones) we have to fix the cultural mess we’re in. “Our civilization is crumbling! … America as we know it is ending! … Our Christian heritage is being trampled to death!” All that may be true, but it doesn’t follow that we must be the... Continue Reading
Something Worse Than Atheism
Defying God is worse than denying God, and this is what we do every time we sin against God.
The greatest enemy of God in Scripture is Satan. He is the dragon, the serpent who has waged war against God from of old. He and the other fallen angels (the demons) are not atheists. They know God exists, and they hate God. Because they hate God, their entire existence is one of defying God.... Continue Reading
The Mystery of the Trinity by Vern Poythress
The doctrine of the Trinity is at the heart of God’s identity; the resurrection of Christ lies at the center of redemptive history.
Overall, I believe that the book, like many other titles from Poythress, is deceptively simple. There’s much richness there for readers who slow down. But for those who don’t, the size of the book shouldn’t be intimidating. Accessibility has always been a hallmark of his theology (along with that of John Frame), and that’s the... Continue Reading
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