The Subtle Sin of Prayerlessness
Our understanding of the reality of spiritual warfare greatly influences whether or not we will develop the habit of God-dependent prayer.
Lack of diligence in prayer leaves us in a vulnerable position, making us easy prey for temptation. He called the disciples, and thereby us, to constant prayer, “that [we] may not come into temptation.” Prayer is necessary to keep us spiritually alert to the weakness of our own flesh and its propensity to sin. Lehman... Continue Reading
What Divine Generation Is Not
Divine, eternal generation must be distinguished from human, temporal generation.
Since the Son is begotten of the Father’s essence, there is “no partition, or withdrawing, or lessening, or efflux, or extension, or suffering of change, but the birth of living nature from living nature”; eternal generation is “One from One,” that is, “God going forth from God.”11 Or as the Nicene Creed says, the Son is... Continue Reading
The Vital Signs of American Christianity: Critical but not Terminal?
Churches should certainly be doing outreach, but more than that, we need to do a lot more “in-reach.”
Every major wing of American Christianity declined just in this latest six-year period. To make matters worse, these were the alarming vital signs well before the COVID-19 tsunami. By all accounts, church involvement has plummeted enormously since Spring 2020, and will struggle to revive to even close to these dismal 2019 levels. The only question... Continue Reading
God will not Forsake His Saints
I have been adopted by our Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Immutable God and He cares about me and takes personal care of me.
This Christian life is one of faith. This faith is a gift from God. Those who have it are His children. God will not lose one of His children. He delivers them from the hands of the wicked. God promises to deliver His children from the wicked. Does this also include deliverance from that horrible... Continue Reading
Sex, Gender and a Whole Lot of Confusion
A conversation with Catholic literary scholar and former postmodern feminist Abigail Favale.
We see this in the Communion of Saints: There are these different ways of living out masculinity — think St. Francis de Sales and his gentleness. And then there are other male saints who are much more strident. And the same with the female saints: You’ve got Catherine of Siena, Joan of Arc, as well... Continue Reading
The Dark, Enduring Legacy of Friends
As McGuire put it: “Friends was the entire sexual revolution tied up in one made-for-TV package and wrapped in ‘warm hang out vibes.’”
Most people were too busy laughing to notice; as with many sitcoms, people who morally opposed much of the behavior unfolding onscreen found themselves rooting for illicit hookups, divorces, and laughing at predatory sexual behavior (Joey Tribbiani: “She’s needy, she’s vulnerable—I’m thinking—cha-ching!”) And when religious people consumed the same entertainment as everybody else, it created... Continue Reading
There is No Age Limit to Kingdom Work
Older saints, God has work for you to do. Your race is not finished.
Do your hips and hands hurt? Likely. Are you overlooked in ministry for younger men and women? Usually. Has your energy and creativity waned? Probably. Is God finished with you? Absolutely not! Older saints, please press on. You have walked the path of faith longer than us newbies, and although sin still sways your ways... Continue Reading
Why Genesis 2 Teaches a Covenant of Works – Part 2
Law and love go together as there is no love without law and no law without love.
Though we know what happens in Genesis 3, suppose Adam had obeyed God. Suppose he did not eat of this tree, what then? Adam would have inherited eternal life. This is a necessary inference of the text itself. If Adam disobeys, he dies. Therefore, what happens if he obeys? He does not surely die. Or, put... Continue Reading
Economic and Immanent Trinity
The triune God takes slow learners into his eternal life, into heavenly things.
Maybe Jesus does identify at least something about heavenly things when he speaks his most famous words in this Gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). When the Father adopts us, the Son unites us to... Continue Reading
No Hedging. No Paternalism. Just Obedience.
Encourage women to violate 1 Timothy 2:12 in the small places, and it will eventually be acceptable for them to do so in the large places as well.
Anderson seems to have misunderstood the argument that I made in my essay. I did not make the argument that churches should put a “hedge” around the law. Nor did I make the argument that the “slippery slope” is the only reason that women shouldn’t be teaching Sunday School. I made the argument that 1 Timothy 2:12 prohibits... Continue Reading
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