The Battle for Grace Alone
Augustine argued that the very cooperation with grace was the effect of God’s empowering the sinner to that cooperation.
The operative word in Augustine’s view is that regenerating grace is monergistic. It is the work of God alone. Pelagius rejected the doctrine of monergistic grace and replaces it with a view of synergism, which involves a work of cooperation between God and man. The early part of the fifth century witnessed a serious controversy... Continue Reading
Salvation Out, Self-Help In
We no longer believe in sin, so we no longer believe in a saviour.
Discussing the “saccharin-like” preaching of Joel Osteen, Wells says this of the kind of God he presents: “The dominant view, even among evangelical teenagers, is that God made everything and established a moral order, but he does not intervene. Actually, for most he is not even Trinitarian, and the incarnation and resurrection of Christ play... Continue Reading
Nourished on the Words of the Faith
Returning to the Church's true source of strength and vitality.
If God says sound doctrine is good for us, then that’s the way it is. If He says meditating upon His law day and night is what makes a man prosper and mature (Ps. 1:3), then that’s simply what we’ve got to do. It matters very little if our flesh objects otherwise. God’s Word sets... Continue Reading
Praising God During the Wait
Three Things We Can do During the Waiting Period
Praying comes last after we Seek God and Praise God. Praying comes as a result of seeking God by His Word, and Praising God for who He is and what He has done. We come to God through words after we have already heard His Word and praised Him despite our circumstances. Our seeking is... Continue Reading
Isolationism: A Historic and Christian Take
Isolationism is the belief that a country should avoid involvement in other nations’ military, economic, and political policies. How should Christians think about national foreign policy?
The Scriptures are clear that governments act per the will of God (Romans 13:1, Colossians 1:16). The U.S. prides itself on democracy, independence, and freedom for all. America is not perfect; it fought its own battle with slavery and civil rights. However, the founding ideals and principles have maintained prominence in American culture and have... Continue Reading
Knowing God According to His Self-Revelation
Swinnock focuses the gaze of his readers on the incomparable greatness of God, who “is boundless in His duration, perfections, attributes, and being.”
In the course of his book, Swinnock considered at least sixteen specific attributes of God. He defined God’s attributes as “those perfections in the divine nature which are ascribed to Him so that we can better understand Him. They are called attributes because they are attributed to Him for our sake, even though they are not in... Continue Reading
Wrap Your Soul in Truth
Under-Armor for Spiritual War
The Christian who wraps his soul in the objective truth of Scripture shapes his subjective heart for the wiles of war. He takes the divine word deep into his human center, for transformation and joy. He not only searches the Scriptures, but lets the Scriptures search him. He ingests God’s truth both to feed and... Continue Reading
Sometimes it Takes More Courage to Stay
The path of Christian life and ministry is one paved with difficulty.
As we weigh in the options to leave or keep fighting we can do what Jesus did. We can pray. I know that doesn’t sound like the solution we are looking for. But although the cup wasn’t removed from him, he did get the strength to stay, Luke 22:43. And let me tell you, it... Continue Reading
Have We Made God in Our Own Image?
Book Review: John Peckham and Covenantal Theism
There is no doubt that Peckham is a gifted writer, and his intentions motivating his work are noble. He seeks to provide an account of the divine attributes that is biblically faithful and theologically coherent in hopes that readers will be drawn to worship and praise for God. Unfortunately, Peckham’s unique formulation of the doctrine... Continue Reading
Wholesome Protestant Doctrine
Francis Turretin, Divine Simplicity, and the Creator-Creature Distinction
God is not simply a big person, sharing our imperfections with us or exalting the supposed virtue of dependence, as if God is somehow glorified in His need. Rather, His divine life is marked by a completely different type of being—so much so, that it is more proper to call him the source, ground, or... Continue Reading
Lessons Learned from a Wolf Attack
When wolves in sheep’s clothing are recognized for what they are, they will not run. They will attack.
Wolves are inevitable as the gospel advances. Jesus had Judas, the believers in Ephesus had their own fierce wolves emerge after Paul was gone (Acts 20:29). Wise believers will seek to prepare for this common danger to the church—and act when the wolves are exposed. Some of the most painful lessons of ministry are... Continue Reading
The Real Function of Third Way Rhetoric
The person using third way rhetoric positions himself morally above the positions to his left and his right.
So much of the teachings of the urban church flatter the sensibilities of the people in the pews rather than fundamentally challenging them about the way they are living their lives…The pedimental nature of third way rhetoric is very effective, and it’s easy to see why it appeals to the striver class people who populate... Continue Reading
The Bible Says It, I Believe It
The Bible is going to offend; we let it loose, and stand firm.
No matter the teaching, no matter the offense—if the Bible says it, we ought to believe it. Period. We should never apologize for what the Bible says. Society is saturated with apologizers. Every which way we turn, someone is apologizing for something because it offended someone. It’s a vicious cycle. And Christians are, in... Continue Reading
Take Your Guilt and Sins to God
The book of Lamentations is a testimony to the sovereign faithfulness of God.
If we are honest, we know that sometimes our greatest pain comes from dealing with the consequences of unfaithfulness and sin—whether our own or that of someone close to us. And when we find ourselves there—and we will—Lamentations is our handbook. As we wrap up our four-week series, Redeeming Trauma, we need to pay... Continue Reading
Don’t Confuse Secondary or Tertiary with Unimportant
There are lots of tertiary things that will have a significant impact on your church.
We should think through tertiary and secondary matters and think carefully about what the scriptures say and how our approach to them will impact our churches. We may not write people out of the corpus if they land differently to us, but where we land may have implications that matter far more than we tend... Continue Reading
Precision Pastoring: Nourishing the Caregiver’s Soul
Jesus told Peter, "Feed My sheep."
With their deep understanding of the brutal realities of my life and the potential dangers that lurk, my pastors do not “motivate” me; they shepherd me. Modeling “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4). They preach the whole counsel of... Continue Reading
“Is It Bad?” Is the Wrong Question
We want to actively pursue good!
The next time you have a choice to make…ask the question, “Is this good?” We want to pursue those things that build up, as well as avoiding the bad; to walk in righteous paths rather than just avoiding the sinful ones. Me: “Hey Stacy, do you remember that kids movie?” Stacy: “Sort of.” Me:... Continue Reading
Different from and Different For
Egalitarians and the State of Christianity Today
Egalitarianism treats men and women not just as equals but as persons who are equally fitfor various roles. This is a radical departure from the wisdom of our God, who made men and women different from each other and different for each other. And to speak or act in any way that ignores, diminishes, or denies God’s good design... Continue Reading
Against Brokenness Theology
Replacing sin with victimhood.
Brokenness theology is not only unbiblical and spiritually damaging. It is also the gateway drug to a whole host of other heresies and errors. By teaching people that they are primarily helpless victims of forces outside their control, rather than willful sinners in need of salvation, it opens the door toward seeing every difficulty or... Continue Reading
Postmillennialism: A Reply to Doug Wilson
Postmillennialism lacks a biblical text to establish its assumption that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14) before the second coming.
The eschatological kingship of Christ begins already at his first coming culminating in his resurrection and ascension. Already at and dating from Christ’s exaltation, “God has placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (Eph. 1:22; cf. v. 20). This is a key eschatological pronouncement….... Continue Reading
The Sun Is Blotted from the Sky
As the light fades, men and angels alike pause in wonder at Christ receiving without grumbling, accepting without complaining, and bearing without limit.
“Give me Adam’s complaining and Jacob’s obstinacy and Samson’s lust.” The angels of heaven seem to shout, “Stop! Surely he has reached his limit!” But again he speaks to say, “Burden me more! Add to me the weight of all the sins of the next two thousand years, add to me all the sins of all... Continue Reading
Your Elders Will Fail You
God did not make your elder perfect. God redeemed your elder and is still sanctifying him.
Your elder is not Jesus. They may be Christ-like, but the ultimate voice a Christian should hear and follow is Jesus’s, and not their elder’s. Your elder can pray for you, warn you, show you safe paths, and plead with you. But ultimately, every member is in the hands of the Lord Himself. We are... Continue Reading
Poor Richard’s Christianity
Mere cultural Christianity will not protect the society a famous atheist says he values.
Dawkins’ conundrum, of course, is that all the nice culturally Christian things he enjoys have been brought to him courtesy of “bad” Christians—those dreaded orthodox types who actually took the Bible seriously when it said, for instance, that man is made in the image of God. Dawkins likes the idea of human rights, but he... Continue Reading
What Temptation Is and Is Not
Until we see Jesus, we will continue to suffer temptation.
Understanding the nature of temptation should sober us. It reminds us that no matter how good temptation makes sin appear, it’s a mirage. The temptation to be stingy is an invitation from Satan to resist the generosity that reflects Jesus. The impulse to click on pornography is an invitation from Satan to grieve God for... Continue Reading
Finding Peace beyond the Illusion of Control
Our salvation involves so much more than what we are currently experiencing, and even creation groans, waiting for the sons of God to be revealed.
Everything could fall apart. The darkest things imaginable could happen, except one: that God would lose one of us who has been saved by faith and fail to complete the work He has begun in us. We will see Jesus face to face in all of His glory. One day, all believers will inhabit a... Continue Reading
Everything about God Matters
Divine simplicity.
Simplicity means that God’s essence is identical with His attributes. God is not some unrevealed being who possesses attributes such as love and knowledge. Rather, God is love and God is knowledge. This truth is tremendously reassuring, for it means when we encounter God’s love or knowledge, we are genuinely meeting with God. Were attributes... Continue Reading
Undistracted by Moralism
While moralism sets the bar to an achievable height, Jesus sets the standard farther than we can reach.
Jesus exposed the Pharisees’ application of the Exodus 21:24 command, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’” (Matthew 5:38). They measured righteousness by personal retribution. They took a law meant to curb sinful retaliation and used it to justify personal vendettas. This is what... Continue Reading
Christ’s Spotless Bride: New Testament Images of the Church (Part Two)
Even when Christians fail and through sin bring harm to other members of Christ’s church, the Savior’s love and mercy is greater still.
Theologically, ideas of God as Father (Matthew 23:9– “for you have one Father, who is in heaven,”), Jesus as brother (Romans 8:29, “firstborn among many brothers”), believers as children of God and as co-heirs with Christ (John 11:52– “and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who... Continue Reading
The Gateway Drug To Post-Christian Paganism
The secret to political integrity and discernment for Christians is a high view of God, his Word and his gospel.
This points to their value in today’s debates. One of the striking lacunae on both the right and left wings of the Christian political spectrum is the general absence of any reference to the transcendence of God and the supernatural nature of the church. Immanent concerns rule the day. The pundits on both sides seem... Continue Reading
The Beauty of Divine Simplicity
The doctrine’s confessional value.
Christian theologians embrace divine simplicity because it is biblical. It also invites us to trust in His unity, share His sufficiency, and love all of Him. We cannot rank the divine persons; they are distinct from each other but not divided from each other. They are not three parts that add up to a single godhead.... Continue Reading