These dissenting Christians had separated from the Church of England and were living in exile in Leyden, Amsterdam, and  Plymouth Plantation so they could practice their doctrine as congregational churches with each church bound by its covenant.   Introduction The church at Leyden was the mother church for the Pilgrim congregation in Plymouth Plantation in... Continue Reading

As sinners, we cannot satisfy God’s wrath or fully pay for our sins no matter what we do or how long we do it. Furthermore, even if we tried, we would keep on sinning while seeking to fully pay for our sins. An endless loop of sin and punishment would ensue. As a result, a... Continue Reading

Only those who have truly trusted in Jesus as their Savior and submitted to His lordship will experience God’s eternal blessing. Obedience brings blessing, not because it merits salvation but because it demonstrates the reality of our faith in the One who blesses His people.   Although it is rarely noted, the concept of blessing... Continue Reading

The Abide Project began, not as an attempt to chart a new direction, but precisely to avoid it.  The only unprecedented developments have been the deliberate attempts to protest and defy the decisions of Synod, and the subsequent failure of classes to keep such congregations accountable.   Recent Synods of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC)... Continue Reading

“Respect” for tradition is not enough when cultural hurricanes threaten to blow Anglicans off the narrow pilgrim way. Just as “respect” for God is a far cry from the “trembling at My word” that God seeks (Isa. 66:2), and just as the Ethiopian eunuch asked how he could understand Isaiah without someone guiding his interpretation... Continue Reading

Wherever King Jesus is readily acknowledged, his reign in rule is more firmly felt and entrenched in our lives and in our world, and so mainly that will exist in the church. There we have his kingdom coming. What more important things could we pray about in our day?   We think about the petitions... Continue Reading

Calvin said there are two tests to determine the purity of a man’s aspirations. First, is the man already doing what the office requires?…Second, if he goes unnoticed in his service (let us say he does not get nominated this go-around), does he keep serving?    I have noticed an interesting difference between the description of... Continue Reading

I am not a prophet, but I suspect (and cannot know) that we will become or already are a non-literary society. And that a sub-group (pastors, classical school kids, educators, etc.) will continue to value the life of the mind.   I think we are seeing the end of reading as a societal activity. Most... Continue Reading

If you cannot feel it now, the Lord is still with you in the valley. He will still walk with you without fail all your days, and one day it may be that you look back on the worst of experiences, the most dreadful of times, the deepest of dark valleys, and you will be... Continue Reading

Perhaps the most obvious corruption of our thought upon this point has been the substitution of “same sex attraction” for “lust.” …working off of Scripture’s framework, our constitution and ethical tradition know nothing of mere attraction, especially where it is conceived as a potential weakness or liability rather than as the sin of unnatural lust.... Continue Reading

When our desire for knowledge and revelation ram against the unapproachable wisdom and knowledge of God, where do we turn? The surest answer in those moments is to turn to His Word, where mercifully, God has already spoken. He has revealed something of His good intent and loving providence, enough so that through His Word... Continue Reading

If what we ultimately seek is health or comfort or material happiness, then we have to admit that these idols are doing a decent job. From one perspective, it makes sense that we continue to rely on them. Our idols don’t make promises explicitly because they rarely speak. But we attribute promises to them—primarily that... Continue Reading

By Spurgeon’s death in 1892, the Metropolitan Tabernacle had a membership of over 5300. This is remarkable given how plain their services were, how rigorous their membership process was, and how careful they were to maintain accurate rolls. They weren’t large because of modern attractional gimmicks. These weren’t inflated numbers due to sloppy membership practices.... Continue Reading

In capitalism, “the individual is important, and this is why it is consonant with the Christian world view, because you are important. Because you are created in God’s image.” In socialism, individual subordination will be justified by saying “this is for the good of the order … this is for the greater good, it’s very... Continue Reading

At its core, Pro-Child Politics is a call for adults to represent and steward the best interests of children in the realm of politics, culture, and economics—not find themselves beholden to childish wish lists and self-focused desires, regardless of the person’s age. While I would happily opine about various conservative thought experiments, including JD Vance’s... Continue Reading

Sisters and brothers, when you’re taken off guard by unsettling news, a scary diagnosis, a harsh disappointment, or any form of unexpected turbulence, your Rescuer is near. He is right there in the storm with you. And when you respond by going back to familiar false refuges, his forgiveness and strengthening comfort are still yours!... Continue Reading

In societies that prioritize marriage, citizens are better able to restrain their physical appetites and focus social energy on building the future. In short, sexual “freedom” leads, eventually, to social exhaustion and eventual decline. From impulse purchases to hyper-sexualization to boredom with even short silences, ours is a civilization focused on living in the moment... Continue Reading

As believers, we can have assurance that our standing before God is secure because it rests on Christ’s righteousness, not our own. This doesn’t mean we ignore good works, but it means those works flow out of a heart transformed by faith, not as a means to earn salvation. Some may point to James 2:17—“So... Continue Reading

The series is aimed at students, preachers and interested laypeople. My take is this volume veered more towards the student end of this spectrum as a first reference point. I think it will help preachers to the extent it compiles the Christological material in the letters and joins the dots to other Pauline teaching; chapter... Continue Reading

Indeed, in Acts 15 as in Acts 11, the prophets’ ministry of the word and the response of the disciples in Antioch shows us that joy, encouragement, and comfort (cf. 1 Cor 14:3) belonged even to Gentiles as co-heirs, co-members of the body, and co-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus with Jews through the... Continue Reading

A prodigal and riotous waster cannot get by with his yearly income, but takes on more on his estate on the next year’s income, before it come. He begins to spend out of it before it actually comes, and then, when it comes, it cannot suffice. In the same way, the insatiable and indigent heart... Continue Reading

When he lovingly brings pastoral trials into our lives — and he does so lovingly — he is working for us and in us, one of the greatest goods imaginable. When He tests us, he is taking action to keep us. And He keeps us not just by protecting our present level of faith and... Continue Reading

The very idea that humans are made in the image of God is rendered vacuous. (Gen. 1:27: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”) Affirmation of sodomy entails the hermeneutical unmaking of the created order. This is why Paul singles it... Continue Reading

The problem for Israel was not hearing. Just as general revelation wordlessly speaks of the glory of God to all of creation, so also “the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) had analogously been spoken to the Jews and Gentiles (Romans 10:18; cf. Ps 19:4). Neither was the problem for Israel its understanding (Romans 10:19a). They... Continue Reading

The world has believed that marriage is for a man and a woman.  Men and women are different.  Viva la difference! They were made to complement one another and to be close, just like the positive and negative charges in physics. This was part of God’s created order.  From God’s creation comes order, predictability, productivity,... Continue Reading

There is historical precedent to correlate an embrace of more conservative conceptions of political authority with an accompanying an increase in piety, and vice versa. A symbiosis between conservative politics and more substantive Christian piety typified the Réveil, a religious and in some ways political revival movement that swept France, the Low Countries, Switzerland, and... Continue Reading

Pray that God would open the eyes of your heart so that you might know the hope and riches that are yours in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:18). Pray that God would fill you with songs of praise and thanksgiving as you meditate on the great things He has done (Eph. 5:19–20; 1 Peter 2:9).   Early in... Continue Reading

If you preach, make sure your preaching offers me Christ. I need him. I need to confess my sin and receive forgiveness each week. I need to see again that I’m raised up and seated with him in heavenly places each week. I need to encounter these truths in mind, in heart, and in body;... Continue Reading

Help us to be a church that remembers the fourth commandment. Help us by your Spirit to be careful to keep this one commandment, so that we might better keep all the rest of your commandments. Help us to see that we are stronger together when we spend more of our day in worship, more... Continue Reading

Let the instruction of your father and the wisdom of your mother be as a crown, a sword, a scepter unto you. They bestow you with the royalty of being children of the covenant, and so receive that lofty calling and fulfill it in honor of both God your Father and your parents. The true... Continue Reading