The Mother of All Heresies
How pastoral shipwreck starts long before the scandal goes public.
It is not uncommon for a young man to suddenly get interested in postmillennialism and start pontificating about Christianity and politics while his own life is riddled with sin and falling apart. It’s easier to have convictions about politicians should do in Washington, DC than to fight and kill sin in your own heart. A... Continue Reading
PCA Minister and RTS Professor, James Hurley, Called Home to Glory
Reformed Theological Seminary Mourns the Loss of Professor Emeritus Dr. James “Jim” Hurley
Dr. Hurley joined the faculty of RTS Jackson in 1985 and became the longest-serving residential faculty member in the seminary’s history. Throughout nearly four decades of teaching, he faithfully prepared students for ministry by helping them think deeply about the integration of theology, Scripture, and counseling. JACKSON, Miss. — Reformed Theological Seminary mourns the passing... Continue Reading
PCA Minister and Covenant Seminary Professor, Dr. Robert I. Vasholz, Called Home to Glory
as Dr. Robert I. Vasholz, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, went to be with the Lord on July 16, 2026.
In 1972, he came back to Covenant Seminary to serve as Director of Admissions, Assistant Dean of Students, and Instructor of Hebrew. He was appointed to the Seminary’s full-time faculty in 1975. In 1976, he received a Master of Arts degree from St. Louis University and, in 1977, a Doctor of Theology (ThD) degree from... Continue Reading
Learning the Logic of Leviticus 16
The day of all days.
Leviticus 16 is the center of the Pentateuch, and so the foundation of the whole Bible. It began recalling the sober scene of the death of the disobedient sons of Aaron. The whole Bible has to do with this Day, because the center of the Bible is Jesus Christ. The death of Christ wasn’t out... Continue Reading
Megaphones, Not Magic Words
Trading the empty promises of the prosperity gospel for the true glory of our Rock and Redeemer.
We were made to declare much about God. We were not made to declare health and wealth; instead, we must be like David, asking God for the meditation of our hearts and the words of our mouths to be acceptable to Him. If we only meditate on the sickness that has not been healed, if... Continue Reading
The Importance of Studying the Westminster Standards on the Sacraments
Studying the Westminster Standards on Sacraments will help us understand them as Christ intended, as gracious signs and seals through which the Holy Spirit strengthens, nourishes, and comforts the faith of God’s people.
The sacraments do not merely tell us something. God uses them to promise, confirm, strengthen, and nourish faith. Their efficacy rests upon the work of the Spirit joined to Christ’s word of institution and promise, not upon the elements themselves or the intentions of the administrator. One thing I would encourage PCA teaching and... Continue Reading
A Pocket Guide to Picking a Fight with Sin, the Flesh, the Devil
To laugh as you face trouble and battle with the Evil One and his minions is quite fitting in response to the command of James in James 1:2–4.
Holy laughter. This is not often included the list of tools, nevertheless the Bible is full of references to joy. In Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah tells the people “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Our Lord demonstrates His joy by rejoicing over His people with song (Zeph. 3:17), but also laughing at the vain... Continue Reading
J. Gresham Machen: Where He Died Is Important
“So grateful for active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.”
As it happened, Machen succumbed to pneumonia in Bismarck, North Dakota, on January 1, 1937. Not only how he died but where he died is significant. Machen gave up not just the wealth and opportunity his elite family afforded but the privileged life of a Princeton scholar. The mission is driven by the message, not... Continue Reading
Maybe Your Friends Are Why You’re Not Having Kids
Two sides of the same social collapse.
Having supportive friends raised the share of couples intending to have another child from around 30 percent to about 45 percent. Put simply: ambient culture sets the aspiration, but real-world friends lead to actual births. A society can be awash in pro-family influencers and still be barren if nobody is willing to babysit. Friendship, though,... Continue Reading
Why Christians Should Create and Enjoy Art
As image bearers of the ultimate Artist, let us reclaim and give this gift for His glory.
Art is not something just to be analyzed, but also to be enjoyed. The late 20th-century philosopher Frederick Buechner said, “Beauty is to the spirit what food is to the flesh.” Art raises our imagination and ennobles what it touches. Think of the great art you’ve seen that communicated so much more than words. Yet... Continue Reading
Who Was Mary Slessor?
Her memorials stand as a reminder for the church not to rely on comfortable arrangements.
As James Luke wrote in The Record in 1904, “Where the church has failed, a single woman has stepped into the breach.” But Slessor would have put it in simpler terms: “After all, it comes back to this: Christ sent me to preach the gospel, and he will look after the results.” There is something... Continue Reading
Are You Tired of Injustice in the World?
God’s born-again family will forever “marvel and glorify Him” for His glorious justice.
They will pay the penalty of “eternal destruction away from the Lord’s presence.” What greater judgment could there be than to be eternally and irrevocably separated from the presence of God? To live separated from His presence eternally will be the greatest judgment possible. But remember, it is a judgment that those who ignore and... Continue Reading
God’s Grace When We Stray
Return to God. Stop the straying. Exchange the restlessness of being a wanderer on the road with the rest of being at home with the Father.
For whatever reason, your heart and thoughts shifted, and it led you down a path that you’re not proud of or that seems so foolish looking back. And like David, you know the grace and kindness of the God who did not forsake you there or give up on you. Even in ordinary and small... Continue Reading
When Life Gets Busy, Keep Abiding
We can pursue holy leisure and then undertake righteous activity for his name’s sake.
Holy leisure sounds lovely, but what does it look like in the middle of ordinary life? Many associate a contemplative life with a monastic one — long, uninterrupted hours in study and prayer. While that may be desirable to some, it’s unattainable for most. In our busy modern lives, is it possible to be both... Continue Reading
Dialogue 52 — Tomorrow
If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” (NKJV)
Ignorance of the law is never an excuse in court. We’re expected to know what the speed limit is, or the catch limit on a fishing license, or which species are protected, or whatever. Right, but with sin, knowledge matters. This is because sin is fundamentally rebellion against God. It’s all about what’s in the... Continue Reading
Removing the Masks
Do we bring it to the cross and there behold our precious Savior bearing our many sins, specifically our sin of hypocrisy? Do we long to remove the masks?
The hypocrite will desist from drunkenness, deceit, theft, idolatry, immorality, and a host of other sins while secretly holding tight to the sin of hypocrisy. The reason is simple: Hypocrisy is rooted in pride, which births an insatiable desire for praise and esteem. How do we deal with a sin so deeply embedded in the... Continue Reading
Reconciliation
For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, bearing the punishment (taking the thrashing), not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word, the ministry, the preaching, the sounding out of the good news of reconciliation.
Where the word ‘reconciliation’ or ‘reconciled’ is, you usually find the word ‘enemy’ or ‘enemies’ too. What is in view is the reconciliation of enmity. But by Christ’s cross he has not only reconciled men but also ‘things’. What does that mean? Are things, natural things, worlds, reconciled with God through the death of Christ?... Continue Reading
Contend In The Courts Of The Church
Contend in the courts of the church, for you are contending for the peace and purity of the people for whom Christ died.
I have seen instances where a matter was before the Presbytery, discussion ensued, and a decision was reached. Afterwards, I have talked to men who admitted they wished they had stood and spoke for or against the matter. They regretted not standing and speaking. There are some who are vague and unclear in their arguments... Continue Reading
The Secret of a Happy Life
I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Psalm 16:8
If the Lord Jesus, the man of grief, a mourner all his days, yet said the lines had fallen unto him in pleasant places, and he had a goodly heritage, it must be the more possible for us to rise to the like content, if we follow his rule and live according to his example.... Continue Reading
Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
"Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."John 16:20
There are times when we can say, “Now, Lord, we can sympathize with you better than we ever did before, for we have felt somewhat as you did in your agony here below.” We have sometimes felt as though that prophecy had been fulfilled to us, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized... Continue Reading
The Room I Can’t Name
Find out what your children are being taught this year, then teach them something truer before the world gets the first word.
A generation inherits the word “Christian” with none of the weight, catechized by the feed instead of the faith, because we assumed one hour on Sunday could hold its own against ten thousand hours of formation pointed the other way. The culture is not waiting for our permission to disciple our children. It is already... Continue Reading
Why Comfort Is Spiritually More Dangerous than Suffering
If eternity is real, comfort is not the highest good. And if the spirit matters more than the body, then the greatest danger may not be pain. The greatest danger may be never needing God badly enough to seek Him.
The wisest man who ever lived still fell when there was too little back pressure and too few consequences. Suffering, by contrast, often breaks the illusion. It reminds us that we are fragile. It exposes false gods. It strips away pride. It teaches compassion. It forces questions we would rather avoid: Who am I? Why... Continue Reading
Complete What’s Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions
If you are going to share the message of the gospel, it will be costly to you.
I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me. For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person (Colossians 1:29-2:1). There’s an interesting phrase that appears in Colossians 1. Perhaps “interesting”... Continue Reading
Not Knowing Where You Are Going, Part 2 – The Adventure
God bless us all on the journey, and may we honor Him as we go.
This means we want our lives, wherever we are and whatever we do, to glorify God. Ultimately, we serve Jesus Christ (Colossians 3: 17, 23, 24). Sometimes feeling like I don’t know where I’m going, dealing with discouragement and doubts, I remember that even though things may not be making sense to me, they make... Continue Reading
Delightful Christianity
The Lord has more for you. But it is all found in Him.
The religion of most people consists in abstaining from sins they secretly love. Negative godliness is common; it is supposed by most that our religion consists in things we must do rather than pleasures we enjoy. (Spurgeon) What they do not realize is that genuinely abiding in Christ, drawing near and remaining near affords the... Continue Reading
A Father’s Work: God’s Holy Name
The Third Commandment is more than saying, “Do not verbally misuse God’s name and all is well.” There are other implications too.
How do God’s children live in a world that dishonors him? Fathers are the leaders of their families. As such, they are charged to prepare them for adulthood. By leading them in obedience to God’s law, fathers prepare them to glorify God. Christian families should look different from the families of the world, and not... Continue Reading
Washing the Dishes
Don’t grow weary in doing good. God is at work even when we can’t see it.
Sometimes our labor is preventing things from becoming far worse than they otherwise would be. At other times, the fruit of our work may not become visible until years later, perhaps even in the next generation. Sometimes, as pastors—or as parents—we wonder whether what we are doing is making any difference at all.... Continue Reading
The First Conspiracy Theory and the Dangers of Hidden Knowledge
Fascination with the mysteries to which God has not granted us access paves a road to decay, death, and ultimately, hell.
The problem in the garden was not curiosity, or even theorizing, it was not the seeking after truth, it was doubting God’s goodness and rightful authority. It was forgetting that he is truth. We all carry within us a longing for the garden, for a life of both freedom and connection. In Eden, there... Continue Reading
Not Knowing Where You’re Going, Part 1—It’s Okay
Abraham, by faith, went out, “not knowing where he was going.”
God is a goal setting and plan making God. We are made in His image and we can do the same. That doesn’t mean what we come up with will be perfect like His, or that our plans will happen; but often it will be part of the means to discover more about where we... Continue Reading
God’s Children Really Will Live Happily Ever After
The prospect of seeing God eclipsed all of Job’s heartaches. Surely it can eclipse yours and mine.
At last we see the restoration of God’s ideal universe, fulfilling His plan of the ages, culminating in a resurrected people living with Him on a resurrected Earth. Then, and only then, will we live “happily ever after.” In The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis paints a beautiful picture of the New Earth in the... Continue Reading