Light to Dispel Darkness: The Gospel’s Hope Arising From A Senseless Act
Pastor Scruggs said of his beloved daughter Hallie: “Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again.”
Grief gripped the entire Nashville community. In shock, as pundits and politicians attempted to make sense of the senseless, across our presbytery men and women gathered in their homes, schools, and churches to pray. We did not need to ask, “Why did this have to happen? Why did this have to happen to us?” We... Continue Reading
Singing in the Face of Suffering
In the midst of grief, God's people have historically cried out to Him in song.
Although the best comfort comes from God’s word, Christians have for centuries reflected on the hardships of life in light of the truth of God’s word in those seasons and written beautiful poetry shaped by the ideas and principles of the Scripture to find perspective and hope in God. God’s people have never been strangers... Continue Reading
8 Ways God Works Suffering for Our Good
When God brings a flood of suffering upon us, it is then that we fly to the ark, Christ.
In all these ways we see that suffering is not harmful to believers but beneficial. Thus we should train ourselves to look less at the evil of suffering and more at the good, to look less at the dark side of the cloud and more at the light. The worst that God ever does to... Continue Reading
Knowing the Unknowable God
God's Self-Sufficient Perfection is Absolute
How profound a mystery of God’s absolute self-sufficient perfection is infolded in these three letters, “I AM,” or in these four, “JEHOVAH.” If you ask what God is, nothing occurs better than this, “I AM,” or “HE THAT IS.” If I should say He is the all-mighty, the only wise, the most perfect, the most... Continue Reading
Everyone I Don’t Like is Literally Gothard
What does Gothard specifically mean by “authority is like an ‘umbrella of protection’” that makes it so bad?
Gothard says we can transfer ourselves back into Satan’s realm at any time, not by, say, apostatizing from the Christian faith, but simply by getting “out from under” our “umbrella of protection,”8 by which he means things like disobeying our bosses or our parents. While Paul says, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you... Continue Reading
Jesus Christ: Truly God, Truly Man
The Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon are vitally important subordinate theological standards in the Church. Both have been received and confessed by the historic Reformed churches. Their doctrinal content was affirmed by the early Reformed theologians and embedded in our confessions of faith because they express the teaching of Scripture. When we... Continue Reading
Christ’s Kingdom Advances With the Sword, but Not That Sword
Christ established his Kingdom, not by spilling the blood of his opponents, but by shedding his own blood for them.
There are to be certain characteristics of those within Christ’s Kingdom, and those characteristics stand in stark contrast to the way the world operates in its rebellion against God. Unlike the kingdoms of this world, Christ’s Kingdom does not advance through top-down enforcement, but bottom-up servitude. Christians, the subjects of Christ’s Kingdom, don’t lord over... Continue Reading
Contending for the Faith: Jude 3–4
Engaging the Enemy
Not only does Jude instruct our action toward the enemy (“contend”), but he also instructs us how to take care of ourselves and others in this fight. We cannot lose any of our soldiers. We ourselves must grow in the faith, pray, persevere, and look to the return of Jesus Christ (Jude 20–21). Concerning the... Continue Reading
Jesus Revolution Presents a Relevant Revival
The “Jesus Revolution”: a film exploring the genesis of the Jesus Movement that began among drugged-out hippies in the late 1960s in California and rapidly spread nationally and even internationally.
What we see is the genesis of an unplanned spiritual juggernaut that ultimately swept the country and led to the evangelical conversion of millions, including many outside the hippy subculture from which it sprang. This movement was rooted in the plain, unadorned teachings of the Bible and emphasized turning away from sin to uncompromising faith... Continue Reading
Still on the Throne
The Glories of a Seated Christ
Seated in heaven, Jesus is not anxious or uncertain. He is not scurrying feverishly around heaven’s throne room, making last-minute rescues. He lives. He sits on heaven’s throne, secure and utterly stable, in perfect heavenly equanimity and composure, interceding for his people with, and as, God almighty by his very life and breath. He’s still on the... Continue Reading
The Case for the Law’s First Table
George Gillespie viewed the magistrate possesses and ought to exercise coercive power in suppressing heresy and schismatics with a level of discrepancy, discrimination, and prudence.
The grave duty of the magistrate was not to be taken lightly nor administered flippantly, nor was executed with exaggerated eschatological expectancy. Prudence and patience should guide the magistrate here, for the good of the church and commonwealth, not personal prejudice or private gain. Taking “care of God’s glory” and the preservation of religion and... Continue Reading
Poking Holes in the Egalitarian Beachball: Seven Arguments against Female Pastors
When we live within the limits and lanes that God has set for us, we find beauty and flourishing there.
We don’t argue that preaching and pastoring is for qualified men in order throw water on the zealous young woman who has a knack for understanding the Bible. If our young daughters ask, ‘Can I be a pastor?’ Our answer doesn’t stop at “no,” as if we’ve just clipped some wings. Rather, our answer is... Continue Reading
Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word
Bishop John Shelby Spong of the Episcopalian Church in America, is the epitome of a liberal theologian. He is calling for a new Reformation of the Church based upon the following 12 Theses.
What is very disturbing to me is that there are people out there who actually believe this is a man of God. Of course these theses are simply the words of our enemy put in religious form for people to say, “Yeah! Now I can live any way I want!” Do you see the human... Continue Reading
On Theologian Thunberg
Greta Thunberg is now a top theologian?
She is up to her gills in religion. And her religion is of course radical environmentalism. She worships at that altar, and wants all of us to do the same. For many people today who have thrown out the one true God, the vacuum is replaced by various substitutes. Hardcore green religion is one of them.... Continue Reading
Locusts and Wild Honey
The Old Testament background to John the Baptist's diet.
The intake of locusts and wild honey was not a throwaway detail. The food going into John’s mouth represented the message coming out of John’s mouth. Those who received John’s message with faith would taste its sweetness and experience God’s blessing, like honey. Those who refused John’s message would experience God’s judgment, like locusts. ... Continue Reading
What Spiritual Depression Taught Me About Worship
Grounded in Truth Rather than Experience
In that moment of worship in sadness, you are experiencing some of what Christ felt. He knew He needed to march toward His death because it was worth it. And the joy of bringing many sons to glory overshadowed the pain of the cross upon His scoured back. So it is with us. When we do... Continue Reading
The Center of the Scriptures
The world does not revolve around us, much as we might think it does. It revolves around Jesus.
Until we recognize the centrality of Jesus in all things, we will harbor the illusion that we can serve both God and ourselves, only giving a portion of who we are and what we have to Him. But when this revolution takes place, we come to see that the only logical posture we can have... Continue Reading
On Matthew 18, Broken Relationships, and Reconciliation
Either we forbear and forgive or we go directly to the person who has sinned against us. There is no other option.
We need to admit with a measure of shame that there is a great difference between the Saviour’s dealings with us and the way we often deal with each other. And it need not be! We have a process given us so that wounds may be healed, relationships mended and sins forgiven. We have all... Continue Reading
Sin, Autonomy, and Biblical Critical Theory
Autonomy is the height of folly. It is idolatry on steroids.
If I alone can determine what is right and wrong, true and false, just and unjust, I will always be bumping heads with all the others who also think and act this way. With no higher objective absolutes that transcend my and your judgments and assessments, we will always clash. Real human dignity and community can only come from recognising who God is... Continue Reading
On Images of Christ
The apostles worked hard to preserve Christ’s words and were content to allow his appearance to be forgotten.
The mere natural sight of Jesus, however dear and beloved, did not bring the grace of faith during His days on earth. So, why do we seek instruction or edification through images made centuries later? Mere reflections, however true or faithful, cannot produce a more significant effect than the original. Images of Jesus Christ... Continue Reading
Coerced Confession
A coerced confession is not repentance.
Godly sorrow involves a hatred of sin, includes a fear of God, a longing for holiness, a zeal for the truth, and a willingness to receive appropriate punishment…Such confession and repentance could never be compelled. As Charles Spurgeon famously said when commenting on David’s confession in Psalm 51, “Honest penitents…come to the point, call a... Continue Reading
It’s Not Enough to Be Right
It’s possible to be on the right side of a debate without being "one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel."
“There is scarce anything that gives such mortal stabs to religion among a people as contention. Where contention is alive, there religion will be dead; and there will be nothing flourishing that is good.” [Jonathan] Edwards goes as far as to say that Christ’s wounds “have been as it were opened afresh by the selfishness... Continue Reading
The Good, Bad, & Ugly of Anger
What our anger is directed at determines whether our anger is righteous or wicked.
Anger over an offense should be dealt with swiftly, and that anger must not be allowed to linger. Forgiveness and reconciliation is what anger’s end game should be (Ephesians 4:32). God is slow to anger (Ps. 103:8, 145:8), but the Psalmist also asks the Lord how long “shall thy wrath burn like fire (Ps. 89:46)?”... Continue Reading
So, You Want to Be a Pastor?
An appeal to the aspiring pastor: brother, count the cost.
The young man who sits in awe of the public ministry of the pulpit needs to know that the pastor who preaches to the church must also shepherd it. To be an under-shepherd in God’s church is a noble calling and a life well spent (1 Tim. 3:1). Yet the aspiring pastor must never forget that... Continue Reading
Shooter Kills Three Children, Three Adults at Private Christian School in Nashville
Covenant School is a ministry of Covenant PCA in Nashville, Tenn.
Covenant School released a statement Monday night: “We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our church and school,” the statement read, in part. “We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff and beginning the process of healing.” A community is reeling... Continue Reading
The Priesthood of All Believers: A Call for All to Proclaim the Gospel
As priests in the household of God, let us go and tell the world about Jesus Christ, our great high priest.
Now that the veil has been torn, all children of God are given access to pray and to present Gentile converts to the Lord as living sacrifices. Wonderfully, such a ministry does not require a seminary degree or a clerical robe. It does require that the knowledge of the Lord would be on our lips and that... Continue Reading
Language Matters
Language makes an incredible tool of control, and often unwittingly we let forces we are unaware of control us through its use.
When we use inhuman words to describe ourselves, we slowly imagine ourselves less human. In time we become less human because our metaphors matter. In the church, the great Spirit-filled vehicle of becoming more human as we become more like Jesus, more like the world that sin made us forget, we should be especially careful to... Continue Reading
Background on Genesis
Genesis sets the groundwork for the remainder of the Bible.
The events and thematic devices presented in Genesis are seen throughout the rest of Scripture. Crucial doctrines begin in this text, from the attributes of God to the depravity of man. This is the primary goal of Genesis: to set up themes in the Bible, which will ultimately culminate with Jesus Christ. Author Since Genesis is the first book... Continue Reading
Is It Loving for a Faithful Christian to Go to a “Gay Wedding”?
The moral answer is a relatively easy one: certainly not.
Christians who attend a “gay wedding” should be honest with themselves and announce publicly that they have changed their mind about homosexual practice in key ways that deviate from the only witness of Scripture. They will eventually come to that realization in the not-too-distant-future if they aren’t already putting on a fake mask now. ... Continue Reading
The Place of Conscience
The Westminster Confession of Faith is somewhat unique in its emphasis upon the place of conscience in the Christian life.
Clearly, conscience plays a very important role. But with that said, a person’s conscience is not an inerrant or infallible guide, for it is possible for one’s conscience to be mistaken…as the Westminster Confession of Faith rightly says, the Bible alone is to be our “Final Umpire.” The Wesleyan Quadrilateral vs. The Presbyterian Pentagon... Continue Reading
