Christians such as Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons weren’t part of the cultural elite but, following the apostles’ footsteps, worked from below and slowly and steadily guided the church through a pagan world. They didn’t sit in the prominent seats of the senate nor hobnob among the intellectuals populating the philosophical schools. Instead,... Continue Reading

While women in many countries legitimately constitute an oppressed group that is consistently subjected to cruel and unjust treatment, this is not the case in most of the Western world. Affirming the proposition that “women in America are oppressed” requires us to redefine “oppression” not in terms of concrete unjust treatment, but in terms of... Continue Reading

Churches must teach and embrace the true gospel. More than anything we must know God’s grace for lost sinners. But not in a simplistic way, mindlessly repeated. We must leave the elementary, simplistic “doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” in our gospel teaching (Heb. 6:1). Second, churches must properly administer the ordinances or... Continue Reading

God’s priorities are different from the world’s. He encourages us to look and see the deeper undercurrents of beauty and the things that endure. It is there that one finds a prelude of the majesty to come. But marriage, Paul reminds us, is a picture of a far greater mystery—namely, the union between Christ and the... Continue Reading

Southern Baptists appreciate the Baptist Faith & Message because we believe that it is an accurate summary of the Bible’s teachings. Thus, when state conventions openly defy the Baptist Faith & Message, they are defying our God’s Word. The authority and sufficiency of the Bible are functionally abandoned when the faithful are absent or fail... Continue Reading

The rise of wokeness, the all-encompassing digital age, and the decline of Western power have forced many atheists to admit that Christianity will not, as it turns out, be replaced by the rationalist regimes they dreamed of. The West is gripped by a crisis of meaning—and atheists have nothing to offer. Dawkins himself has been... Continue Reading

You’ll certainly see more rainbows during June. When you do, remember what the rainbow really means. Long before the LGBT+ community used the rainbow to communicate their message, it belonged to God, and he was sending a different message.   June is Pride Month. For some, that means nothing. For others, it means everything. And... Continue Reading

Paul’s argument in Romans (and in Galatians) moves from unbelief where law-keeping fails (Rom. 1:18–3:20), to being declared right before God through faith (Rom 3:21–4:23), to adoption and sanctification that flow from justification (Rom. 5–8). In other words, Paul’s statement about justification by faith rather than works falls in his argument about how one becomes... Continue Reading

Cyril makes a clear distinction between earnest manliness and immaturity. He emphasizes that only those who have reached spiritual maturity and the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ are counted as truly manly. This maturity involves surpassing the mind of youth and embodying the virtues of wisdom, strength, and courage. The divine... Continue Reading

A mark of Spurgeon’s preaching was his meditation on God’s word. Like the Puritans before him, Spurgeon turned the diamond of Scripture again and again to reflect the brilliance of its many facets. But his meditation on Scripture wasn’t only a public performance. It was the fruit of his private meditation on Scripture. We see... Continue Reading