Jesus’s Justification and Ours
The resurrection is essential to our understanding of the doctrine of justification and the assurance it brings.
For the Christian, condemnation is no longer possible. Not only are we pardoned, but we’re counted righteous in Christ. This is for now and through the judgment on the last day. Praise the Lord, Christ’s righteousness is judgment proof on the last day! When we think about our justification, we often (and rightly so)... Continue Reading
Book Review: Reparations—A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair
The authors' theological paradigms of the Church's mission are fundamentally flawed and weaken the Church and its spirituality.
It may be the case that Church’s that have held slaves or participated in slavery should engage in the work of restitution and restoration. But to draw this out to engaging every church in social work and public policy is distracting and weakens the spiritual mission of the Church. Reparations: A Christian Call for... Continue Reading
When God Saves a Celebrity
Celebrity conversions are not verification of the gospel or validation of the church.
What do we do when a celebrity professes faith? Should we dismiss the story out of hand because so many of our hopes have been dashed before? Should we go all-in with celebrity Christians, realizing their fame is a currency that can be stewarded for evangelistic influence? In the last couple of weeks, I... Continue Reading
One Another Texts: Love
We owe our neighbor love.
We owe to our neighbor the obedience of God’s law—found in the last six commands of the decalogue—for our neighbor’s sake and for the sake of loving God (Romans 13:10). “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”—Romans 13:8 As of late, the... Continue Reading
Always Read the Story to the End
If we draw our conclusions before the end, we will never understand the author’s intent or appreciate the author’s skill.
We often see God weaving narratives that make sense only in light of the concluding pages. Through the words of God’s book and the history of God’s church, we see the importance of reading to the final chapter. And it is then, at the end, we see the work of God and exclaim, “Look what... Continue Reading
In Ministry, Joy and Sorrow Don’t Cancel Each Other Out
Both joy and sorrow can be important expressions of Christ’s love.
We experience both the joys of God’s love and salvation while we live with ongoing sin and suffering in a broken world. The goal isn’t so much to balance those realities but to engage them in love. Sorrow will ebb and flow as will joy, but we enter into it all in love so that... Continue Reading
Denominations: To Leave or Not to Leave?
Our commitment to our local church is of a higher order than our commitment to a denomination.
Sometimes a church or denomination takes such outlandishly heterodox positions that it really leaves traditional Christians with no choice. More often, we are left with dilemmas of conscience, and the humbling reminder that we all are just flawed members of flawed churches and flawed denominations. Social media is awash with reactions to Beth Moore’s... Continue Reading
When Stories of Abuse and Trauma Impact the Helper
What are we to do when God allows us to come face to face with what seem like “splashes of hell”?
People who are willing to begin facing abuse and trauma are courageous. To invite someone else to know about that truth is even braver. So, while it is an honor to be entrusted with such stories, we, as helpers, need to be prepared for how those stories will impact our hearts. Awhile back, when... Continue Reading
Words Have Lost Their Common Meaning
The word racism, among others, has become maddeningly confusing in current usage.
Nearly every designation of someone or something as “racist” in modern America raises legitimate questions, and leaves so many legions of people confused or irritated that no one can responsibly dismiss all of this confusion and irritation as mere, well, racism. Has American society ever been in less basic agreement on what so many... Continue Reading
Praying in the No-Man’s Land
The loneliness of Jesus in the Garden in prayer symbolized the singular task He had come into the world to accomplish.
While we can learn many things about our need to commit to a life of prayer from His example, there was something distinct about Jesus’ prayers—as is observed in the Garden of Gethsemane where He began His sufferings for our redemption. No one has ever modelled what a praying life ought to look like... Continue Reading
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