The heart you were born with loved the wrong things. By nature, we were lovers of self rather than lovers of God. But God has given us a new heart, and this is why we love Him, trust Him, and want to serve Him. That’s regeneration.   If you search the Bible for the word... Continue Reading

Jesus calls for a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. But what He demands, He also fulfills. Unlike the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:3), He practices what He preaches, and He does so perfectly. He calls us to this same righteousness, so that we may be perfect, even as our heavenly Father is... Continue Reading

Paul’s teaching was not of human origin at all. Paul delivered to the gentiles the testimony of an apostle. He was a living witness of the resurrection. He bore witness to Christ’s triumph over the grave. Paul received grace from the Lord Jesus having been found guilty of persecuting Christ’s church.   Over the last... Continue Reading

Leviticus is a book of hope, not in running from God but in running to Him, where He redemptively points us to the unblemished Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. By His stripes we are healed.   For it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17:11, NKJV Whenever I read... Continue Reading

Jesus is referred to as “the last Adam [who] became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). He came to crush the head of the serpent and take away sin. He died as the perfect—sinless—sacrifice for the trespasses we have committed. When we are in Jesus, we are safe. When we die and stand before God... Continue Reading

Not only does Christ know and understand the affliction of the elect, the elect can—in a mystical sense—commune with Christ because he suffered for them. Christ, [Flavel] explains, “looks down from heaven upon all my afflictions, and understands them more fully that I that feel them.”   The Church today needs a robust and refreshingly... Continue Reading

Millions of girls with instant access to our culture’s most viral (and dangerous) behaviors and beliefs are currently manifesting the results. Their sicknesses are a clear sign that our society is sick. In order to treat them and us, we’ll have to admit how the disease spreads, admit the connection between mental illness and gender confusion, and... Continue Reading

The insights of Christian tradition, and the discernment and critique of fellow believers today are both valuable safeguards for us as we seek to do theology and biblical interpretation. For we must go about the task with reverence, caution and diligence, so that even as we draw out the good and necessary consequences, we do... Continue Reading

When we read of the incessant desire of the Psalmist’s adversaries, we should think of our own constant temptation to Sin. We should read these poems of war as our poems of war. We should be encouraged not just to sit through hard times but to fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil with our... Continue Reading

The Westminster Divines, the Reformers, the Puritans, and Scripture call for active combat against remaining sins, not merely a passive acceptance that such sins will eventually go away. Paul knew this well, and instructed the church at Ephesus to equip themselves with “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 13).   Last year, the PCA approved... Continue Reading