God’s Wrath of Abandonment
We must remember is that God gives people over to their idols.
The Visible Church is full of the world. Christians are called to be separate from the world, not be part of it while being Pilgrims traveling through it. Because of this, the church and its professing Christians look just like the world. Their leaders use the world’s methods instead of being obedient to God and... Continue Reading
Are We Living Out Romans 1?
Blessing and Curse in a Post-Obergefell World
Practicing homosexuals—of which I was once one—may not be conscious of the larger, biblical meaning of their sin as outlined in Romans 1, but it would be to their betterment if they were. While the LGBTQ world has become a machine, many individual people who practice homosexuality just want to be left alone to live... Continue Reading
On How We Speak of Sin
Polite discourse minimizes and, over time, neutralizes the instinct of moral revulsion.
Evangelical leaders must recognize that politely naming sin is not enough. We also need to conserve the moral revulsion that previous generations left to us regarding sexual perversions, and then fortify that moral instinct with depth of understanding of God’s design in nature for sexuality. We need to recover our gag reflex, but I fear... Continue Reading
7 Questions to Ask in Evaluating Online Pundits
How do we evaluate the cacophony of punditry around us?
The digital revolution has made knowledge more accessible, the flow of information more diverse, and the ability to make your voice heard easier than ever before. The same revolution has also made invincible ignorance more sustainable, pervasive crankery more common, and the ability to discern what voices are worth listening to harder than ever before.... Continue Reading
The Mission of the Church
May all our churches evangelize, enfold, equip, establish, exalt, and extend.
Books and blogs are written all the time on what the church is really called to do and be. It’s not unlikely that in the time of my writing this, another book is funneling through a publisher on what the church is actually supposed to do, or what the apostles really meant for the church’s... Continue Reading
The Ordo Salutis: Introduction
The application of the gospel to individuals.
First, God effectually summons dead sinners to awake or be regenerated. This latter act is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. After waking from their dead slumber these roused sinners begin to respond in faith and repentance. What is more, they are justified, adopted, sanctified and persevering until their glorification. All of these topics will be... Continue Reading
How the Order of OT Sacrifices Communicated a Theology of Worship
God gave specific instructions concerning sacrifices to him.
Worshipers would begin with the Sin Offering (Lev 4:1–5:13, 6:24–30, symbolizing the substitution necessary for atonement. When a sin offering was made, the worshiper would place one hand on the head of the animal and make confession of his sin while he killed the animal with his other hand. Part of the blood from that... Continue Reading
Count Your Blessings
We find that we gain increasing victory over sin as we live in a state of gratitude for His countless blessings.
God has provided for us, protected us, forgiven us, instructed us, disciplined us, been longsuffering toward us, and showered His kindness upon us in Christ. How can we not be thankful for all that we have received from His loving and merciful hand! Above all blessings He has showered on us, He has made us... Continue Reading
How to Read Ezekiel Theologically
From the prophet’s first frightening theophany in Babylon to the final vision of a restored temple, the presence and power of the Sovereign Lord reverberate throughout the book.
Ezekiel leaves us with a theological vision of a Spirit-indwelled people, transformed from idolaters to saints, resting in a covenant of peace, under a new Davidic reign, and dwelling in the presence of the Lord forever. Reading Ezekiel theologically is recognizing the presence and power of God to judge and save—that the nations may know... Continue Reading
Common Grace
There is an aspect of grace that benefits humanity as a whole—whether we realise it or not.
We begin our journey through grace with the way God shows his grace—his love and favour—towards all he has made. David explicitly highlights this facet of God’s dealings with all his creatures in Psalm 145, captured in the words, ‘The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all he has made’ (145.9).... Continue Reading
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