How often do we all conduct our lives as if we lived in some sort of closed universe not actively upheld and sustained by the God who is, who spoke everything into being?   For a few months I have been thinking about a phrase I first encountered in 1995 when I was teaching an... Continue Reading

Randomness can never be a scientific explanation, since we can never know that something is random. At best, saying something is random is shorthand for “we don’t know.” So, when scientists state the origin of something in our universe is random, they do not know the origin.   It is common in the sciences to... Continue Reading

Paul says every gift is essential for the church to be healthy. Thus, every gift has value. And that implies that every skill and every worker is valuable too. But Paul also says we differ in our functions. Yet there are “higher gifts” and believers rightly “desire” them (12:31). If God grants them, he expects... Continue Reading

You can take the boy out of American celebrity evangelicalism, but you cannot take the American celebrity evangelicalism out of the boy. Messianic self-confidence comes as standard. And the preacher is still both the salesman and the product being sold.   Joshua Harris is back in the limelight. He made his name as the young... Continue Reading

There never was a time when the Father was not the Father, nor was there ever a time when the Son was not the Son. The eternal generation of the Son does not occur in time. It is simply a window into the eternal nature of God. It is a holy truth and one that... Continue Reading

Love is the law of liberty and the royal law; it is greater than faith and hope; it is the perfect way and the virtue which we are to put on “above all.” It is the perfect bond of unity.    The Law of Moses and the Prophet’s admonitions are all fulfilled in the law... Continue Reading

The church is to be marked by love that seeks to save one another from sin’s snare. We mimic the Good Shepherd, who sought us, when we go after those who stray. Is there anyone who needs you to seek them out? Has anyone strayed into sin that you’ve neglected to pursue? If you fell... Continue Reading

There are legitimate reasons to speak with church leadership and depart the local church to a more faithful church, in an honorable, Christ-like manner. But, sadly, doctrinal conviction and spiritual integrity in the truth are not at the top of the list when it comes to church departures in our day.   In recent years,... Continue Reading

The amillennial interpretation of this text supplies a truer, richer, and far more comforting meaning than that of our dispensational brothers. The Lord is not speaking here of a pre-tribulation rapture, but of a three-fold coming to his disciples: first at the moment of their new birth, second at the moment of their death, and... Continue Reading

A godly spouse can help restrain us from sin and point us to Jesus. An ungodly spouse can reinforce our sin and lead us further into disaster.   In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab was sulking. He wanted to have a field next to his palace for a vegetable garden, but the owner of the... Continue Reading