The truth of the gospel—the benefits of Christ’s substitutionary life and death on our behalf are received by faith alone—regularly poured into our minds and hearts, will guard us from deadening legalism and subsequent spiritual dryness.   If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, you know that spiritual passion, sight, and... Continue Reading

This way of adjudicating doctrines is a poison pill. It removes authority from the word of God and gives the reader the authority to scrutinize the Bible’s truthfulness based on whether or not it hurts people’s feelings. This is no way to read the Bible.   When Matthew Vines’ book God and the Gay Christian... Continue Reading

This is a general template to follow as you determine the changes you desire to make and how they should be chosen and done. Whatever you do, choose battles wisely as if you will be at that church ten years or more. That will give you a different perspective and will help you be patient.... Continue Reading

Why mention the tree and not the cross? To speak of the tree recalled the curse of death for breaking God’s Law, and all deserve this curse because everyone has broken God’s Law (cf. Deut 21:22–23; 27:26). But Christ did not sin and did not deserve the tree. He deserved life for perfectly obeying the... Continue Reading

What is this bondage we couldn’t even begin to perceive in 2009 that in under a decade has become a burden so onerous that it produces a demand for the overturning of well-settled rules and assumptions, some of which (“the gender binary”) go all the way back to the earliest origins of human civilization?  ... Continue Reading

There is no text in the Bible that clearly requires or rejects eternal submission, and those who support eternal submission of the Son are not easily categorized as pro-Nicene or as Arian. What is the best path forward?   In my new book, The Son Who Learned Obedience, I present a case against the position... Continue Reading

Many of us predicted polyamory would, in fact, be the next cause of the sexual revolution. Polyamorous marriage seems, for now, inevitable. That would mean marriage between more than two people, and why not? If marriage is officially severed from procreation, as so-called “same-sex marriage” has now legislated, then there is no reason to keep... Continue Reading

This era is full of personal struggles. Some of these struggles are not new: anxiety, depression, addiction, shame, and anger. Others are more recent, such as internet addiction and some psychiatric diagnoses. But all of them can be helped by meaningful engagement in a wise and loving local church.   In pastoral ministry, your time... Continue Reading

It’s so easy to allow our weaknesses to cast doubt on our ministry effectiveness. In the life of David Brainerd, we see God’s power flowing through a man marked by emotional and physical weakness. Though he was often racked with suffering, the young minister kept his hand to the plow. He did not allow his... Continue Reading

In this life we will always have some shame. That is part of living in a fallen world. Christians do not have to be dominated by it—our feelings are not the ultimate measure of truth—because our Father accepts us for the sake of Christ by his free favor alone. That’s the other factor here: grace.... Continue Reading