Confessing the faith is necessary, not only at conversion, but in all of life, in words and deeds. Herman Bavinck’s The Sacrifice of Praise was written to encourage and challenge readers towards deeper reflection of the nature of their confession, to tether the reader to Scripture and to the rest of the church. It was written as... Continue Reading

I once asked Dr. Ferguson advice on selecting commentaries for use in preaching and teaching. He gave some wonderful counsel.  He told me to buy the best commentary on the book I happened to be preaching through, and then he added, the best book may not be the one with which you have the most... Continue Reading

Adam never found that lasting city in this world, and neither did Enoch or Noah. This brings us to Abraham, the first person to whom God makes a promise of not only a people but also a place. The language of Hebrews 11:13–16 suggests that the patriarchs, even though they had genuine faith in the promises of... Continue Reading

Oden’s story provides a rare glimpse into the world of modern liberal scholarship from the perspective of someone who used to believe all the standard critical views but then changed his mind. Thus, there are a number of lessons we can learn from his journey.   Over the last couple of weeks, many evangelical scholars... Continue Reading

John Calvin in particular took on a new freshness for me as I listened in to the impact the Reformer had on Dr. Ferguson. It seems strange to write about a writer who’s commentating on a writer, but the strangeness quickly evaporates once the reader engages Ferguson’s book. It’s a lens through which the weighty... Continue Reading

“Since the Gentiles were admitted to partake of the same salvations–which took place when Christ diffused everywhere the light of his Gospel–the distinction was removed, and those who were formerly dogs are now reckoned among the children. The pride of the flesh must fall down, when we learn that by nature we are dogs.”  ... Continue Reading

I remember reading about Daystar Church in Good Hope, Alabama, where the pastor had a month long focus on sex in his sermons and it was explicit. In fact, the church raised a billboard throughout the county that advertised the Sunday worship services with this new series: “Great Sex God’s Way.” Citizens were confused. A... Continue Reading

While getting my haircut the other day, the young lady who was cutting my hair said, “I don’t ever want to get married. My dad told me when I was 15 years old that half of all marriages end in divorce. So, I figured, why try?” I tried explaining to her that that statistic is... Continue Reading

The intensity of these speeches can be traced as follows. At its height, a curse is given directly to the serpent: “Cursed are you” (v. 14). With Adam, there is a slight mitigation: the ground is cursed because of Adam, but he is not cursed directly as the serpent was (v. 17). Finally, with Eve,... Continue Reading

The laws in Scripture are a beautiful reflection of the holy God we worship. I have found however that many believers are confused about the role of the rules – especially those Old Testament laws we find in places like Leviticus, that seem so foreign to us. The hundreds of exhortations in Scripture might lead... Continue Reading