If Satan is responsible for possessing the serpent and using it for his own evil purposes, then the question follows, where does Satan come from? The Bible seems to teach that Satan is a created being who turned against God and embraced evil.   The Bible’s account of the fall in the Garden of Eden raises... Continue Reading

The moment Adam and Eve surrendered to the serpent’s seduction, they severed themselves from the umbilical cord of life in God (Ephesians 4:17-19). They shriveled up and died. As their spiritual heirs, at birth we inherit their corrupt nature. That means that relationally we are still wired for worship, but we worship anything but God. We are lovers who... Continue Reading

Though he belongs more to the age of Perkins and Hooker, Herbert deserves to be better known both as a great Protestant and a great poet. He was a pastor firmly dedicated to sacrificial ministry in his local congregation. Much of his poetry relates to the church and the spiritual life. His influence extends from... Continue Reading

For many of us, the holiday season means that ole Uncle Ruprecht will be coming at you, with his dusty ivy league philosophy degree rolled up in his bow tie, claiming rationalism long ago disproved Christianity. It means your cousin, Crowing Cameron, is home from his fancy university, having just sat for fifteen weeks in a... Continue Reading

While Jesus spoke against quick, thoughtless, and hypocritical criticism (Matt. 7:1-5), He also called on listeners to “repent and believe” (Mark 1:15), which is a decidedly critical message. It demands that people stop and turn from the evil they are doing! So, clearly then, sometimes criticizing is a necessity. Thus for Christians it is not... Continue Reading

I’ve noticed two equally destructive tendencies at play around this topic (three if you count a general fear of aging or displaying physical signs thereof). One is around the (utterly abhorrent) neologism ‘adulting’, meaning ‘behaving like an adult’. It is the resistance towards moving out of the young, free, single party animal phase and into... Continue Reading

Argula knew her limitations. She was not trying to become a Reformation “star.” She described herself as a humble writer, one of the foolish the Lord had made wise. Being a woman, she didn’t have the kind of theological training the faculty had received. She didn’t know biblical languages and could only quote the Coburg... Continue Reading

The bad news is that all of us are fallen and unable to save ourselves. The good news is that God loves sinners eternally and unconditionally. He loves them so much that he sent his only-begotten Son to save those who cannot save themselves. How then do his elect benefit from what God, in Christ,... Continue Reading

A zealous preacher, aided by the Holy Spirit, will seek to put the heartbeat of Christ into his hearers. Preaching is not just an exchange of information, it is an exchange of energy, of communicating with passion the heart of Christ into others.   In the Westminster Larger Catechism, six qualities are given in answer to Question... Continue Reading

We all, to varying degrees, are conscious of this yawning cavern placed within us by Someone without. Inexplicably, we hunger for a meal we have not yet tasted; we thirst for streams our lips have never touched. And we cannot shake it. We try to appease the appetite with earthly snacks or distract ourselves with... Continue Reading