To be a blessing sums up what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 5:43–45; Matt. 15:1–9;). To be a blessing is at the essence of any morality that Christians should strive to achieve. It’s the kind of morality or holiness or ethics that matters to the people around us.   And YHWH... Continue Reading

In light of these differences, it needs to be asked why God’s laws – which were inscribed in stone when originally given – could appear to be altered in any way. The different wordings themselves provide the best clue.   The Ten Commandments, given by God at Sinai, have played a vital role in both... Continue Reading

Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Transparency is living our lives reflecting Jesus’s light as we acknowledge our need for gospel reminders, accountability, and repentance.   “James, would you pray that our church would be willing to have awkward conversations with each other?” “Huh?” Seriously,... Continue Reading

The two letters reflect the central issues under debate during the Reformation: the formal principle (sola scriptura) and the material principle (sola fide). Notice, these are the same theological tenets at stake in Luther’s Reformation two decades earlier.   Celebrations of the Reformation typically revolve around the larger-than-life reformer, Martin Luther. On this Reformation Day,... Continue Reading

My son needs to see that the woman who taught him everything from clapping his hands to long division is going to be mom enough to teach him the hard stuff, too. To address what the world will try to plague him with in no time at all. To describe to him in detail how... Continue Reading

There’s more to the story, of course, but one thing worth noting is that an English Lollard (someone who agreed with Wycliffe) named Richard Wyche heard about the incident and wrote a letter of encouragement to Huss – whom he had never met.  I’ll post the letter from Wyche to Huss below.  It is slightly longer than... Continue Reading

I’ve recently started meeting up with a small group of men in my church early on Sunday mornings to help them fight against sin as well as give encouragement in their war against lust. We’ve begun reading through and meditating on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Exposition of Romans Chapter 6: The New Man, published by the... Continue Reading

We’ve gone from scandalous secrecy to open acceptance. The temptation for the Christian is to redefine sexual purity according to the shifting standards of morality. What does it mean to be pure: Monogamy? Not engaging in a physical sexual act? Thankfully, God’s Word is our authority on sexual purity, our unchanging roadmap to joy and... Continue Reading

Certainly the Bible says at least as much — if not more — about speaking the truth in love, not tearing down, and letting our speech be gracious as it does “letting people have it.” In any event, what are we to make of the biblical support for this kind of online behavior?   It’s... Continue Reading

The summum bonum—the highest good—of our culture is tolerance. Not surprisingly, as our culture becomes more tolerant and less concerned about sin, so does the god they worship. To support the idea that God is getting more tolerant, some appeal to the Bible.   We are all prone to imagine a god that is more like... Continue Reading