Perfectionism isn’t simply striving to do well. Striving to do well is good, worthwhile, and commendable. The Bible calls us to it (Col. 3:23). If that’s what we’re doing, we’re not worried about what other people think, and we’re not judging ourselves for our poor performance. For example, if we’re learning to play the guitar, we... Continue Reading

Romans 1 says, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (v. 18). The apostle then states what can be known, God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that... Continue Reading

The first problem in human history, the first problem on the pages of Scripture, the first problem in any human life, was not sin—it was solitude. This means that the not-goodness of Adam’s aloneness was not a result of his fallenness. Adam stood there in Eden without fault, yet he also stood alone and therefore incomplete.... Continue Reading

In Luke 10:29 Jesus talks about love for neighbor and the dude wants to have a theological debate about what constitutes his neighbor. He’s not looking for reasons to obey, he wants to “justify himself” and he’s going to make himself feel better by hiding behind a theological argument about what constitutes a neighbor. We do the... Continue Reading

Why is becoming secure in our own calling important? When I get a sense of security in my own calling or ministry, I’m happy with who I am, what I am, what I do, and how I do it. I don’t obsess about what everyone thinks or says. I’m freed up from the opinions of others.... Continue Reading

We tend to think of justice predominantly as a legal standard or civic paradigm, and righteousness as something more personal. Again, Scripture makes no such distinction. In the Bible, justice and righteousness are the same thing, encompassing all the legitimate connotations of both words.   [Editorial Note: This is the third post in a series of posts in which we... Continue Reading

The hours of statements, questions, outbursts, and media commentary remind us that acheiving justice isn’t always an easy thing. And, if I can admit it, it’s this that gives me a measure of gratitude for what we have in Christianity. As the senate committee stumbled and fumbled in their confusion, I was led to be... Continue Reading

Calvin saw himself as a sinner who owed all that he was to God. It was God who subdued his mind to the knowledge of Christ. The piety that was recovered at the Reformation has sometimes been caricatured as a life of cold, austere obedience to God. But the caricature rests on ignorance of the... Continue Reading

If this verse prohibits alcohol, tobacco, or piercings, then how much more does it also prohibit caffeine, chocolate cake, bacon grease, late nights, failure to bathe, steel factory employment, vasectomies, and drivers’ licenses? Each of these things either 1) introduces harmful substances to the body, 2) puts the body at significant risk of harm, or... Continue Reading

When we contemplate God’s sovereignty, we delve into the doctrine of divine providence. God is in absolute control of every moment, interaction, event, provision, protection, trial, difficulty and conflict of our lives. He has determined all of the events of our lives and is governing His own accordingly.    Many Christians profess to believe in... Continue Reading