“First, there is little agreement on how to evaluate the current situation in the Anglican Communion. Second, given the lack of details in the announcements regarding what the Archbishop of Canterbury actually has in mind, many commentators are assuming the worst.”   With some leaders of the Anglican Communion accusing others of not being “Christian,”... Continue Reading

The pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons, and his family typify the many Christians scrambling to survive in Syria. With an estimated 700,000 of Syria’s pre-war population of 1.4 million Christians having already fled, he too harbors the question, “Should I flee my country, and if so, when and where should I go?”... Continue Reading

“Balance is an illusion for driven people. Life is way too unpredictable to balance. A better biblical goal is to live a life in rhythm. Athletes understand the need for a pre-season, season, and off-season. So do accountants and politicians. Even nature’s seasons and cycles remind us of God’s rhythm.”   I once thought I... Continue Reading

“The fact is that we are religious beings through and through. All of us, as R.C. Sproul says, are theologians. God made us that way. Even on a day when everyone concedes that the pope might otherwise dominate the news, half a dozen other “religious” stories crowd their way onto the table of contents.”  ... Continue Reading

“The incarnation was not a parenthesis. It was the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan and intra-trinitarian covenant (pactum salutis) in which God the Son agreed to be our substitute and the Father to give to his Son a people and the Holy Spirit to apply to that people all of Christ’s benefits.”   What is... Continue Reading

An easy way to help people forfeit their own soul is by helping them treasure and seek fulfillment in the things of the world. To them Jesus asks, “What does it profit if you gain the whole world and forfeit your own soul?” Those who live a life of self-denial do so because of the... Continue Reading

“We must never allow ourselves to drift from daily contemplation of the cross as the irrefutable demonstration of that love, or from dependence on the Spirit who sheds it abroad in our hearts (Rom. 5:5). Furthermore, remaining in Christ’s love comes to very concrete expression: simple obedience rendered to Him is the fruit and evidence... Continue Reading

“A mature relationship with God is not sanitary and starched. It is lived in, worn, and stretched. It is not superficial or free from conflict. Let’s be honest, we have all kinds of issues–with God, ourselves, and others (by issues I mean our sin). But, because of the gospel we can be honest about these... Continue Reading

We must ask: is the Jesus we affirm the one who claimed that not simply the ideas but the very letters and words of Scripture matter and point to him (Matt. 5:18)? Is he the Jesus who was the word made flesh (John 1:14), who was “in the beginning with God” and through whom “all things... Continue Reading

“What are some categories that the Bible uses to address the question of corporate and individual responsibility? The first category is a distinction between guilt and consequence. Obviously, guilt is one consequence of sin. However, there are other consequences that can be incurred by someone who has no direct guilt.”   I want to write... Continue Reading