“As she continued talking to her coach and reading works of apologetics—including N. T. Wright’s defense of the Resurrection—Ordway confessed faith in Christ. Now she finds herself in another new country, directing the master in apologetics (MAA) program at Houston Baptist University (HBU), a small liberal arts college in the heart of the nation’s energy... Continue Reading

“While the above phrases might sometimes be used in an Arminian way that emphasizes free will and rejects the bondage of sin and irresistible grace, it is also possible to use these phrases in a biblical and Reformed way – those terms are confessional!”   Once upon a time, in a Reformed church, a visiting... Continue Reading

“Whether we sin in private or in public—and whether we perhaps even pretend not to have it—shame is undeniably real. We feel shame because God in His grace created all human beings with the capacity to feel shame as a consequence of their sin. John Calvin wrote, “Only those who have learned well to be... Continue Reading

“Just as Adam’s disobedience constituted us sinners, worthy of death, so Jesus’ obedience constitutes us righteous, worthy of eternal life (Rom 5.12-21). Accordingly, Jesus’ resurrection manifests our justification. Jesus’ resurrection is the divine sentence that follows from the divine verdict that declares us righteous.”   According to Carl Braaten, the gospel’s claim that God raised... Continue Reading

“The reason many corporations, members of the media, and ten thousands angry tweeters do not feel the need to examine the arguments for religious freedom is because they don’t think any rational arguments can be made in this instance. Traditional views about marriage are so 1990’s and so obviously immoral that anyone holding such views... Continue Reading

“In general, however, I do not think the church should seek to be combative in the area of performing godly marriages.  We would want the state to recognize biblical, Christian marriages as a way of positively serving the society in which we live.”   Here is another question that did not get answered in the... Continue Reading

“The Starbucks’ initiative reminds us that every man-made solution to the racial divide will fail, and every sociological explanation of racism will be incomplete. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ will succeed in rightly diagnosing the fundamental problem and offering the fundamental solution: namely, the reconciliation of all things in Christ.”   With good intentions,... Continue Reading

“It’s nice to be liked. But it also comes with temptation – that of focusing all the church’s work on things that will engender the world’s approval. A hundred years ago, social gospel Christians began to suggest that service and aid, not evangelism, should encompass all of a believer’s missionary responsibility. Thus began one of... Continue Reading

“How do you make music that feels authentically Christian and authentically hip hop at the same time, when so many of the messages commonly heard in hip hop are at odds with a Christian worldview that opposes violence, substance abuse, and promiscuity?”   “We don’t challenge any heresy in the church!” John Perkins declared at... Continue Reading

“It is my fear that most Christian parents do not recognize that before a child can even comprehend facts, his affections and imagination are already being shaped. In fact, I would suggest that most Christian parents never really even consider the moral imaginations of their children.”   Yesterday I had the opportunity to present a... Continue Reading