Paul and Barnabas encouraged God’s people by reminding them: “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Barnabas did not encourage people by affirming them in what they wanted to do and be. Nor did he encourage people by telling them what they wanted to hear. He encouraged them in the truths of the... Continue Reading

I have not yet developed a method for the quick and reliable identification of kooks, but I may begin working on it soon. Perhaps I will call it the Fawkes Protocol. The local church is a precious gift from God. It is place where Christ’s sheep should be able to rest each week in the... Continue Reading

The Bible is not what men define it to be; it is what God declares it to be. Men can believe that or deny that, but they cannot alter that. The premise that the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, infallible, sufficient, and effective Word of God should be the foundation for the study of Scripture.... Continue Reading

He is the one who responds to our weakness rather than our strength, to our helplessness rather than our ability. He is the one who came to seek and save the lost, who came to gather to himself the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, the one who came to respond in strength... Continue Reading

These blessed exits can be a form of self-selected church discipline. Of course, departing members do not see themselves as subjects of church discipline. Still, their exits were good for the church, its mission, and its unity. Many of the pastors with whom we’ve spoken have learned not to chase these exiting members.    Perhaps one... Continue Reading

Christian, do not let the suffering of the righteous nor the prosperity of the wicked allow your feet to slip. Do not envy the wealth and ease of the wicked. Death comes for the mighty and rich as steadily as for the weak and impoverished, and then comes judgment. On that great day, prosperity and... Continue Reading

The legal nature of earthly marriage, while dissoluble due to sin, is meant to exist until death parts a couple. Legality also implies consequences for failure, such as we find in the Old Testament where Hosea’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer was a warning to Israel not to play the harlot with the Lord and... Continue Reading

Such is the Christian life. Full of love and full of longing. Graciously receiving all good gifts from our good Father, and looking for and hastening the coming of the Lord Jesus. Let us look to Christ with contentment and expectation.   This was originally written before the birth of our fourth son. Now that... Continue Reading

Where humility is lacking, disorder will reign; where humility is present, love, oneness of mind, and mutual agreement in the gospel will prevail. Humility is indispensable for unity. One of the implications of this is that a church marked by division and disorder is a church that, among other things, lacks humility. It is a church... Continue Reading

Apart from the fact that (1) this view begs the question (cf. Micah 4), it must also be asked (2) why redactors felt encouraged to add these passages to Isaiah if the original form of the prophecy was so uniformly negative. Why not to Amos or Micah or Jeremiah? For that theory to be accepted, the... Continue Reading