I want to argue that there is a sort of Christian community that can be found whenever you gather with Christians and that habitual elements of this also teach us that all of life is meant to be about following Christ. Most British Christians find this concept off-putting. If I were to suggest that the group... Continue Reading

If you have fear in any area, there is one remedy. In prayer and the reading of the Word, listen to God. Let Him remind you of His promises (there are 7,000 in the Bible) and give you direction for your life. And then believe Him.   Everybody has fear. Fear is that anxiety that... Continue Reading

To be double-minded is to break the first great command to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37–38). The double-minded aren’t fully committed to God; they don’t truly love him with their whole selves.   We strive for perfection in our spiritual disciplines. Doesn’t Jesus himself say, “Be perfect,... Continue Reading

The power[14] comes from the gospel message itself, not any manmade formulations. Hence Paul’s consistent emphasis on the content of his message: “We preach Christ” (1 Cor. 1:23). “Him we proclaim” (Col. 1:28). “What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor. 4:5). “To me . . . this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable... Continue Reading

There must be a conformity between God and souls. This is the great purpose of the gospel, to repair the image of God which was originally on man, and make him like God again. Now, this is the way that Jesus Christ repairs this image, and brings about this conformity with God. As the soul worships... Continue Reading

By default, we tend to see the world around us as unfathered. We live our waking days in the dreamland of God’s absence. And that’s hard on us, isn’t it? It’s hard to live with a lie. It’s hard to walk through life as if God hasn’t fathered-forth the beauty around us—because he has. I... Continue Reading

God offered His Son Christ as a sacrifice for His people. There is a real heaven and there is a real hell. We don’t believe in Christ only because we’re scared of hell, but rather because He saved us from it, from our sin and from wrath. Therefore, what do we do? Respond to Him... Continue Reading

We interpret and apply Scripture based on the words of the text as well as on the inescapable principles and necessary applications of the text. This is one of the most important hermeneutical principles for Christian life and doctrine, and it is precisely how we see Jesus Christ and the biblical authors approaching Scripture.   ... Continue Reading

They are sneaky, sensual, self-centered, and self-willed. While any true teacher might lapse into one or more of these sins periodically, the false teacher is consistently marked by these defects. His life and ministry are characterized by rejecting the authority of God’s Word, establishing himself as the authority, and promoting himself for his own wealth... Continue Reading

Pastor 1 has rightly been defrocked. Even apart from the relationship, I think it’s hard to square his other behaviors with the requirements for pastors given in Scripture. We need to become far more serious than we have been about corruption, starting with the actual real enforcement of all the Pauline and Petrine demands for pastoral... Continue Reading