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

We must believe that forgiveness is possible.  Habitual porn use brings guilt and shame—and to some extent it should—but that should drive us to Christ not away from Him.[14]  We already saw that Judah forgot Tamar’s humanity much like all men do when they view porn. But when his sin was revealed, his repentance was... Continue Reading

So no, church discipline is not fun. It is hard and uncomfortable and often messy. But is is good. It is good for the one caught in sin, and it is good for the church as a whole. And as we seek to be faithful to the word of God, the world watches. May we... Continue Reading

Though the mountains may depart and the hills; be removed, the covenant of his love shall never depart from us. “For,” saith Jehovah, “I will never forget thee, O Zion;” “I have graven thee, upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” O Christian, that is a firm foundation, cemented with... Continue Reading

Living with Christ-esteem takes time to master. Negative habits, toxic playlists, and even over­confidence can hijack us for months or even years. Healing is not overnight. It takes conscious, gospel-centered action to step out in faith. My reflex is still sometimes to slip into negative thinking, but we err with grace, and then we get... Continue Reading

Until we realize that God is able to do “far more abundantly” than all that we can pray about or dream, we’ll keep operating in the kingdom of this world. We’ll develop a scarcity mindset that leads to anxiety and fear and exhaustion and apathy and impotence toward the kingdom of God. We can risk our... Continue Reading

Luke describes “the whole counsel of God” in Acts 20:27 as the person and work of Christ proclaimed by Paul during his gentile mission. But the Christ whom Paul preaches tells us that the whole of redemptive history (i.e., the whole of Scripture) speaks of Him. It is proper, then, to understand the whole counsel of God... Continue Reading