5 Ways to Rewardingly Read the Book of Job
How to read Job with profit.
It’s been said, “The traditional phrase, ‘the patience of Job,’ might better be [stated] as ‘the patience of the reader of Job.’” Maybe there’s truth to that. Reading Job is hard, but it can be immensely rewarding. Here are five pointers to help you mine its rich treasures. Editors’ note: Take part in TGC’s Read... Continue Reading
The Dominion of Drunkenness
Drunkenness isn’t exercising dominion over creation it’s being brought under its enslaving power.
Why is drunkenness sinful? That’s a fair question. Sometimes, I think we view the commands of God like that cranky dad who barks out an order: “Just do as I say!” without any rhyme or reason. We need to remember, however, that the law of God is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). Did you... Continue Reading
Tried With Fire: Finally: Mystery
Job did not need to understand his circumstances. He needed to know God, for God is worthy of trust.
When Job understood the wisdom, power, and care of God, he no longer required any explanation of his circumstances. Quite the opposite: Job realized that he had tried to criticize God in ignorance, and now he repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:1‑6). The book of Job makes sense to us readers because we... Continue Reading
Ten Mangled Words: Hate
Scripture clearly has kinds of hatred that it commends, and kinds that it condemns.
As long as you do not oppose any of the popular positions held by the left elites, then you believe in love. If you actively or passively oppose those positions, then you believe in hate. And haters don’t deserve civility. That is, haters should be hated. The childish partiality of this use of “hate” is transparently... Continue Reading
The Problem of Spiritual Pride and Self-Admiration
We have nothing but what we have received.
For those who confess themselves to be ‘sinners’, and therefore deserving of nothing but misery and wrath, to be proud of those peculiar blessings which are derived from the gospel of God’s grace, is a wickedness of which even the demons are not capable of! Among the many general causes of decline in grace,... Continue Reading
What’s To Be Done? Potentially, Nothing Else.
The church doesn’t exist to meet every felt need or address every possible gap in ministry.
Sometimes, we have to recognise that there isn’t anything specific for the church to do. Sometimes, the right answer is to say there is nothing for us to do. Or, at least, there is nothing more we can do. We have a tendency to expect the church to fix every possible problem. We can... Continue Reading
The Power of Guilt
Maybe we seek the guilt we feel we can do something about rather than acknowledge the guilt which we really have.
Nothing we do can actually deal with guilt—actual or otherwise. Our best actions can’t undo the wrong done. It is a perpetual stain on our lives. Redemption is not in our hands—either as individuals or as nations. So what should we do? Douglas Murray’s book The Strange Death of Europe is a fascinating read.... Continue Reading
How to Suffer Well
Three Ways to Prepare Now
The apostle Peter wrote his first letter to help Christians suffer well, with more than a dozen lessons for the valley. While their specific suffering is not necessarily common to all Christians, it is common to many Christians around the world, and the wisdom and hope here speak just as powerfully into every kind of... Continue Reading
Context Mattered to Jesus, Part 3
Jesus counters Satan's temptation with clear teaching from Scripture.
Jesus stands where Israel fell. He walks the path from his baptism to his cross and he trusts the Lord with every step. In this encounter with the devil, Matthew shows Jesus’s intentions and first steps, and he invites careful attention to the Savior’s life and words. In the third and final temptation of... Continue Reading
On Disputable Matters
Ten reflections on what does and does not constitute a theologically disputable matter.
In the easy cases, the difference between indisputable matters and disputable matters is straightforward. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an indisputable matter: that is, this is something to be confessed as bedrock truth if the gospel makes any sense and if people are to be saved (1 Cor 15:1–19). If Christ did not rise... Continue Reading