10 Common but Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce
It is clear in the Bible that God’s intention for marriage is that it remain in effect until the death of one spouse.
Marriage can be hard. Your spouse may grieve or disappoint you greatly. However, this is not a legitimate excuse to bolt, but an opportunity outdo him or her in love (Romans 12:10), to grow in trust in the God who ordained your marriage (Proverbs 3:5-6), and to reflect the faithfulness of God until the very... Continue Reading
Is God Unjust?
How does God’s perfect, just nature harmonize with stories and events in Scripture where God’s people—and even God Himself—appear to approve of or command injustices?
But how do we know God’s character? When skeptics point to the world and declare that things are not as they should be, believers can bellow a spirited “Amen!” But when the skeptic then points up and accuses God of injustice and wrongdoing, the skeptic and believer must part doctrinal ways. The phrase must have... Continue Reading
Dordt Assurance: The 400th Anniversary of the Synod of Dordt
The Canons of Dordt are not distant, cold statements, but filled with the warmth of the Gospel of grace.
Article 12 of the First Head of Doctrine addresses the basis of the believer’s assurance of being elected to salvation. We receive that assurance, the article says, “not by inquisitive searching into the hidden and deep things of God.” Rather, we can gain our assurance by discovering within ourselves, “with spiritual joy and holy delight,... Continue Reading
Standing Firm on the Slippery Slope
The slippery slope simply notes that those who remove the restraint against worldly conformity place themselves in peril of further and more damaging accommodations.
I am suggesting, however, that the slippery slope is…well, slippery. Those who remove traction from their feet may very well slide much further than they first thought possible. As Fred Harrell’s progression illustrates (together with those of the PC(USA), CRC, RCA, Church of Scotland, and other denominations), the abandonment of clear biblical teaching at one... Continue Reading
A Love Greater than Family
Though we have to work out carefully what this means for how we show love to our own families and the church, we should at least begin by remembering where God’s heart is.
We can see that he loves the church more than families. He identifies the church as his people (1 Pet. 2:9-10). He considers the church his temple (1 Pet 2:4-5). He gives greater gifts to the church in providing shepherds and abilities to care for one another (Eph. 4:11-16). He calls the church his body... Continue Reading
Praying in the Middle of a Storm
3 Godward Petitions for the Hurricane Flooding
Prayer: If God chooses not to remove the physical storm, He has the ability to calm the raging storm within us to provide peace, strength, guidance, comfort and inner power unlike ever known. Pray that if the storm remains, you and others will experience a spirit of endurance and a “peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians... Continue Reading
God’s Wisdom and Decision Making
Have you ever had to make an important decision and felt stuck as to what to do?
So when we have a decision to make, we need to turn to God’s Word. As we read and study, we can ask ourselves: Is this choice sinful? By choosing this, am I doing something God has told me not to do or failing to do something God has told me to do? Does it... Continue Reading
Jesus, Our Substitute
When we look at the biblical depiction of sin as a crime, we see that Jesus acts as the Substitute, taking our place at the bar of God’s justice.
The idea of being the Substitute in offering an atonement to satisfy the demands of God’s law for others was something Christ understood as His mission from the moment He entered this world and took upon Himself a human nature. He came from heaven as the gift of the Father for the express purpose of... Continue Reading
Concerns About The Rhetoric: “X Is A Gospel Issue”
The only proper “gospel issue” is the gospel itself.
People use this language because they believe that a particular sin is so grievous that it compromises or contradicts the gospel witness of Christians individually and of the church visible and corporately. They want the sin to stop right now. So, they categorize X (pick a sin) and call it a “gospel issue.” Thus named,... Continue Reading
Esau’s Worldly Sorrow
Why was Esau rejected by God and found no place for repentance, even though he sought for it with tears?
Worldly sorrow doesn’t lead to repentance; it only leads to death. Worldly sorrow does not lead to true repentance because it is not a mourning over one’s sin, but simply a mourning over one’s loss. Worldly sorrow may seem very real, and even be ‘full of tears’ yet it is not a grieving over one’s... Continue Reading
