On the one hand this is freeing. The single mother working two low-wage earning jobs does share the same kind of moral responsibility as the wealthy CEO for her neighbors, but she does not share the same degree of moral responsibility as the wealthy CEO. On the other hand, it is morally challenging. True righteousness is measured by deeds... Continue Reading

God desires his children to experience his peace. This doesn’t mean we won’t ever have serious concerns or be tempted to be anxious. It doesn’t mean we will always feel peace. But as we fight the good fight of faith, we will increasingly experience the deep peace of God.   Life in this world is... Continue Reading

in order to see the truth about self-esteem, we need to nuance the discussion. It is not a matter of whether we should have high or low self-esteem. Instead, it is a question of which way(or concerning what) we should have self-esteem, and which way we should not.   The problem of self-esteem seems to be evergreen. There... Continue Reading

It might seem reasonable at first to simply assume that Paul is saying that the Law was added in response to sin, to curb sin, and to increase holiness through law keeping. But, nearly to the contrary, it is more likely that Paul means that it was added to (1) expose sin—to make it known,... Continue Reading

I think an implication of God cursing woman with a desire to dominate her husband is the fact that God would be “effectively causing” women to sin. Of course, we know that the fall did mess up a lot of things including the relationship between husbands and wives. But what we must be careful not... Continue Reading

It was these common views of Scripture and of Jesus that B.B. Warfield was confronting when he defended the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. Contrary to the beliefs of higher criticism, Warfield taught that all of Scripture was inspired by God, not in the sense of God dictating to or possessing the human body... Continue Reading

One of the most powerful devices of manipulation we’ve ever designed is to claim that we have experienced the Spirit’s approval of our actions. How can anyone dare contradict us if we claim divine authority for what we want to do? The result is that we end up silencing any questions about our behavior. But... Continue Reading

If we are going to respond well to the new cultural ethos, we need to know God’s Story—his plan for humanity, sexuality, and marriage. We need to be fully convinced about why it matters so much. We need to be willing to suffer loss to uphold it. Ultimately, we need to know that for stories... Continue Reading

It’s increasingly common for Christians in accountability groups to ask one another the tough questions: “Have you been spending time in the Word?” “Are you living in sexual purity?” or “Have you been sharing your faith?” But how often do we ask, “Are you winning the battle against materialism?” or “How are you doing with... Continue Reading

So faith has chased away Mr. Goodness, Mr. Guilt, and Mr. Boasting. What about Mr. Law? Does Mr. Faith chase him away too? Let Paul answer: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” (v. 31). Every other pretended way of salvation diminishes the law... Continue Reading