How to Fight Temptation (Part 1): Satan’s Scouting Report
This is about more than life or death—this is about eternal life or death.
The Scriptures give us a scouting report about the “schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Like battle-tested warriors, we should study our Enemy’s schemes, learn from them how he attacks us, and use that knowledge to stand against the devil by the grace of God. In war, an accurate scouting report can save your... Continue Reading
How Should We Understand Genesis 3:16b — The Role of Gratitude, the Emotion that Prevents Abuse (Part 4)
God desires that all his children learn to focus upon him, to drop their heart’s anchor in Living Water.
God hates abuse. He designed our emotion of gratitude to anchor our hearts in Living Water, not only to prevent abuse, but also to redeem all sins. Can you imagine the Spirit working in the lives of congregants drenched with emotional feelings of gratitude, listening to the Expository Preaching of God’s Word? Dramatic redemption of... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know About Complementarianism
Egalitarians believe the Bible permits women to hold such positions of leadership, while complementarians do not.
Both complementarians and egalitarians agree that men and women are equally created in the image of God, and that neither is more or less the image of God than the other. Both agree that men and women are equal in personal dignity, that neither is more or less worthy or of more or less value... Continue Reading
What Shall We Say Then? There is No Injustice With God, is There? May it Never Be!
Before the foundation of the world, God foreknew those whom He elected for salvation.
All descendants of Adam are born spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1-3) This fact makes all humankind guilty before God. They are children of wrath. God, the creator of everything, would be well within His rights to do nothing to save anyone of us. If He had done that, no one could... Continue Reading
Tried with Fire: The Way Things Used to Be
We should recall that God did not hardwire our affliction into the original creation.
The early chapters of Genesis include two accounts of creation, the second of which retells a part of the story from the first. In the first narrative (Gen 1:1-2:4) God creates the entire world in six days, resting on the seventh. As He creates, he repeatedly pronounces His creation to be good. The seventh time He... Continue Reading
Wealth Despite Faithlessness: the Tragedy of the Prosperity Gospel
“You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
The rich young man likely thought his life was a good example of a Jew receiving blessing because of keeping the covenant. Yet the reality—as Jesus will soon reveal to us, the rich man and the disciples—is that he wasn’t rich because of his faithfulness to God; rather, he was rich in spite of his unfaithfulness to... Continue Reading
Return to the Ordinary Means of Grace
Open your Bible often. Pray without ceasing. It’s ordinary, and unremarkable.
Our call is to make disciples, not draw crowds. Are the people in our churches disciples of Christ who are growing in depth of godliness? Or are they simply spectators at an event? If it’s the latter, how do we prune the branches that are not bearing fruit? How do we correct course if we’ve... Continue Reading
Help for When We’re Feeling Overwhelmed
We feel like everything is chaotic. But it’s not; God reigns.
God has been God and will continue to be God forever. When we’re overwhelmed, we often over-fixate on the situation and everything going on. But here we see the psalmist break free from focusing only on the moment at hand. He looks to his everlasting God. It’s encouraging to him that God not only reigns... Continue Reading
The Gospel That Is Believed and Saves
Genuine Christians know and believe the Lord. They know that it is not their religiosity that holds them.
Those who truly know Jesus Christ as Lord gladly commit their all to Him. They do not do so to some religious acts, but to their personal Saviour. Paul knew our Lord and was sure that He was able to keep or guard what had been entrusted to him until the day of judgment, the... Continue Reading
What Does It Mean to Crucify Christ Again in Hebrews 6:6?
If we reject Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, there’s no other sacrifice left for us that can atone for sins (Heb. 10:26).
In verse 6, crucifying the Son of God again is parallel to holding him up to contempt. The word used by the pastor here is rare in the New Testament, in fact, this is its only occurrence! It means to disgrace someone in a public manner. The people described in Hebrews 6:4-6 experienced in a... Continue Reading