The Franklin Statement
A Biblical View of Covenant Marriage, Love, and Sexuality
While civil magistrates, courts, denominations, and congregations may legislate the certification, regulation, and licensing of domestic unions, partnerships, and friendships, even “defining” such unions as true “love” or “marriage,” only God Himself actually defines love and marriage by the covenantal decrees in His Biblical revelation. It is God who has established, sanctified, and ordained... Continue Reading
The Use of the OT by NT Writers
How New Testament authors utilized the OT Scriptures.
The influence of the OT is also seen in the use of type-scenes in NT narratives. Type-scenes constitute a form of repetition in biblical narrative, an episode composed of a fixed sequence of motifs, often associated with recurrent themes. They reiterate similar events—say, the announcement of birth or the trial in the wilderness—by drawing on... Continue Reading
Endurance: From Beginning to End
Endurance is one of the basic building blocks of maturity.
To finish well will cost us something. It may cost us everything. Just ask anyone who has ever run a marathon or competed in a triathlon. Starting is easy. It is finishing that is hard. It is finishing that requires blood, sweat, and tears. It is finishing that requires courage. The race really does... Continue Reading
Handling Statistics
Statistics are easy to misunderstand and easy to misapply.
What we read in newspaper reports or online articles is often only part of the story (other relevant figures are sometimes omitted) or are not completely accurate reports of the findings (such as ambiguity about the wording of questions actually asked). It is therefore important to look for the original source of the statistics. ... Continue Reading
Vain Generosity
You gave for nothing.
The truth is, giving to the poor is nearly always impractical. Try as you might, you cannot control others, you can’t make them use the money the way that you want them to. You can’t make the medicine work, or the surgery to take, and even when it does, you can’t make people stay alive.... Continue Reading
He Stayed for Forty Days
What was Jesus doing on earth for forty days after His resurrection?
“It was, therefore, to the apostles a period of training, that fitted them eminently for the great work to which they were called in preaching the gospel to all nations. Like the forty days that preceded the public ministry of the Lord, it was designed and adapted in an eminent degree to furnish preparation for... Continue Reading
Why Pastors Should Engage John Calvin
Like Calvin, we need to strive to be committed to the Word of God.
Pastors would do well to engage with Calvin not because Calvin was so great in himself but because he sought to surrender himself to God in all his motives, thoughts, and actions, for God’s glory and not his own. That is our vocation—surrender to God. When I first discovered Calvinism, I utterly despised it.... Continue Reading
Pastoral Concern about Evangelical Prophecy
God’s special revelation carries great authority.
Today, an acclaimed prophet can denounce faithful elders as unspiritual or unconverted, leading many astray. Therefore, we protect God’s people from ecclesiastical tyranny when we teach them that the gifts of apostles and prophets have ceased. There is grave danger in allowing for prophets who receive revelations immediately from God today. While some who claim... Continue Reading
Are You on the Foolish, Shameful Path to Victory?
Are you limping through your pilgrimage?
Walking with a limp is a testimony to God’s faithfulness to us; and it is far more effective than the testimony of the powerful, because it points others who feel the sharp pain of sin and misery to the God who has given them the ability to feel that pain and who promises to rescue... Continue Reading
The Logic of God – Ravi Zacharias
How good philosophy contributes to effective apologetics.
The Logic of God is the newest offering by Zacharias. This book contains 52 Christian essentials for the heart and mind. The book is targeted to Christian readers but it would be an excellent resource for skeptics to consider as well. Ask students of apologetics, “Who has wielded the weightiest influence in the 20th... Continue Reading