Paul’s Understanding of Sexuality
A “gay Christian” is a contradiction in terms. One may identify as “gay,” one may identify as “Christian,” but one may not identify as both at the same time.
In summary, Paul identifies in 1 Cor 6:9 male same-sex behavior as sinful. He places none of the qualifications or limitations upon that behavior for which some in recent times have pled. There is, in other words, no category of acceptable or virtuous same-sex behavior in Paul’s thinking. Paul furthermore recognizes that what may attend... Continue Reading
Confessions of a Reluctant Complementarian
Jesus had elevated women to an equal status with men. Paul, it seemed to me, had pushed them back down.
I believed this verse was harmful to my gospel witness. I was offering my unbelieving friends a radical narrative of power inversion, in which the Creator God laid down his life, in which the poor out-class the rich, in which outcasts become family. The gospel is a consuming fire of love-across-difference with the power to... Continue Reading
Rejoice: Return to the Source of Your Joy
The true source of our joy is Christ and that will never go away.
“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Those words made my friend angry. They were supposed to be comforting, but in that moment, they enraged her. “Rejoice? Seriously?!” she thought. That didn’t make sense. She couldn’t even think of rejoicing right then, especially with all the uncertainty.... Continue Reading
We Need to Change How We Pray
It is easy to pray the trial away, but it isn’t always the best thing.
Of course, we should pray for healing, but we must think eternally as we pray for people facing trials. That’s why James 1:5 talks about lacking wisdom. The context of that verse is trials. The wisdom, then, is needed in order to face the trial in a God-honoring, joyful way in order to grow in steadfastness. Sure,... Continue Reading
The Good Fight of Faith
Dr. J. Gresham Machen’s last sermon preached before the students at the Princeton Theological Seminary on March 10, 1929.
Sad will it be for those to whom we minister if we let our changing moods be determinative of the message that at any moment we proclaim, or if we let our changing moods determine the question whether we shall or shall not stand against the rampant forces of unbelief in the church. We ought... Continue Reading
From Complainers to Rejoicers
How can I become not only a noncomplainer but rather a wholehearted rejoicer?
Responding differently—becoming a rejoicer rather than a complainer—means first recognizing the truth of Philippians 2:13: “For it is God who works in you.” “Philippians,” Paul says in essence, “God is at work. God is in charge. God is willing and empowering you to live and serve in a way that pleases Him.” When God’s... Continue Reading
Job-Shaming vs. Vocation
Job-shaming is especially despicable in light of the Christian doctrine of vocation
Our work is part of our calling from God–along with our families, our church life, and our citizenship–where He places us to love and serve our neighbors, as He works through us in our everyday lives. As such, all vocations are equally valuable in the eyes of God. Geoffrey Owens is a Shakespearean actor, but... Continue Reading
I Dwell Among My Own People
Take it from the lips of the Shunammite woman. Make it your own creed of contentment.
“We understand God’s commitment to dwell among his people, and we should commit ourselves to emulate him and contentedly dwell among our own. Does this condemn travel, promote ethnocentrism, or stand against missions? No.” One of the most beautiful statements of contentment came from the mouth of the Shunammite woman. You remember the story... Continue Reading
Charles Spurgeon and the Importance of Consistency with Scripture in Theology
Spurgeon demonstrated consistency with Scripture over consistency with one’s preferred leanings
Spurgeon maintained that no man-made theological system is authoritative. He said, “My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times... Continue Reading
A Man of Constant Sorrow
Jesus would carry this burden without the support or relief of His fellow men
“Those who experience sorrow and grief inevitably do one of two things when it wells up within their souls: either they refuse to open up to others about it or they seek the sympathy of others to help them press through it. We see both of these things played out in the experience of the... Continue Reading