Should I ‘Let Go and Let God’?
Debunking the idea that Christians are sanctified by ‘letting go and letting God.’
So that, on the one hand, we’re to be actively engaged, not quietly waiting for God to do it for us, but at the same time not depending on our own powers and our own resources but realizing that this is a synergistic operation—a cooperative enterprise. I’m working. God is working. And He works through... Continue Reading
Hell is Not Separation from God
The problem here is that hell, rather than God, becomes the object of fear.
Think of Jesus’ sober warning: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Hell is not horrible because of alleged implements of torture or its temperature. (After all, it is described variously in... Continue Reading
God Doesn’t Waste Words
God doesn’t waste words, but sometimes it seems like he does. The Bible contains plenty of information that seems superfluous to us, information we tend to breeze over too quickly.
Pay attention to the oddities in the Bible — and there are a lot of them. Seemingly extraneous things are not extraneous at all. What they have to say is important because God chose to include them. The odd details in John 21:1-14 are not the main points of the chapter. Nor are my observations... Continue Reading
Biblical Doctrine and Extrabiblical Terminology
That we have to borrow metaphysical language to explain the scriptural realities makes those realities no less scriptural.
And so, the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity — which is summarized by the confession that God is one, and that this one God eternally subsists in three co-equal and consubstantial persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which persons, though distinct from one another, each fully possess the undivided divine essence — is not... Continue Reading
When All Things Are Made New
The most difficult problem I’ve faced is the problem of suffering.
Scripture says that the end defines the significance of the beginning (Eccl. 7:8). God alone knows the end from the beginning comprehensively, but in His Word, He gives us a glimpse of the end toward which we are moving. And if we can focus our attention on the end and not merely on the now... Continue Reading
The War for Inner Peace
How Desperation Fuels Contentment
And if we expect peace in this age to always feel peaceful, we’ll rarely experience real peace — the kind that meets reality and adversity head-on. If we never feel any tension, urgency, or desperation in our peace, then we’re probably experiencing something other than true inner peace. It might feel peaceful for the moment,... Continue Reading
Heaven’s Jihad: The Gospel of Peace
I want to convince you that there is no such thing as a peaceful human being.
Whether it is a sweet grandma who doesn’t know Jesus, a devout Muslim who doesn’t know Jesus, or an evil drug lord who doesn’t know Jesus, everyone is at war with God. The moral mother and corrupt criminal are both desperately prideful and in need of humbling themselves before their Creator. War. There is... Continue Reading
Reformed Theology: More than Five Points
People across the world were discovering the ancient doctrines of grace and building a new and widening community of Reformed believers.
As I ponder the future, I’m increasingly concerned that the Reformed theology of many within the movement is little deeper than five points of Calvinism that describe salvation. This is troubling because Reformed theology is not merely a few points of doctrine we believe but a theological stream we enter into. It doesn’t address only... Continue Reading
The Good Fight
This Christian life requires combat.
Fighting is generally deemed to be not good. And even when it is right to fight – in just war and for the defence of the safety and rights of those who cannot defend themselves – it is usually in the sense of its being ‘a necessary evil’. So, when Paul explicitly describes the fight... Continue Reading
3 Ways to Live by Faith When Life Makes No Sense at All
There are three principles that guide us how to live by faith when life makes no sense at all.
It may take many years for you to see the result of what God is doing when life makes no sense at all. Or he may never reveal the reasons why. But no matter what you’re experiencing, God’s promises and commands are enough. On October 19, 2014, my life changed. I was in acute... Continue Reading