Unchanging Love, Unchanging God
Does God love you now as much as He ever will? Is there anything you can do to gain more of His love?
If you cannot find motivation enough in scripture to follow God’s commands without having His love for you called into question, then perhaps you are not His child. But if you are His child, know most assuredly that His love for you will never change, for it is not based on your choice of Him,... Continue Reading
How to Engage the Culture Without Losing the Gospel
The greatest challenge always facing the church is whether it will preach the gospel.
We don’t really engage cultures, but people: spouse, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. There are specific cultural contexts, as I acknowledged above. But for the most part, we’re dealing with people who are dealing with pretty universal aspects of the human condition: the joy of childbirth, the sorrows of life, and the pain and fear of... Continue Reading
The Translation Of The Lord’s Prayer Is Not A Mere Convention
The urge to revise the Lord’s Payer rests partly in a misunderstanding of it.
As Christians who confess sola Scriptura, i.e., that Scripture is the sufficient and final rule for the Christian faith and the Christian life, we affirm both things. God tempts no one and our Lord taught us to pray, “bring us not into temptation.” James 1 is a Holy-Spirit inspired commentary on the first clause of the sixth petition.... Continue Reading
The Peace We All Long For
Jesus Christ, born of Mary, born in Bethlehem, born on Christmas morning, brings permanent and ultimate peace on earth. The peace we all long for is found in Christ.
God gave Adam and Eve the promise of a Seed, a Seed who would be born of a woman. That Seed would make all that was wrong, right. He would make all that was broken, whole. This Seed would bring peace and harmony where strife and conflict raged like a storm-tossed sea. In order to... Continue Reading
Gesturing at Divine Simplicity
Divine aseity refers to the independence of God, that he is without contingency in his divine character.
While God is never contingent in essence, humans always are, and the same is true of human knowledge. Aseity is, like any discussion of divine attributes, something that can be indexed in human language, gestured to, and understood in a meaningful way, but never described exhaustively. As a result, the doctrine of divine aseity resists human... Continue Reading
Satan Hates the Pastorals
Five reasons Satan hates the Pastoral Epistles.
Satan hates the Pastorals. They expose him, rob him of the key tools in his armoury – accusation, legalism, confusion, suffering – and give strength to those who oppose him, by the Word, through the Spirit. They give hope. They bring joy. And they trumpet the glories of the king who has thrown him down... Continue Reading
God Is Not Silent: What the Bible Teaches About Sexual Assault
Deuteronomy 22:25-27 presumed the innocence of the unbetrothed woman who was sexually assaulted.
Biblical law was revolutionary for the dignity of women. Scripture recognized rape as a violent crime. In fact, biblical law considers rape on par with murder. She was the non-consenting victim of premeditated violence. The attacker alone is held guilty. Because she was overpowered and did not consent, the victim is considered blameless. The Bible neither... Continue Reading
Anger Met with Tears
My grandson had not yet learned to distinguish between my correction and my rejection and he assumed the worst.
“Guys, when we pray it is time to listen, not talk.” I spoke in a normal, conversational tone. Immediately, one of the boys erupted into inconsolable tears—pitiful, barely-being-able-to-breathe silences followed by ear-piercing screams. Grief that came from the depths of his soul. My son-in-law was praying before dinner at our home. Meanwhile, my four-year-old twin... Continue Reading
Relevant, Old Paths
Biblical values are relevant in every generation.
My father’s values were old, traditional values. But just because they were old and traditional didn’t necessarily make them good. They were good values because they were biblical values, and biblical values are relevant in every generation. But although they are relevant in every generation, they are disappearing from the rising generation. My dad... Continue Reading
Prayer: Evangelism & Prayer
We should prayer for the unsaved, pray for their salvation, and pray for our efforts in evangelism.
What compels us to pray when it comes to evangelism is the belief that only God can save the sinner. If we are convinced that the gospel really is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Rom. 1:16-17), we should be asking the Lord to take the message and use it... Continue Reading