How Exactly Does True, Lasting, Sanctification Take Place?
Biblical sanctification is always relational at its core
“It’s impossible to become the kind of person God intends us to be without walking in relationship with Him. And that means all the hallmarks of wise human relationships find their analogy in our covenant relationship with God.” Let’s talk about sanctification for a minute. Actually, let’s talk about marriage first. Hang in there,... Continue Reading
Are Sports and Hobbies a Waste of Time?
How do I know if a hobby or sport is sinful?
“I think if you are failing at church, but succeeding at a computer game, or the people in your church don’t know you but you’re a hero on Instagram, I’d say that’s a mark of real failure. So, what William Cary was looking for in that quote I think was really pushing us to, we... Continue Reading
Three Steps to Better Doctrinal Disagreements
Far too many disagreements today are more personal than they should be
“As we have seen with the sexual revolution, people routinely identify their beliefs with themselves, not separate from themselves. Increasingly, this even occurs with Christians. It is harder than ever to have a discussion about the merits—and only the merits—of a point of view, but this is exactly what we must try to do.” ... Continue Reading
Just in Time
As I was reflecting on this letter, I began to think of how, in many ways, I am still a spiritual eight-year-old
I’ve grown in some ways, but in many others I feel just as small, just as weak, just as vulnerable. I began to think, “Does God still see me as an eight-year-old?” After a moment’s thought, I realized that I am certainly not an eight-year-old in God’s eyes; I’m a infant. And so are you.... Continue Reading
God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility
To say that God is sovereign is to express His almightiness in every area.
Reformed theology, on the other hand, insists that no event happens that is a surprise to God. To us it is luck or chance, but to God it is part of His decree. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33). Language of God changing His... Continue Reading
Train up a Child…but Remember, it’s God who Saves Them
I tried to train my children up in the way they should go, but God showed me again and again, that it was not my training that was going to save them.
I thought that if I just did all the right things as a parent – if I had daily devotions, if I prayed every night with them, if I lovingly disciplined them, if I took them to church, if I got a “swear box” that removed bad words from movies we watched, if I made... Continue Reading
Is the Bible Enough for Us? – Sufficiency
Has God really given us enough in these multi-millennia old books to address our modern conundrums?
Immediately upon my regeneration, I had no problem understanding that the Bible alone is the word of God. However, I did not grasp the implications of that. Issues came at me one after the other. I immersed in my local Christian culture. Professing believers were kind, friendly, and zealous. We hung out often and talked... Continue Reading
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: Consequences of Pitting Rationality Against Faith – Part 4
When rationality contends against faith, one is not able to establish a system of morality.
Schaeffer challenges us, “Let us Christians remember, then, that if we fall into the trap against which I have been warning, what we have done, among other things, is to put ourselves in the position where in reality we are only saying with evangelical words what the unbeliever is saying with his words. In order... Continue Reading
4 Reasons Why We Need Biblical Theology
To read the Bible faithfully, we need the proper tools. The discipline of biblical theology is one of those helpful tools.
Biblical theology helps us read, understand, and teach the Bible the way Jesus said we should. Jesus himself says in Luke 24 that he is Scripture’s interpretive key. So if we fail to read and understand Scripture in a way that leads us to Jesus, then we will miss the point of the Bible, and... Continue Reading
The Federal Vision and Union with Christ
One of the chief problems with the Federal Vision is a wrong definition of what union with Christ is.
As with all the Reformed creeds, Owen connects all our graces together in an unbroken chain from election to justification to adoption to perseverance to glory. The Federal Vision contradicts Reformed theology and the Scriptures by separating both perseverance and glory from the other graces. “In baptism we are brought covenantally and publicly out... Continue Reading