Personal Gospel Mercy
Is it true that if the church becomes involved too deeply in social issues or mercy ministry, the gospel will be lost?
Certainly the last century has shown that mainline churches became derailed as influences such as liberal theology, the social gospel, liberation theology, and feminism sent them careening off course. Yet the answer is not for the church to retreat from social matters and set themselves up as theological fortresses that remain unmoved by the affliction... Continue Reading
My Protestant Oscar Predictions
The usual carnival of corruption will be on full display. And it will be attractive, because it is physically beautiful.
Christians need to see the beauty that flows from life lived in accordance with the gospel, and we need to use the language of beauty again and again to emphasize it. We should not allow what is morally vile to monopolize the language of beauty. In a world where taste is truth, the church’s task... Continue Reading
How Psalm 73 Speaks to the Christian Experience
A goal for all of us is to be able to say: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you.”
We want to be able to say, “Nothing in this life is as good as that taste of belonging to the Lord.” Once we’ve tasted it, we realize that nothing else ever compares. Asaph understood that perspective. It went from his head into his heart because he looked at God. There’s such a lesson in... Continue Reading
Repenting of Confirmation Bias Christianity
Confirmation bias: The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.
Examine yourself. Knowing and acknowledging we have this problem is necessary before we can even address it. The problem with confirmation bias is that our biases are embedded, they are presumed, felt as “natural.” So we aren’t typically conscious that we’re doing these things. Paul tells Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself” (1 Tim.... Continue Reading
An Open Letter to the Suffering Christian
Suffering must be walked through one step at a time. Be honest. Don’t take any shortcuts.
But when it comes time to say something, I might say this: Jesus is a most sympathetic friend, fellow sufferer, and Savior. He has walked a hard road. He has felt his own anguish and crushing pain (Isaiah 53). He understands. He is compassionate toward you. By the comfort of his presence and sympathy, he... Continue Reading
Why Do Christians Still Die?
Why do Christians have to die? Why can't they just live and then go to heaven without passing through the experience of death?
Believers do not have to die, as Christ has purchased deliverance from physical death and the redemption of our bodies. But, in most cases, the Lord has chosen to delay or postpone the application of these benefits until the final resurrection….The Heidelberg Catechism asks the same question: “Since Christ has died for us, why do... Continue Reading
Eternal Generation: Another Reason to Worship our God
Cheynell grounded the doctrine of Eternal Generation in the idea of God’s simplicity.
But in keeping with the doctrine of simplicity, Cheynell makes the point that just “as truth is not goodness, nor goodness truth, nor either of them unity, and yet all three are entity, so too the Father is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father, nor is either of them the Holy Spirit,... Continue Reading
When Angels Sing: When Believers Are Called Home to Glory
No matter how many times I've felt the loss of someone to death in the past the rawness seems a foreign emotion. Loss is like that.
We were created for eternity. The good news is the Good News, and that’s where I hold fast. Adam and Eve weren’t just sent out into the world to live, work and die in the dusty ground from which they were formed. God created a way back to Him through Jesus Christ. It’s in Christ’s... Continue Reading
Essential Tools for Preaching Christ (Part 3)
Preaching Christ is a devotionally necessary response to the preacher's relation to Christ
The nature of saving faith makes preaching Christ necessary devotionally. While saving faith receives the whole Word of God because it is God’s Word, “the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace” (WCF 14.1). When... Continue Reading
The Pastor and Bible Translations
The pastor should find out which translations are being used in his congregation
“I have, over the years, read through a good number of the English translations available, including some of the more obscure ones. I have learned something from each one, and I have benefitted from each one.” Except in certain very conservative Christian circles, the KJV is no longer the exclusive Bible of the English-speaking... Continue Reading