When the Church Apologizes for Its Beliefs
Perhaps we owe an apology to the world not for saying what we believe, but for not really believing what we say.
I understand why Christians today may feel blindsided by the backlash to even the barest statement of traditional teaching on sexuality. The plausibility structures of society have changed. The norms are different. Fornication is “normal” and “purity” strange. The first headline from The Guardian surprised me—“Sex is for married heterosexual couples only, says Church... Continue Reading
How Do You Witness to Those in Cults and Other Religions?
While they know they are sinners, they believe their sin is not so bad that they cannot earn their own way out of it and “merit” heaven.
Let’s say there are a couple of cult members at my door. I warmly ask for their names, and then say, “I have a knife in my back. I am dying and have only three minutes to live. What do I need to do to enter heaven/paradise/the kingdom of God?” They look concerned. One says,... Continue Reading
Humiliation & Exaltation: Christ’s Second Coming
Yes, the Lord is coming again and when He does what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we turn to the first letter to the Thessalonians we find Paul offering some good theology to a church in need. In chapter four we learn that some have died. Perhaps in the riot that had broken out weeks before or perhaps not. Regardless, the Thessalonians had a load on their mind and Paul... Continue Reading
On Cracking the Code
While we lament that there must be a grave, we also anticipate that it marks the end of all sorrow and the beginning of true, lasting, uninterrupted joy.
I understand the desire for a long life, and especially for those who have no firm hope for life beyond. The grave yawns dark and cold and terrifying for those who approach it with uncertainty. But for those who approach it with confidence, we understand that, in its unique way, death is a release. ... Continue Reading
Some Wounds Never Heal
Death not only claims its victims but torments their loved ones. Where, if anywhere, shall we find rest?
We must go to him moment by moment, groan by groan, tear by tear. That old wound may never heal in this life, but Jesus will comfort us day by day and glorify our scars in the next. I didn’t realize how disorienting grief can be. In the aftermath of a dearly loved one’s... Continue Reading
Simply Profound yet Profoundly Simple: The Paradox of the Gospel and the Mandate for a Robust Witness
When it comes to explaining the gospel less may be more, except when less is not enough.
God’s people must not settle for only a rudimentary knowledge of God’s saving message. Rather, we must have a robust and confident grasp of God’s Word and be ready to field the questions of modern man. In every sense of the expression, we must be New Testament believers, ready to give an answer for the... Continue Reading
Sanctified Minds and Bodies
The pressure is on Christians to bow the knee to the culture on sexual matters and to embrace and approve of what God has forbidden.
Western culture has increasingly accepted a sexual ethic in which nearly everything goes. Sex between unmarried people, premarital cohabitation, homosexuality, and a host of other practices today enjoy widespread societal approval. However, I am convinced that if a professing Christian holds that approval then it is a marker that shows their disingenuousness. 3 For... Continue Reading
Public Comment On Public Sin Matters. Silence Does Not Commend The Gospel.
Silence is not always golden.
When people have been hurt by an injustice of some sort within the church—especially when somebody has abused their power and used an appearance of godliness to cover it up—we help precisely nobody by insisting on silence. Silence is precisely how these things were allowed to happen in the first place! Worse, we communicate to... Continue Reading
But That’s Just Your Interpretation!
The subject is much too large and multi-faceted for a brief editorial, but it may not be inappropriate to lay down a handful of markers.
How can I know with certainty what the Bible is saying? How can I be certain what books really belong in the Bible? How can I be sure that my interpretation of any text is correct, and, still more, what its proper application is when I draw lines from texts that are two or three... Continue Reading
The Wrath of God Was Satisfied
Wondrous Love in the Awful Cross
Who would have ever dreamed a Roman cross, one of the worst, most fearsome devices of torture ever devised, would become a symbol of the greatest love ever expressed? For “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and saved us “from the wrath of God”... Continue Reading