5 Marks of a Contented Heart
We know that this contentment is not simply idealistic but rather characteristic of the Christian life.
Because contentment works from the inside out, it is shielded from the ever-changing circumstances outside us. Remember, Paul himself said that his contentment was seen “in any and every circumstance” (Phil. 4:12). Do you find yourself content when things are going well but struggling when the winds are contrary? What are the characteristics of... Continue Reading
Defining Orthodoxy in Our Modern World
As in the time of the Reformation, the church today is being asked once more to define orthodoxy.
At the Reformation the question was, “Can I save myself by my good deeds”? Today the issue of sexuality has emerged as a key issue, because it raises three questions: 1. What defines each individual’s deep personal identity? 2. How does sexuality relate to the heart of the Gospel, and 3. Who is faithful to... Continue Reading
The Task of Apologetics
The importance for believers to defend the faith as reasonable.
First, apologetics is to provide an answer to the critics of the Christian faith, to those who seek to undermine the rational basis for Christianity or who critique it from the standpoint of another philosophy or religion… The second major aim of apologetics is to tear down the intellectual idols of our culture. Here, apologetics... Continue Reading
Do You Read the Bible Like a Nonbeliever?
Ultimately God is sovereign over the desires of the heart.
Over the years in my pastoral ministry, many people have complained to me that they do not have motivation to read the Bible. They have a sense of duty that they should, but the desire is not there. It is remarkable how many of those people feel that the absence of the desire is the... Continue Reading
The Duty of Introspection
If we wish to live moral lives, ethical lives, successful lives, significant lives, we must live as Jesus lived.
Christian introspection originates and terminates at the gospel. It begins with the good news of Christ’s completed work that has been applied to us. It is founded upon a firm knowledge that Christ has already borne God’s wrath for our sin and that God has already imputed to us his perfect righteousness. This means we... Continue Reading
The Twist in the Sermon on the Mount That You Probably Missed
It is in remembering that I am a forgiven sinner that I can find the strength to forgive other sinners.
I expect Jesus to tell me what to do when I am angry, when I feel as if my rights have been violated. I expect him to tell me how to treat the people who betrayed and hurt me. Instead, he tells me what to do when others feel that I have betrayed or hurt them.... Continue Reading
5 Benefits to Reading Entire Books of the Bible in One Sitting
There is need to both dive deep into study of the Word and to simply let ourselves get immersed in the story.
Reader’s editions—such as the ESV Reader’s Letters of Paul, the ESV Reader’s Bible, Six-Volume Set, and the ESV Reader’s Gospels—are great for this purpose, as they are more similar to the original manuscripts, lacking headings, verse numbers, and chapter numbers. Without these relatively recent (within the last 500 years) conventions, we can read larger portions of the text... Continue Reading
The Legal-Eschatological Religion And Racism
Christ brought with him the heavenly kingdom and everyone who believes has entered into it already.
The legal-eschatological religion is not the gospel. It is not Christianity, which is the history and doctrine of the religion of Jesus the Messiah, who is God the Son incarnate for sinners, obedient in their place, crucified, dead, and buried for them and raised for their justification. It is an eschatological religion but not the... Continue Reading
Five Beliefs Upheld by Calvinists that Don’t Undermine the Doctrines of Grace
The image of God remains on us and our consciences, though affected by sin, make us capable of making moral decisions.
It is evidently true that all who are real believers in Christ have chosen to follow him. It is clear they have, to quote the old hymn, ‘decided to follow Jesus’. The Calvinist simply notes the words of Jesus himself, ‘no one can come to the Father unless the Father who sent me draws him’... Continue Reading
Looking for a ‘Social Savior’
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Notwithstanding the innumerable and tangible good works performed by Jesus for the practical benefit of those to whom they were graciously and mercifully imparted, those works were subsidiary to the primary reason Christ came into the world which, contrary to what many Christian social justice activists – and others – believe, was not to remedy socio-political... Continue Reading