The Whole and the Parts
All of Scripture points to the glory of God.
The interpretation of a text is aided by a proper understanding of a set of principles, among them the scope of the passage. Unless proper weight is given to its scope—interpretation cannot produce an accurate result…Biblical texts ripped out of their context can be made to say and teach anything; the same texts understood in... Continue Reading
The Anti-Gospel Message of Joel Osteen
The gospel doesn’t give us our best life now as Osteen promises, but it does give us hope through suffering.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Osteen without a smile. I am not anti-smile, but I am anti-false teaching because it feeds sugar-coated poison to lost and hungry souls. Preaching the Bible is more than just holding a Bible while you preach and occasionally quoting it to support your ideas—you might be mangling the Bible’s... Continue Reading
A Redemptive-Historical Family Tree
The better part of Jesus’ legal genealogy contains reference to the many figures who structure the narrative of redemptive history in the Old Covenant.
There is a depiction of the way in which God foreshadowed the redemptive incorporation of the Gentiles into His overarching purposes in the story of Boaz and Ruth (Matt. 1:5). Then there is a reflection on the way in which God, in His infinite wisdom, used the murderous and adulterous sin of David in order... Continue Reading
Will We Remember Our Life in Heaven? Even the Trauma?
At the heart of these questions lies the concept of memory and what happens to our memory in heaven.
Could we really call it heaven if we experience memories of trauma or grief over loved ones who do not reside with us? Since God does not delight in the death even of the wicked (Ezek 18:23; 33:11) and desires all to be saved (2 Pet 3:9), would we not be right to lament the... Continue Reading
How to Pray for Your Pastor
Pray that the joy of the Lord would be his strength all his days.
John the Baptist confessed to the authorities, “I am not the Christ” (John 1:20). John wasn’t the Messiah, and neither is your pastor. Your pastor is just like you: a fellow lost-and-found sheep, a sinner saved by grace, a stranger and exile in this world, a pile of dust animated and sustained by God’s power.... Continue Reading
Our Christian Identity: Anchored and Secured in Christ
The Gospel is at stake in the Revoice controversy
I contend that the Bible is clear that neither Side A or Side B are acceptable to God and should not be declared acceptable in the PCA. There is one clear and certain biblical note that must sound throughout all PCA churches: that professing believers are to find their identity in Christ. The Presbyterian... Continue Reading
Justification: Paul vs. James?
The key to the Paul-vs.-James difficulty is that each uses the verb “to justify” (dikaio) in different but legitimate ways.
Uniformly, the Reformers noted that the Bible occasionally uses the same word that is translated “to justify” in both a general and a technical sense. The context of James 2:14–26 demands that “to justify” be used in the general sense as opposed to the Pauline technical sense. James is arguing against “dead” faith, which is... Continue Reading
What Jerusalem Can Do that D.C., Manhattan, and Sacramento Cannot
The church is the embassy to the world.
The last vestiges of old Christendom are fading but the Kingdom of God is still present in the world. The Jerusalem that is above is its capitol. From that city comes hope because Jesus the Messiah is still on his throne. He still uses the gospel to give new life to his people. David... Continue Reading
4 Reasons Why You Should Never Join a Church that Does Not Practice Church Discipline
A refusal to discipline members and to guard the Lord’s Supper table is one of the greatest tragedies in modern church history.
We must come to the sobering reality that what many people call a church in our day is simply a country club in the name of Jesus rather than a local church. It may seem very strange to modern Christians, but the church should guard the front door of membership and put a high fence... Continue Reading
The Reward of Eternal Life
Our good works don’t even come close to deserving eternal life, and therefore the reward God promises to bestow upon them is due to his grace and kindness.
We are first given the right to eternal life by faith and then we are given “the crown of life in the possession thereof (Rutherford)” by means of good works. This distinction is crucial, as is the order. We aren’t justified by our good works because they do not play a role in the granting... Continue Reading