What Is at the Centre of Christian Faith?
Jesus, the only begotten God along with the triune Gospel stand at the centre of our faith.
The historical acts of God alone do not fully explain how the Trinity and the Gospel can both stand at the centre of our faith and really describe the same idea. For that, we need to turn to the inner life of God because the inner life of God bespeaks the Gospel. By nature, God is... Continue Reading
Not “How Can I Lead?” but “How Can I Serve?”
We are called to be servants who help people to see God more clearly, rather than helping people to see us.
I see a lot of people, especially young people, who want to be noticed, who want to do big church growth and write about it, who want to be in charge and preach and teach, but who seem much less interested in welcoming difficult newcomers, journeying with people through pain, and pitching in with Sunday... Continue Reading
Repaying Your Relatives?
All grace is poured out from Him to be His loving instruments to repay ailing, frail, sick, or aging relatives.
What I’ve come to discover, is that when we care for our loved ones who need help, massive blessing can result from what we had maybe, in part, previously viewed as stress. As I tearfully drove my mother down to hospital this morning, a wonderful truth was impressed upon my heart. If this blog... Continue Reading
Cold Water to Splash in Despair’s Face over Apostasy
God not only has a remnant of faithful believers, he still has many pastors faithfully holding to God’s Word and proclaiming it weekly from their pulpit.
I don’t want to address the specific apostasy of any one individual. Instead, I want to remind us of some important facts that tend to get lost in explosive, scandalous nature of such stories, especially when they happen in a string. Of late many high-profile apostasies have rattled evangelical Christianity. Some of the men... Continue Reading
Is All Of Life Political?
Of course it depends upon what one means by “politics.”
Christians serve in earthly politics, they seek to persuade their neighbors to pursue just laws and policies, but their loyalties are twofold because they belong to what John Calvin called a “twofold kingdom” (duplex regimen) and there is a hierarchy among the two aspects of God’s twofold government of the world: our first loyalty is... Continue Reading
Godly Leaders Welcome Correction
To become a leader known for welcoming criticism, you must invite those under your leadership to approach you when they have concerns.
Just because criticism can hurt doesn’t mean it’s not good for us. Scripture paints a positive picture of anyone who welcomes correction as wise (Proverbs 9:8, 15:31) and those who reject it as foolish. Furthermore, we’re instructed to use all Scripture “for reproof” and “for correction” for our good and God’s glory. If you’re... Continue Reading
The Lure of Androgyny
Gender fluidity and ambiguity are being driven in part by the collapse of family and community.
The increased expression of ambiguous sexuality reflects a deeper metamorphosis that has been under way since the 1960s, of which today’s obsession with gender identity is but a part. There is a gravitation toward an androgynous mean, which I believe has been forced upon us by the sexual revolution’s reconfiguring of the human ecosystem. ... Continue Reading
The Real Genius of the Reformation
Why are we still celebrating Reformation Day more than five hundred years later?
Reform calls to mind the idea of progress toward a desired result. It is a word that evokes positive change. With such a diffused use of the word, however, it tends to lose its virtue and efficacy. When one speaks of the Protestant Reformation, therefore, the reform intended and celebrated may be lost in a... Continue Reading
The Case for Sermon-Centric Sundays
What is the foolishness of preaching? A steady diet of Christ-centered, Scripture-saturated expositional preaching is exactly what sinners need to become more and more like Jesus.
God has ordained the preached Word, working in unison with the Holy Spirit, as the method by which he turns mortal enemies into adopted sons. In Romans 10, Paul asks, “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” He answers: “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (v. 17). How... Continue Reading
Spiritual Depression: A Cause and Cure
I find almost invariably when people come to me in a state of spiritual depression, that they are depressed because they do not know the faith as they should.
The antidote to depression is to have a knowledge of him, and you find that in His Word. You must take the trouble to learn it. It is difficult work, but you have to study it and give yourselves to it. The tragedy of the hour, it seems to me, is that people are far... Continue Reading