The Brokenhearted Pastor
Expect a broken heart as part of what it means to be pastor.
Don’t get me wrong. We have joy in ministry too, more than we deserve. The overall tenor of our ministries is not normally the minor key. But there are times that we will mourn. Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44); we will sometimes weep over our people too. Paul felt sorrow and unceasing anguish in... Continue Reading
Five-Point Calvinism and the Whole Counsel of God – My Mistake!
The whole counsel of God is more than just the five points of Calvinism.
All preachers need to pray that on the day of judgment, like both Paul and Ezekiel’s watchmen on the wall, they may be declared free from the blood of all men because they did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. In my 50 years as a preacher my gift in the... Continue Reading
Ministry of Condemnation?
God "is a God in covenant, as with Israel of old, so with all his people."
According to Burgess, Paul is not saying that the Mosaic covenant is not gracious, or that it did not administer salvation to the saints in the Old Testament. Paul is saying that the Mosaic covenant, as misinterpreted by his opponents, kills and is a ministry of condemnation. 2 Corinthians 3, therefore, does not contradict the Westminster... Continue Reading
Sure, the Bible Is True, but Is it Enough?
It looked like evangelical churches were going to follow the steps of mainline protestant denominations and drift into the sea of liberalism.
In his mercy, God raised up some leaders who saw and this trend and determined to sound the alarm. In 1977 the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy was formed. This council held several meetings and issued three statements, the most famous of which is the “Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.” Over the decade of the eighties and... Continue Reading
How Can God Bring Good Out of Evil?
For believers, there are no tragedies, and for unbelievers, there are ultimately no blessings.
How can God bring good out of evil? That great mystery is the most comforting promise in the New Testament: “For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). This does not mean that everything that happens is good in and of... Continue Reading
The Racialist ‘Craniometer’
Thoughts following a presentation on Critical Race Theory and Intersectional Theory at a Baptist conference.
CRT/I partakes heavily of the bogus notion of “social justice,” which makes equality of outcomes the ideal, and, indeed, a right. But this is manifestly not a biblical standard, either in this world or the world to come. As Thomas Sowell typified social justice, it’s “envy plus rhetoric,” which, again, lacks scriptural favor. In his... Continue Reading
Your Church Needs You to Sing
The power of your participation in congregational singing is not in the quality of your tone but in your voice’s testimony to God’s faithfulness.
When the music starts this weekend, don’t underestimate what happens as you sing. You are engaging your heart, teaching those around you (and receiving teaching), and declaring God’s faithfulness. The simple act of lifting your voice in song may well be the most significant way you serve your church this Sunday. Your brothers and... Continue Reading
Women of the Reformation: Argula von Grumbach
She was not ashamed of the gospel.
Argula corresponded with Luther on several occasions, and even met with him at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, when he was at the nearby castle of the Coburg. Luther once sent some of Argula’s letters to Spalatin, saying, “I am sending you the letters of Argula von Gruymbach, Christ’s disciple, that you may see... Continue Reading
Secular Culture
The belief that new is always better is often an unconscious assumption.
Theologians believed that the Bible taught a holistic dualism where material and immaterial combined to compose man; thus, while the body and spirit are both good and constantly interact and influence one another, and physical expression is part of the way God created his people, biblical worship should aim at cultivating both the intellect and... Continue Reading
Does the Bible Whisper About David Raping Bathsheba?
Far from whispering about sexual sin, God shouts about it.
As important as the account of David and Bathsheba is to our understanding of power dynamics and abuse, it is one of many such stories of the Bible that pertain to that issue in particular. We need to read and teach the Bible more carefully, and think through how what we say can comfort or... Continue Reading