Part of keeping short accounts with others is going to them when you believe that they have sinned against you. Jesus taught us to do so when he said, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother" (Matt. 18:15). It is just as much our responsibility to humbly and forthrightly address what we believe to be the spiritual debt of others to us as it is for them to come to us and confess their sin. This has got to be one of the least practiced, yet most important, parts of the Christian life.

So how do you distinguish between the two? First, let’s be clear on what are not true differences. The difference between teaching and preaching is not that one appeals to the head versus the other is for the heart. Nor is it simply a matter of talking versus shouting. It is not that one is complex and the other is simple. And again, the two are not mutually exclusive. All preaching has teaching within it and, when you sit under a good teacher, true teaching about Christ will invariably have preaching coming through at points. So what are some valuable distinctions to be made? Let me suggest at least six important ones.

Thus, for Christians, humility and uncertainty are not synonymous. One can be certain and humble at the same time. How? For this simple reason: Christians believe that they understand truth only because God has revealed it to them (1 Cor 1:26-30). In other words, Christians are humble because their understanding of truth is not based on their own intelligence, their own research, their own acumen. Rather, it is 100% dependent on the grace of God.

When we are helpless, when the storms of life crash over us, we must turn to Christ. We must rely on his strength, wisdom, power, and truth—not our own. We must find our peace and solace in him. Yes, we are helpless, but in Christ we have everything we need for he is right there in the storm with us.

Yes, apostasy happens. Sometimes the catalyst is flagrant sin. The pain of conviction and repentance is refused, and the only alternative to it is wholesale rejection of Christ. But sometimes the catalyst is a thorn growing quietly in the heart, an indifference to the way of the Cross, a drifting that is not reversed by... Continue Reading

In my human condition, I need the prayers of my church and my family, as I deal with day-to-day stressors and challenges of life. My fellow parishioners, all of my friends, and all of my family members also need my prayers on their behalf. I’m glad to think happy thoughts for them as well, but... Continue Reading

If we’re going to claim to be “pro-life” then let us be for all of life. Let us do what we can to remove the inconsistencies that remain so that the pro-life message is not lost because of our failures. As a Christian my ethic is derived from the law of God as expressed in the Ten Commandments. The inverse of “Thou shalt not kill”—the sixth commandment—is that we are to endeavor to preserve our own life, and the life of others. It is not only life in the womb we should be concerned for, but life everywhere. We need to promote all of life as far as we can in the sphere, with the resources, according to the providential circumstances, and with the different responsibilities God has given us. That is going to apply differently from person to person. Even Jesus taught that every duty has its particular time and place “For you will always have the poor with you” (Mark 14:7). What are some practical ways we can be for all of life?

There are multiple ways I've heard grace misused and misunderstood. Sometimes it is nuanced in a way that leads to misunderstanding. Sometimes people emphasize grace in one area of faith but not in others. Sometimes they use it interchangeably with words like patience or forbearance. But the definition that concerns me the most is when it is used to mean overlooking something (most often sin) as in "This is who I am and God accepts me that way. He gives me grace to be myself."

How do we preach a binding authority when people do not even realize they are under authority? How do we preach the objective truths of a non-provisional gospel? How do we preach the authority of a single book, its singular Savior, and a faith once for all delivered to the saints when most people hold, even unconsciously, to a firm commitment to pluralization?

“The verdict God speaks over us trumps every other verdict spoken over us by our voices or the voices of others. God uses our failures to wean us off self-righteousness and point us to Jesus, in whom we find a righteousness that is sufficient for our confidence, value, and unshakable joy. In Christ, the power... Continue Reading