Characteristics of a Sexually Faithful Church
Issues of sexuality and gender are essential areas of discipleship for every single person.
Being biblically grounded means more than settling on the right doctrinal positions. It means giving people the kind of deep and regular teaching that effectively counters the constant barrage of messages they hear in this world. It means biblical teaching on sexuality and gender that does not only focus on “the bad.” It means winsomely... Continue Reading
8 Properties of Scripture (by Mastricht)
Peter van Mastricht’s teaching both took the Bible’s view of itself seriously and, as a result, it was multi-faceted.
The entire Trinity is the author of Scripture, from the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit (125) as God communicates through Scripture his will towards human beings for their salvation. Mastricht’s treatment of the eight properties of Scripture, which I will summarize below, can help us gain a fuller picture of the Reformed... Continue Reading
The Hardest Rebuke to Hear
It’s so much easier to just say, “Your code is stupid, my life hacks are working, stay in your lane and leave me to my own business!”
The idols which are the most pernicious and hard to fell are the ones still working. When our idols come up empty and we see them for what they are it isn’t nearly as difficult to abandon them (usually for another shiny thing). But it’s really hard to hear a word of judgment (truth) when... Continue Reading
The Peril of Potted Plant Christianity
A well-tuned and tilled garden glimmers of a gospel community.
Do you think there is something to the fact that the Lord placed Adam and Eve in an interconnected garden as the ecosystem of their flourishing? What about Babel and the disconnectedness as discipline and judgment? You’ve seen the row of potted plants in the garden section of your local home improvement store. Row... Continue Reading
Encouragement for Battling Spiritual Depression
Turning from an unhealthy preoccupation with self and sin to a growing focus on the gospel and others.
Those of us who tend toward introspection can easily drift into intense soul-searching as the means to finding assurance. What we need to hear is the summons to obedience. Until we start acting on the truth we know, we may not find the assurance for which we are desperately searching, no matter how much reading... Continue Reading
Apocryphal Gospels, Conspiracy Theories, and the Mainstream Media
The public loves a good conspiracy theory.
If we really want to know what Jesus was like, our best bet is to rely on books that were at least written during the time period when eyewitnesses were still alive. And there are only four gospels that meet that standard. One thing that I have observed over the years is that major... Continue Reading
The Secret to Breaking Free from Habitual Sin
It is not called the “fight of faith” for nothing.
Every sin, every wrongdoing, no matter what kind — whether acted out in behavior or nurtured secretly in some dark place of our heart (Matthew 5:28) — is a manifestation of something we believe. Every sin is born out of a belief that disobeying God (wrongdoing) will produce a happier outcome than obeying God (right-doing).... Continue Reading
Defy the Culture: Get Married
We are designed for marriage, one man for one woman.
Who doesn’t love a good love story? “They lived happily ever after” is written deeply into the fabric of the cosmos and we all know it to be true: it is the message of the gospel. And we get to proclaim that truth at a Christian wedding. In proclaiming this blessed truth it crushes the... Continue Reading
Amazon Bans Books on “Conversion Therapy”
Amazon has now set the precedent for banning Christian teaching about sexuality from the books that they sell on their platform.
The Amazon ban and the suggested legislation to ban conversion therapy isn’t limited to Joseph Nicolosi’s teachings. This ban defines any attempt to change one’s sexual desires as “conversion therapy.” Well guess what? That means that every single Christian who believes that that God’s grace changes sexual sinners would be implicated by this ban and... Continue Reading
Canons Of Dort 33: The Grace Of Perseverance Is A Spiritual Doctrine
God preserves those who cannot preserve themselves.
Contra the Remonstrants, the doctrines of assurance and comfort do not make Christians lazy or indifferent to piety and to sanctification, they are the very power and essence of growth in the Christian life. I am free to die to sin and to struggle against it only because I have been saved by grace alone, through faith... Continue Reading