Henry VIII, the Reformation, and the First Authorized Bible
Spend much time in Protestant circles and you will eventually hear of the Authorized Bible
“Henry VIII is one of the oddest characters in the story of the Reformation. A man of conservative instincts when Luther’s reformation began, he nevertheless overthrew papal influence in England and built a church of his own.” Spend much time in Protestant circles and you will eventually hear of the Authorized Bible or the King James Bible.... Continue Reading
The Trinity: An Overview, Order in the Persons
God has revealed himself as three distinct persons or substantia
There are differences among the persons. For example, there is a difference of order. Giles writes, “The word order used relationally always implies the question, what order?” The question is how are the three persons to be ordered? Well, we need to keep a few things in mind. An overview of the Trinity ought... Continue Reading
Ten Truths For Thomas
Put your trust in this mighty God, who has sent His Son to save, and bring you through this life, in the hands of the God the Everlasting, who never tires or wearies, to the holy world beyond
So here are ten truths for Thomas to drive out unbelief – are you facing financial ruin, are you unable to pay the mortgage, has you child gone off the rails, is your church wrecked by dispute, have you lost you wife or parent, are you about to be laid off, are you worried about... Continue Reading
Cautions About Signs of Grace
Do not look for spiritual qualifications before trusting Christ for your justification.
First, be careful how you define the marks of grace. On the one hand, do not require such signs of yourself as no Christian has in this life. A true Christian keeps God’s commandments (1 John 3:24), but no Christian ever comes to the point where he may say he has no sin (1 John... Continue Reading
The Trinity: Impassibility, What is Denied
To understand divine impassibility, we have to study the divine nature
“We may be fickle and passionate, but God is faithful and perfect. The more we understand the divine nature and the human nature, the more we can understand and rejoice in the difference between God’s love and our love, and the more we can seek to pattern our love after God’s love.” The doctrine... Continue Reading
The Christ-Defined Roadmap to Church Revitalization
So just how do you implement the revitalization roadmap "Remember, Repent and Recover"?
So how does a church follow the three-step roadmap of “Remember, Repent and Recover the first things”? The answer is found in the Epistles of Paul, who had revitalized churches and who mentored both revitalization pastors Timothy and Titus. It is there that the ten strategies to implement the three-step roadmap of Remember, Repent and... Continue Reading
Don’t Waste Your Suffering #2
If our faith is weak, misplaced, or unfuelled we will struggle all the more when suffering hits.
Take the truth of what you do know and use it to trump the uncertainty of what you don’t know. Too often we look at God through the lens of our circumstances. And Satan, like a mad optician, repeatedly inserts the lens of circumstances into the frame and asks us what we think of God now—and... Continue Reading
God Is For Me, Now Who Are You?
Before we were, God was for us.
As sinful children of the devil, we were fatally flawed. We were spiritually blind and could not see. We were spiritually deaf and could not hear. Our hearts were hard, our wills were wicked; we were all dead in our trespasses and sin. However, God was us. He effectually regenerated and irresistibly drew us to... Continue Reading
J.C. Ryle’s Eight Symptoms Of False Teaching
Over 100 years ago, J.C. Ryle shared a similar list that focused on symptoms of false teaching that still has relevance for the church today.
There is a superficial readiness all around to believe anyone who talks cleverly, lovingly and earnestly, forgetting that Satan often masquerades himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). There is a wide-spread ignorance among professing Christians–every heretic who speaks well is surely believed, and anyone who doubts him is called narrow-minded and unloving.... Continue Reading
All Welcome. No Exceptions.
Paul’s was a message of inclusion and sanctification. We must not set them against one another.
The mainline message of inclusion is a good reminder to check our inner Pharisee but it is only the beginning. If we are to respond faithfully to and minister faithfully in the name of our Savior we must articulate and model the first part of the message: “Welcome!” We must also, however, articulate and model... Continue Reading