Five Practical Strategies to Fight Temptation (Part 2)
Satan is skillful, but predictable. The better we understand how he works, the better chance we will have to resist him.
Counter-intuitively, we cannot effectively fight sin by obsessing about the final act of taking sin. In some ways, this is a restatement of the second fundamental principle of spiritual warfare: we cannot fight temptation by managing behavior. This time, however, let’s go a little deeper. In the previous article, I offered a scouting report of Satan’s tactics in temptation from... Continue Reading
In Praise of Rest
When you are resting, you are doing something.
When you are resting, you are recovering and recharging and I think most importantly you are breaking routine. And you are doing something very biblical. Of course God rested on the 7th day, the Sabbath was commanded for Israel and Jesus said the sabbath was decreed for the benefit of man. But I’m not a... Continue Reading
The Late-Modern Oppression Olympics In Biblical Perspective (3)
Under the Old Testament, the Lord who redeemed and liberated his church consistently instructed her (the church) to live in light of gracious redemption.
“I am Yahweh.” This was a declaration pregnant with meaning. To say, “I am Yahweh” is to say, “I am the sovereign God who freeely entered into covenant with your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who elected and saved you unconditionally. Therefore, out of gratitude, you shall serve me.” Christianity Is Not Oppressive Last... Continue Reading
Submit to One Another
Modern Christians have had their own struggle to understand authority.
Much more than one’s felt needs, love language, or personal preferences, these are the most important words in the universe for building a God-glorifying marriage. The husband, like Christ, is the head of his wife. His wife recognizes this headship and responds graciously to it by following him, just as the church does not rule... Continue Reading
Two Benefits of Justification
Only perfect obedience can meet the demands of eternal life; imperfect obedience simply cannot suffice.
Justification consists in more than the forgiveness of sins. For if we are “only” forgiven for our sins, we still have not realized the requirements for eternal life, as laid out in God’s law. Attaining eternal life requires perfect obedience. Here we must consider Adam, who was promised eternal life on condition of personal, entire,... Continue Reading
How to Fight Temptation (Part 1): Satan’s Scouting Report
This is about more than life or death—this is about eternal life or death.
The Scriptures give us a scouting report about the “schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Like battle-tested warriors, we should study our Enemy’s schemes, learn from them how he attacks us, and use that knowledge to stand against the devil by the grace of God. In war, an accurate scouting report can save your... Continue Reading
How Should We Understand Genesis 3:16b — The Role of Gratitude, the Emotion that Prevents Abuse (Part 4)
God desires that all his children learn to focus upon him, to drop their heart’s anchor in Living Water.
God hates abuse. He designed our emotion of gratitude to anchor our hearts in Living Water, not only to prevent abuse, but also to redeem all sins. Can you imagine the Spirit working in the lives of congregants drenched with emotional feelings of gratitude, listening to the Expository Preaching of God’s Word? Dramatic redemption of... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know About Complementarianism
Egalitarians believe the Bible permits women to hold such positions of leadership, while complementarians do not.
Both complementarians and egalitarians agree that men and women are equally created in the image of God, and that neither is more or less the image of God than the other. Both agree that men and women are equal in personal dignity, that neither is more or less worthy or of more or less value... Continue Reading
What Shall We Say Then? There is No Injustice With God, is There? May it Never Be!
Before the foundation of the world, God foreknew those whom He elected for salvation.
All descendants of Adam are born spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1-3) This fact makes all humankind guilty before God. They are children of wrath. God, the creator of everything, would be well within His rights to do nothing to save anyone of us. If He had done that, no one could... Continue Reading
Tried with Fire: The Way Things Used to Be
We should recall that God did not hardwire our affliction into the original creation.
The early chapters of Genesis include two accounts of creation, the second of which retells a part of the story from the first. In the first narrative (Gen 1:1-2:4) God creates the entire world in six days, resting on the seventh. As He creates, he repeatedly pronounces His creation to be good. The seventh time He... Continue Reading