John 3:16 and Man’s Ability to Choose God
What does this famous verse teach about fallen man’s ability to choose Christ?
The argument used by non-Reformed people is that this text teaches that everybody in the world has it in their power to accept or reject Christ. A careful look at the text reveals, however, that it teaches nothing of the kind. It is ironic that in the same chapter, indeed in the same context,... Continue Reading
Whiteness, Blackness, Christless
The racial reconciliation movement is actually fostering racial hatred, not racial harmony.
Racial reconciliation has already happened on the cross. Jesus Christ has reconciled Jews to Gentiles, Black people to White people, all people together for God. We simply need to believe it and live like it. The racial reconciliation movement within the church is supposedly intended to reconcile White people to Black people. It’s apparently... Continue Reading
Exodus and God’s Eternal Plans, Pt. 2
The book of Exodus has established the glorious nature of salvation and looks forward to its fulfillment.
Exodus 5 opens with Pharaoh’s insolent speech. The king of Egypt questions the supremacy of God: “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Ex 5:2). He also asserts himself in the place of God when he declares, “Thus says Pharaoh,” (Ex 5:10) an intentional mockery of “Thus says the... Continue Reading
A Two-Fold Forgiveness
The judicial pardon that we have in our justification on account of the sacrificial death of Jesus is the foundation of our paternal pardon (1 John 2:1-2).
On the one hand, Scripture teaches us that all of our sins–past, present and future–are forgiven based on the once-for-all atoning sacrifice of Christ. On the other hand, Scripture teaches us that we must confess and forsake our sins in order to obtain forgiveness. We know that to confess and forsake our sins is not... Continue Reading
He Sealed His Fate with a Song
The Most Famous Psalm in Scripture
As he walked that harrowing road, he was rehearsing the Psalms and living out the ancient Script with every act of faith. On Tuesday, he drew the Psalm from its blessed scabbard, stumping the brightest minds of his day and silencing the loudest mouths. Now, their only recourse would be to kill him. The... Continue Reading
What Does “You are the Salt of the Earth” Mean?
The minute you became a Christian, He made you salt and light.
One godly man or woman, faithfully following Scripture and sharing Christ will stick out in the circle God has sovereignly placed them in. Like salt on meat, a faithful Christian will keep the circle God has sovereignly placed them in from decaying as fast as it would without them. I used to referee soccer... Continue Reading
Small Beginnings: J. C. Ryle in Exbury
Ryle’s early life teaches us the importance of not despising small beginnings.
Pastors are often tempted to be dissatisfied with their churches and long for greater prominence and larger congregations. But this dissatisfaction is part of the enemy’s lies and such outcomes must be left to the Lord. Instead we should see that God is also at work even in less than ideal situations. When we... Continue Reading
You’re Dead, Start Acting Like It
There is no more wrath for you to bear.
The irrefutable realities of the death and resurrection of Jesus are more than mere doctrinal points to quibble over; they are the soil from which our lives must grow, or as Paul says, the head from which we are nourished. “To live is Christ and to die is gain” is more than a hashtag for... Continue Reading
The Four-Hundred-Year Flower
Arminius, Dort, and the Battle for Grace
Because of my ethnic heritage and my Reformed upbringing, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Canons of Dort, even when many Christians — if they’ve even heard of Dort — have considered it an embarrassment of overwrought sovereignty and doctrinal hairsplitting. And yet, the Canons of Dort are not just for Dutch people, and... Continue Reading
Black Holes and the Wonder of Creation
the only way Einstein can develop a theory on paper, and have it play out in practice a hundred years later, is if our galaxies were designed by an Intelligence far greater than we can fathom.
The Psalmist tells us that the “voice” of this “speech” goes out “through all the earth.” The new image of a black hole is yet another way in which God’s “eternal power and divine nature” have been “clearly perceived … in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). Astronomers made news by capturing... Continue Reading