Jesus was Angry?
Our Lord’s anger is a terrifying thing.
Those selling in the Temple must have sensed that they were in deep trouble as they saw the awe-inspiring sight of our Lord with a whip moving and acting with hot, righteous anger. What moved Jesus to this white-hot anger in the Temple Courts? 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and... Continue Reading
‘Just Have More Faith’
How Bad Theology Hurts the Suffering
What are we as believers to infer from these natural disasters? Can we simply draw straight lines between our requests and God’s answers? Years ago, I heard a pastor tell of his cancer that went into remission. When he told his congregation the good news, several commented, “We knew God would heal you. He had... Continue Reading
Confessions in Practice
To further highlight why Christians should love creeds and confessions, we need to look at both their limitations and practical uses.
Confessions don’t pretend to be more than they are. In fact, they have two requisite limitations. First, a confession is not an extension of Scripture, as if it were God’s Word itself. It is a human response to God’s Word, an acknowledgment that He has spoken. As such, we value a confession only to the... Continue Reading
How Following Jesus Leads to Rest
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Hatred; persecution; conflict; yes, we can expect all these things when we follow Jesus. But according to Him, we can also expect rest. How can these things fit together? After all, a life riddled with conflict, hatred, viciousness, attack, and loss upon loss seems anything but restful. It seems, actually, like the exact opposite. How... Continue Reading
Is Great Commission Christianity Opposed to Cosmic Redemption Christianity?
Here’s a short review of the two sides which will hopefully clarify the current debate.
The conflict seems not to be the need for Christians to do good works, which include socially beneficial actions. The conflict seems to revolve around what constitutes the Gospel and what is a Gospel issue. Anthony Bradley recently lamented the influence of what he calls Great Commission Christianity (GCC) because it only represents a partial understanding of... Continue Reading
The Nine Deadly Sins of Progressivism
Here is the list of nine critiques, with minimal commentary on my part (given that I’ve recently written critiques of liberalism and progressivism).
As I was re-reading J. Budziszewski’s The Revenge of Conscience and came upon his critique of political progressivism, I thought it helpful to summarize his enumeration of progressive “sins.” With the list, he intends to address the deep intellectual roots (warped ideology), and not merely the negative fruits (e.g. abortion), of progressivism. The Bible does... Continue Reading
Canons Of Dort (25): Perservance Is Not A Covenant Of Works
In this installment we should consider how Synod interpreted the Remonstrant doctrine.
We see this in their “Rejection of Errors.” These rejections were given under each of the chapters or heads of doctrine and though they have often been ignored they are very illuminating. They help us today not only to see why Synod took the Remonstrant doctrine so seriously but also to understand various (other than... Continue Reading
Preaching Christ: the Hope of Redemption
This thread of promise concerning the hope of redemption that begins at the very beginning of the Bible leads ultimately and unmistakably to Christ as its fulfilment.
‘But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons’ (Ga 4.4-5). He was the incarnation of everything God required to fully provide everything he had promised in Eden after the fall. It... Continue Reading
Sin Is Cosmic Treason
Cosmic treason is one way to characterize the notion of sin.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the fourteenth question, “What is sin?” by the response, “Sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God.” Here we see sin described both in terms of passive and active disobedience. We speak of sins of commission and sins of omission. When we fail to... Continue Reading
Where Is Your “Boat” Headed?
Let’s turn the boat around and follow the one true God.
When we stop fighting, reject God’s commands and follow our own, we find ourselves en route to a shipwreck. Why? Because God won’t let us get away with it. When we justify our sin, we can’t expect God to do the same. When we’re proud, we can’t expect to receive grace from Him (1 Pet.... Continue Reading