A Page from Hell’s Playbook: the Subterranean Origins of Certain Equality and Justice Doctrines
If I were the devil, I would not be an idiot to slither into a Sunday service, breathing blasphemy and dragon fire, commanding the congregation, “Deny that God is God!”
If I were the devil, I would dress up to look like justice, compassion, or equity, or some other ideal Christians would be quick to ‘Amen!’ I would sink my teeth and suck the true, biblical content from those words—not that many of the Enemy’s people know the true, biblical content of those words to... Continue Reading
The Gospel is Better Than Amnesty
In order for hearers to understand the gospel, a number of different word pictures have been painted.
The good news of Jesus is compared to a government, possibly a king, declaring amnesty to those who have committed a crime against the state. The question is whether or not the picture of amnesty is the best picture to paint. Good paintings tell stories. Think of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It tells... Continue Reading
I Believe in [a Relevant] Church
If you scan the statistical analyses of the millennial generation and the practical observations of its interpreters a recurring theme is that people my age don't think the church is relevant.
I have to admit that I have a degree of sympathy for those in my generation who think the church is irrelevant. That’s because, if I’m allowed a moment of criticism, the American “church” has trivialized itself into insignificance. When the church acts like a political pundit or lobbyist organization it becomes irrelevant. When the... Continue Reading
Joseph’s Dying Request About His Bones
Joseph himself was “about to die” (Gen. 50:24), but his brothers would live and, more importantly, the promises of God would live on through them.
Joseph believed that God was not only the maker of covenant promises but was also the keeper of those promises, and that in time, God would again visit His people and fulfill His promises. The English word visit is taken from a rich Hebrew word that often connotes God’s coming in history either to bring judgment on... Continue Reading
Union with Christ: Imputation: Calvin & Wright
What is it that God has committed to his ambassadors? According to Calvin, the answer is the gospel.
The Gospel is God reconciling himself to the world in Christ. Thus, for Calvin, this opening statement simply expresses the fact that though God has “withdrawn to a distance from us, he has drawn near to us in Christ, and thus Christ has become to us the true Emanuel, and his coming is God’s drawing... Continue Reading
Your Fight Against Sin Is Normal
Take heart: the conflict is normal, the battle is winnable, and the war is coming to an end.
Soldiers should expect combat in wartime. The passions of the flesh are waging war against your soul, and our adversary the devil is a prowling lion hunting fresh prey (1 Peter 2:11; 5:8). Ongoing conflict with both sin and Satan is the common experience of all believers. As J.C. Ryle wrote in his classic book Holiness, “True... Continue Reading
Have We Become Pharisees? 5 Evaluation Questions
For the believer who desires to be gospel-centered, the drift toward becoming more Pharisaical is also so subtle we might not even notice it.
Nobody wants to be a Pharisee, yet our flesh seems naturally bent in that direction. The good news of the gospel seems too easy for our works-based, achievement-driven hearts. We know Christ achieved it all, but we still want to contribute. Even while we proclaim the gospel of grace, we fight the intense pull toward... Continue Reading
Is Christianity For Suckers?
"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."
If there is no resurrection from the dead, if Christ has not been raised, then the Christian faith is empty, meaningless. It all hinges on the bodily resurrection of Jesus. It will not do to make the resurrection a metaphor for human renewal or the changing of the seasons or some other sentiment. The Christian... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know About Seeing Christ in All of Scripture
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Paul’s point is not simply that all things are the creative product of our great Triune God. Yes, all things, everything, came “from him.” He is the originating cause of everything that is. But Paul also tells us that everything that is, continues to “be”, continues to exist, and is sustained in being “through him.”... Continue Reading
The Lord’s Supper in Redemptive History
The Lord’s Supper always and simultaneously points in two directions, backward and forward.
The Passover meal looked forward to the Messiah who had yet to come in history. The Lord’s Supper looks back to the Messiah who has already come in history. We live not in the era of promise but in the era of fulfillment. We are the people of God upon whom “the end of the ages has come” (1... Continue Reading