The Danger of Preaching Biblical Truth, Yet Missing Christ
Preaching bare moral truths (moralisms) often drives people away from fellowship with Christ.
When ethical and moral imperatives are proclaimed as sufficient, even abstracted from Jesus, the result is a crossless Christianity in which the central message becomes an exhortation to live according to god’s rules. Satan does not mind expository preaching — as long as it misses the main point of God’s Word. In fact, Satan... Continue Reading
The Deceitfulness of Riches: 3 Lies Money Tells
There are at least three big lies people believe about money. And if we aren’t careful, even Christians can fall prey to these fiscal falsehoods.
Money is a gift, it is a stewardship, and how we use it matters. But, it is not the ultimate goal of life. Setting our focus on acquiring earthly riches is pathetically short-sighted in light of eternity. We aren’t to be anxious about money or the things it provides. Instead, our Lord said, “But seek... Continue Reading
The Statement on SJ&G Explained: Article 10, Sexuality and Marriage
God's Word calls us to the upward spiral of life that is based upon the gospel and God's revelation of His purposes in creation.
In direct contrast to the spirit of the age the statement affirms the goodness of the so-called “male-female binary.” Maleness is not something that is “toxic,” but something good and right and necessary in God’s design. Likewise to be a female is to be created by God with a good, proper, and beautiful purpose. ... Continue Reading
The Statement on SJ&G Explained: Article 9, Heresy
This is the ninth post in a series of posts where the authors of "The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel" expound upon the statement's affirmations and denials.
One of the things that most alarms us as the initial signatories of the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel (and the nearly 10,000 others who have signed as of this writing) is that within the evangelical social justice movement (heretofore ESJ) we are seeing and hearing some of the same arguments that swayed... Continue Reading
God’s Justification of the Ungodly
God justifies (declaring as righteous) sinful people who trust in Jesus Christ, rescuing them from their sin and divine judgment.
God had so loved him, all ungodly as he was, that He sent Christ to die for the ungodly. God’s judgment had fallen on Christ, who had been forsaken by God as He paid the penalty for people’s sins there on the cross. Twice recently I’ve had the opportunity to speak on the subject... Continue Reading
The Ebb and Flow of Christian Happiness
Why ‘Great Joy’ isn’t normal yet.
The day we stand before our God, and see Jesus face to face, will be no ordinary day. This will be no ordinary joy. This will be a day of great joy that will usher in an eternity of great and ever increasing joy. God has designed, for now, that our joy not always be great. The word joy appears more than 200... Continue Reading
I’m Living Proof that the Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted
Suddenly, I found that I was only and always brokenhearted, and I had no idea how to handle the experience.
It was like I had woken up on a planet where the laws of physics had changed and I had to figure out how to walk all over again. And yet here I am, five years later, still a Christian. Believing more than ever that Jesus truly is all that I have, all that I... Continue Reading
The Statement on SJ&G Explained: Article 8, The Church
The church (ἐκκλησία) is the assembly of God's people who are saved by faith alone in Christ alone and gather together in local assemblies for both service and worship.
It has been God’s plan from the beginning for his people to associate together, help one another, and assemble for worship and service in a community of a local church. In short, the church is God’s will for your life. The high mark of the believer’s life should be centered in and through the local... Continue Reading
God Doesn’t Want You to Fix the World
God wants us to be a blessing to the world.
To be a blessing sums up what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 5:43–45; Matt. 15:1–9;). To be a blessing is at the essence of any morality that Christians should strive to achieve. It’s the kind of morality or holiness or ethics that matters to the people around us. And YHWH... Continue Reading
The Decalogue and the Sabbath Discrepancy
"But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God."
In light of these differences, it needs to be asked why God’s laws – which were inscribed in stone when originally given – could appear to be altered in any way. The different wordings themselves provide the best clue. The Ten Commandments, given by God at Sinai, have played a vital role in both... Continue Reading