Human Dignity, Justice and the Death Penalty
We should maintain that God's truth in inviolable, and let it form our understanding of justice.
With regard to justice, there is a whole conceptual change indicated in Pope Francis’ position. A traditional conception of justice regarding murder or similarly heinous crimes is that death is a just penalty, and to give a lesser penalty is mercy. This is no slight to mercy, for God is both just and merciful, and mercy is to... Continue Reading
The One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
Christians have a remarkable ability to skew what the Bible’s teaches about the church.
When churches recover this ancient vision for the church in all its fullness and glory, they will not only discover more of the beauty and joy of being part of the body of Christ, we will become more effective in our efforts to reach the world with the gospel entrusted to us. Christians have... Continue Reading
How Much Should I Study Doctrine?
How could I hope to have a fully functioning faith if I never nailed down the finer points of Christology and pneumatology?
You’re not a pastor or a theologian—you’re just an earnest Christian who doesn’t have the luxury of spending your days buried in Berkhof either. You know that doctrine matters, but it’s difficult to know how much time to devote to it among the demands of everyday life. You’re not agile with cross-references, you don’t know... Continue Reading
Gracious Confidence Is More Appealing Than Angst and Doubt
Why not express our delight in our Savior’s teaching instead of our despair over how hard his commands may seem?
I get it. It’s tough to present the beauty of Christianity in a culture in which the plausibility structures are set against you, in a pluralist society that sees all evangelism as intolerant, in an age that sees one’s self-expression (especially sexually) as fundamental to identity. Yes, it’s tough. We can all feel that pressure.... Continue Reading
Ask Someone Older Than You
If you only receive counsel when it agrees with you, you’re not really receiving counsel.
“Without counsel plans fail” (Proverbs 15:22), and not only wedding plans. Do you want to take the wrong job, or buy the wrong house, or join the wrong church? Then ignore the godly people in your life who made those decisions years ago (and have seen many others do so). When your next major... Continue Reading
Your Suffering Can Be the Pathway to Greater Godliness
Why do God’s children undergo pressures, suffering, and deadly peril?
In our spiritual lives, as in our professional lives, and in sports and hobbies, we improve and excel by handling failure and learning from it. Only in cultivating discipline, endurance, and patience do we find satisfaction and reward. And those qualities are most developed through some form of suffering. Mountain climbers could save time... Continue Reading
How Should We Benefit From Communion?
I would like to try and answer the question by highlighting an often-neglected aspect of the Lord's Supper: its corporate and covenantal character.
We too easily—and unbiblically—think of the Christian life in personal, singular categories. I do not mean for one moment that the Christian faith is not personal, or that there is no such thing as individual faith. Yet God’s people are one, and salvation brings us into the one Body of Christ, His Church (1 Cor.... Continue Reading
Of Calvin, Social Justice, And The Theology Of The Cross
There is a case to be made that Calvin was implicitly Amillennial in his eschatology.
A theology of glory is a theology that 1) seeks to present one’s self to God on the basis of works; 2) that elevates human reason above divine revelation. The theology of the cross looks to Christ and his righteousness imputed, received through faith alone, resting in Christ alone, according to the Scripture alone. For... Continue Reading
Instead of Worrying
There are lots of things to worry about: money, health, family, career—you can fill in the rest.
The good news is that the Scriptures give us clear direction when the burdens of life press in upon us. Paul was a man who had a lot to worry about. There were all those struggling new churches, his concern for those who had not yet heard the gospel, not to mention his own health... Continue Reading
I Want Christlike, Bible Reflexes
The gasps, sneers, and eye-rolls may tempt us to soft-pedal the Bible’s teaching, but they can also strengthen our resolve.
When the swirling cultural debates are kicking up dust around us, we don’t answer the question from the standpoint of what the experts (even the religious experts) are saying. We are not thinking about sexuality, gender, marriage, and issues of life based upon what the editorial pages or headlines news says. Instead, we follow Jesus’s... Continue Reading