When You Go Through the Valley
Psalm 23 reminds us that it is God who leads us through the valleys. No valley we face is unexpected.
“While we don’t travel through dark valleys in a physical sense, we understand it in a metaphorical sense. Our dark valleys today might look like physical suffering and chronic pain. We might experience loss and sorrow. We might face persecution in our work or culture. We might go through emotional valleys of doubt, despair, or... Continue Reading
Failure and Disappointment in Scripture
We live in a “success culture” that idolizes victory and fulfillment. But it’s all so unreal.
When we turn to the Bible, we’re given a deep dose of reality. Failure and disappointment are on just about every page. Whether we like it or not, that’s much truer to life than the success narratives that we aspire to and are trying to write for ourselves. By all means, aim high, but recognize... Continue Reading
They Call it Narcissism
There are different versions of the self-absorbed lifestyle commonly called narcissism. They are all maddening.
As a catalyst for thought, I read Disarming the Narcissist by Wendy Behary¹. Though not a Christian book, I was helped by her kindness and insight, and she actually rekindled my interest in engaging those who fit the narcissist description. Rather than review the book, I will identify a few of the points that helped me rethink... Continue Reading
Brothers and Sisters
Christ does not take kindly to the abuse, ridicule, insults, contempt and hatred of those who are members of his body.
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matt. 25:40 KJV). Think about what that means. Christ considers what is done to his members as being done to his own person. Why are you persecuting ME, not others, but me? When Paul... Continue Reading
What Is Divine Inspiration (and Why Does It Matter)?
Divine inspiration remains the key to interpreting the text because that is what makes it the Word of God.
The Bible is the written constitution of the church and must be interpreted as such. Its authority is absolute, and therefore it is both infallible and inerrant as far as the life of the church is concerned. No Christian preacher or teacher has any right to distort or minimize its teaching, and every word in... Continue Reading
The Reality of Disappointment
Cheer up. Oddly enough, disappointment can be an indicator you are seeing the world correctly.
No one enjoys feeling disappointment. In itself, disappointment is akin to the sadness of loss, and ultimately we were not designed for it. But like all emotions, disappointment is a gauge of how a person perceives his life—what he believes about it and wants from it. When you’re living in a broken world, sometimes believing... Continue Reading
The One Who Endures: Perseverance and Counseling
“They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally, nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”
The Westminster Confession acknowledges a believer may fall into sin.[iii] However, perseverance is woven together with other doctrines in the gospel. Jesus did not merely die to pay the debt of our sin or to give us eternal life, no, the gospel is a promise of real change … actual sanctification. We are being renewed... Continue Reading
Are Believers Under The Law As A Schoolmaster? (2): What Paul Said
When the Reformed speak of the pedagogical use of the law, we are drawing that imagery from Galatians 3.
The crisis that Paul faced in the Galatian congregation was provoked by the Judaizers, who sought to put believers back under the law for their standing with God, for their justification. Using the terms we discussed before, the Judaizers sought to place believers back under the pedagogical use of the law or, as Ursinus explained it,... Continue Reading
Principles and Guidelines for Separation
The questions of when, why, and how to separate are of cardinal importance.
The New Testament gives us principles; it does not provide us with a single, simple sentence that relieves us of the task of thinking through and wisely applying the Scriptures to each unique situation. Biblical teaching can sometimes be expressed only in compound-complex sentences. In the limited space of this article, we can reflect on... Continue Reading
Two Kingdom Theology in the Trump Era
Various writers have announced that Luther was the Trump of 1517 or that Luther and Trump have much in common.
In a recent article for The Nation, “How Martin Luther Paved the Way for Donald Trump,” Michael Massing discusses the Two Kingdoms Doctrine at some length. Unfortunately, Massing incorrectly states that Luther taught that “Christ’s Gospel was to apply only in the spiritual realm; in the secular, the government’s role was to maintain order and punish... Continue Reading