Reading the Bible: Ordinary Reading (Part 1)
Sitting down to read the Bible isn’t enough; we need to learn how to read it well
“Don’t be discouraged. Reading, like anything else, is a skill that needs to be learned, practiced, and trained. You might think “I know how to read,” and once you know how to read it’s simply a matter of increasing your vocabulary. Reading is easy and intuitive, and therefore shouldn’t require any extra training once the... Continue Reading
Is the Word of God a Quick Fix?
God’s Word can easily become information for our brains, rather than nourishment for our souls
Brothers and sisters, may we never see God’s Word as our “quick fix”! Rather, my prayer is that we would love the Word of God increasingly more each day, hungering for it like the Psalmists did, when they wrote, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My... Continue Reading
Alzheimer’s Locks Up Its Victims, But Christ Holds The Key
Even while our minds deteriorate, our status as image bearers of the living God remains
“Many Americans today live in fear of Alzheimer’s, for that terrible disease seems able to steal our soul and obliterate our personality. But it does not. It only has the power to lock it up for a season, until the One who made it calls it back from its troubled slumber. The psyche does not... Continue Reading
Doctrine Alone
Going back to the solas of the Reformation, the Reformers were passionate about doctrine
“They debated the best way to formulate the great truths of the Bible not merely with their opponents within the Roman Catholic church, but also with each other – allowing legitimate latitude for interpretation. But they were equally passionate for godly living: behaviour that was shaped by the truth of God’s word.” The season... Continue Reading
The Real Difference On Election
If the number of saved people is fixed, then that cannot be the ultimate point of difference between Calvinism and Arminianism. The point of difference must lie elsewhere.
“When we consider the five points of Calvinism, it becomes clear that unconditional election is the ultimate point of difference. To put it in a very vernacular way, does God love me because He loves me, or does He love me because I am so lovable? Is the cause of salvation to be found in... Continue Reading
The Mystery of the Gospel
This is a mystery that was hidden by God until it could be publicly revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, in His death, burial, and resurrection.
All around Asia Minor and the ancient world at this time, there were mystery religions and mystery cults, and there were some who thought, especially from the Roman perspective, that Christianity was just another one of them. After all, it had its mystery. The essential content of Christian preaching, Paul says, is the mystery... Continue Reading
Who Are the “Broken Wolves” in the Evangelical Community Today?
“Broken Wolves” are those “who use their own authenticity, pain, and brokenness to attract believers who are also suffering and broken.”
There are quite a few people out there who talk about the personal difficulties they’ve experienced in life, including abuse, often abuse at the hands of church people. They tend to look at certain doctrines of the faith with great suspicion or even abhorrence. In his groundbreaking article I shared on my blog earlier this... Continue Reading
Don’t Leave Your Husband for Her
A Letter to a Would-Be Adultress
A mixed-orientation marriage combines one spouse who “is” gay and the other who “is” straight. This new language for sexuality and humanity has become our post-Christian world’s reigning (and godless) logic. Gay may be how someone feels, but it can never be who someone inherently is. Because all human beings are made in God’s image, we are... Continue Reading
Joyfully Lifting Malformed Hands in Worship
"How do we lift our hands to worship the God who sovereignly brings pain into our lives?"
“Please pray that our little son will someday joyfully lift his hands, formed and malformed, in heartfelt worship to the King who in love and mysterious providence saw fit to have him walk this path—even when he can’t know exactly why it had to be so.” There are many reasons I love being a... Continue Reading
Understanding Free Will
Martin Luther struggled greatly with the relationship of God’s sovereignty to human free will and sin.
When Luther discussed this, he observed that when the Bible says that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, God did not create fresh evil in the heart of an innocent man. Luther said that God didn’t harden people by putting evil in their hearts. All that God must do to harden anyone’s heart is to... Continue Reading