Why I Need My Friends to Judge Me
If the people around me never judge me or call my actions to account, do they really love me?
“I am a sinner. I’m a redeemed sinner with a new heart, but I’m still a sinner. This sin is not my friend; it’s my greatest enemy. What’s so insidious about my sin is that so much of it is obvious to the people around me, but I’m completely oblivious to it.” The other... Continue Reading
Should I Feel God’s Presence in My Life?
“Surely God was in this place and I knew it not.”
I preached, and I went through the sacrament, and it was awful. It was terrible. I just felt a total absence of God, as if I’d been utterly and completely abandoned by Him. My preaching was dead, and it seemed as if I were talking to myself. When I pronounced the benediction and went to... Continue Reading
How To Identify Your Pet Sin
If you want your soul to be at peace, you need to make war against your pet sin.
There are some sins you have little trouble rejecting. They hold little sway over your soul. But the sin that always poses a deep and difficult temptation, the one that so often overwhelms you, this is probably your pet sin. This is probably a sin you have fostered instead of destroyed. What sin has the... Continue Reading
Why Did God Allow the Fall?
Scripture doesn’t tell us directly why God permitted sin to enter the world. But it does provide us with materials from which we can construct a consistent and reasonable explanation.
In reality, every worldview raises some questions its advocates can’t answer, so the mere existence of an unanswered (even unanswerable) question doesn’t necessarily count against a worldview. It may simply imply a lack of information, which, in the context of a Christian worldview, would mean a lack of divine revelation on that particular point. ... Continue Reading
What Is a Worldview?
A worldview is an overall view of the world; a philosophical view that provides an all-encompassing perspective on what exists and matters to us.
What is a worldview? As the word itself suggests, a worldview is an overall view of the world. It’s not a physical view of the world, but rather a philosophical view, an all-encompassing perspective on everything that exists and matters to us. A person’s worldview represents his most fundamental beliefs and assumptions about the universe he... Continue Reading
Does Abstinence Teaching Really Promote Purity?
True love rightly orders its affections. But please don't put that on a ring.
Often, abstinence teaching within the church gives a false promise that is still focused on a man-centered gratification that really has nothing to do with our purity. It goes something like this: If you maintain your virginity until marriage, you will be blessed with wonderful sex and a happily ever after relationship. Purity is treated... Continue Reading
Fictitious Forgiveness: Why We Cannot Forgive Ourselves
We must flee any and every notion that we need to forgive ourselves, and instead look outside of self and to the risen Christ.
The psychological techniques are missing something huge. It’s the absolute key to unlocking the problem of fictitious forgiveness. Guilt is not something that we can actually do away with. We can only suppress it. But doing so is soul-suicide. Guilt can only be removed by something outside of ourselves. Why? Because the things we do wrong are first and... Continue Reading
On Lament, Hope, and Divorce
Because we love God and His word, we grieve and wrestle with God deeply when the sin of others disrupts our relationships, our churches, or our homes.
If my story feels scary for you, remember what my friend said, “It’s not catching.” Divorce not of your choosing, or children who walk away from the faith, or cancer, or whatever the trial, isn’t a communicable disease. And it won’t manifest in your home just because you walk with someone else who experiences it.... Continue Reading
3 True Obstacles to True Rest
To get at the heart of what’s keeping us from true rest, we must first understand what true rest is.
Rest is not necessarily sleep; it’s not necessarily increased leisure; it’s not even necessarily inactivity, though all of those things matter. Rest goes deeper. Rest is a state in which we live which we can only enter into through the gospel which tells us that because of what Jesus has done on our behalf, we... Continue Reading
From What Got Done to What God Did
Asking ourselves what God did orients our hearts away from discouragement over our lack of accomplishments, and toward the goodness of God.
When we’re struggling in a season marked by fruitlessness, the Sunday school answer is to center our thinking on the gospel. We shouldn’t worry about what we’ve done or not done, but remind ourselves of what God has done for us in Christ. Now, it’s never a bad strategy to spend time thinking about the gospel!... Continue Reading