Union With Christ in the Heidelberg Catechism, Part 1
There has been much debate in Reformed Christendom over the last few decades over the nature of our Union with Christ, especially as it relates to the ordo and historia salutis
It is important to note before we close, that this Engrafting into Christ by faith, by which we receive all His benefits by faith, is a personal, vital, mystical, existential Union. We will have much more to say on this in the next post, but it must be pointed out here that the only Union... Continue Reading
Is God Pleased With You?
God’s love for us, His pleasure with you and your security, is not bound up in Jesus’ death plus your obedience record afterward.
This doesn’t negate the need for a Christian to obey God’s word (Romans 6, 1 John, etc). However, it transforms the way that we view obedience to God as His kids. On a Tuesday you don’t have to earn a happy status with God, even with all of the garbage you did on Monday. You... Continue Reading
Love the Sinner as You Love Your Sinful Self?
"Love your neighbor as yourself" (which is the second greatest command, according to Jesus) is now apparently the favorite verse of atheists, agnostics and liberal Christians alike.
The second great command is not, “You shall love the sinner as you love your sinful self.” As Augustine succinctly put it: “No sinner is to be loved as a sinner.” Rather, we are to love our neighbor “as a man for God’s sake.” This involves first realize that “God is to be loved for... Continue Reading
A Prayer for When You Don’t Know What to Do
Perhaps you are in the midst of a difficult decision right now. If so, this prayer is for you.
Forgive me for getting caught up in wanting to know the future and how everything turns out. Forgive me for treating you like a “magic 8 ball.” Forgive me for fearing the future and for waiting around in the hopes that the answer will be written on the wall. Help me to rest and trust... Continue Reading
40 Truths about the Fear of God
Fearing God is a mark of the New Testament church and is consistent with the comforting work of the Holy Spirit
After preaching a sermon on the necessity of the fear of God in public worship, a friend reminded me, “If you want a nail driven in, you have to hit it more than once.” With that in mind, I set about a survey of the Bible’s teaching and found forty truths about fearing God to... Continue Reading
5 Marks of a Contented Heart
We know that this contentment is not simply idealistic but rather characteristic of the Christian life.
Because contentment works from the inside out, it is shielded from the ever-changing circumstances outside us. Remember, Paul himself said that his contentment was seen “in any and every circumstance” (Phil. 4:12). Do you find yourself content when things are going well but struggling when the winds are contrary? What are the characteristics of... Continue Reading
Defining Orthodoxy in Our Modern World
As in the time of the Reformation, the church today is being asked once more to define orthodoxy.
At the Reformation the question was, “Can I save myself by my good deeds”? Today the issue of sexuality has emerged as a key issue, because it raises three questions: 1. What defines each individual’s deep personal identity? 2. How does sexuality relate to the heart of the Gospel, and 3. Who is faithful to... Continue Reading
The Task of Apologetics
The importance for believers to defend the faith as reasonable.
First, apologetics is to provide an answer to the critics of the Christian faith, to those who seek to undermine the rational basis for Christianity or who critique it from the standpoint of another philosophy or religion… The second major aim of apologetics is to tear down the intellectual idols of our culture. Here, apologetics... Continue Reading
Do You Read the Bible Like a Nonbeliever?
Ultimately God is sovereign over the desires of the heart.
Over the years in my pastoral ministry, many people have complained to me that they do not have motivation to read the Bible. They have a sense of duty that they should, but the desire is not there. It is remarkable how many of those people feel that the absence of the desire is the... Continue Reading
The Duty of Introspection
If we wish to live moral lives, ethical lives, successful lives, significant lives, we must live as Jesus lived.
Christian introspection originates and terminates at the gospel. It begins with the good news of Christ’s completed work that has been applied to us. It is founded upon a firm knowledge that Christ has already borne God’s wrath for our sin and that God has already imputed to us his perfect righteousness. This means we... Continue Reading