“Peace” is just one of the options by which we may translate the term shalom when we encounter it.  Sometimes, it is entirely a matter of opinion whether peace, wholeness, welfare, well-being, or all of the above are being conveyed in any instance where the word is used.  And yes, some of the extended meanings of the shalom root... Continue Reading

“We have been adopted by the Lord as children with this understanding—that in our lives we should mirror Christ who is the bond of our adoption. And truly, unless we are devoted—even addicted—to righteousness, we will faithlessly abandon our Creator and disown Him as our Savior.”   There are two main parts to the instruction from... Continue Reading

One such area where it is crucial to spot and deal with spin is how we talk and think about sin. Sometimes we think and speak of sin in relativized terms. For example, we may speak of our bad attitudes, selfishness or anger as personal defects that are expected and even accepted. We spin sin by saying or thinking things like, “I am a sinner” or “I’m not perfect” or “I know I really should do (fill in the blank)…” These are all true but they are often relativized and therefore declawed. And, to make matters worse, when we do say things like this often our Christian brothers and sisters affirm us with nods. The danger of this is it produces a culture where sin is not really a big deal.

Second, the preacher only has the authority to bind the conscience where Scripture binds the conscience. Not only must the preacher stick to the Word of God, he cannot go beyond what is written when he corrects, reproves, and rebukes. The preacher must draw conclusions that are both good and necessary. For example, he can say with Biblical authority that it is sin to look at internet pornography even when there is no concept of the internet in Scripture. However, he cannot say with Biblical authority that one should never go to movies even if some movies are questionable or sinful. The authority from the pulpit must be tied to the Scriptures.

Come what may, your identity is secure in Christ. And so is your child’s. When I say your identity, I’m talking about the qualities that distinguish your value as a person. What makes you valuable? What makes your child valuable? How do you define your own worth to humanity? How do you define your child’s? The world projects onto us the need as parents to give our children every opportunity to be great in all of the things. But when we take that responsibility on ourselves, we project it onto our children as well. In that paradigm, their self-worth and self-identity will come from how well they measure up and move past classmates and peers. Trained by the pressures from their parents, they find their identity by how they COMPARE to others. But the Bible gives a sobering assessment of that mentality – “they that compare themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12).

Secularism is the belief that man does not need God or God’s laws in man’s social, governmental, educational, or economic affairs. Ironically, secularism rejects religion, yet is itself a religion. In these United States of America, many of our politicians, courts, schools, and businesses embrace and promote the religion of secularism under the rubric of... Continue Reading

Remembering that anyone might read and misunderstand what we’ve written, we need to be as clear as possible. Our speech should be open and honest. We should not give anyone cause to doubt our words or cause to question our orthodoxy. While it’s true that anything has the potential to be misunderstood and that no one can prevent that from happening all the time, our goal should be clarity.

It’s a good time to be a false teacher and to espouse deadly doctrine. And it will continue to be unless God’s people embrace their responsibility to defend the faith and protect the vulnerable. Jesus has left us with both the mandate and the model. Jesus shows that while polemics gains few friends (after all, it was the ones he rebuked who put him to death and the ones he warned who deserted him), it honors God and saves listeners from falling into the snare of deadly doctrine.

If by the first century Chronicles was regarded as the final book in the Hebrew canon,as some scholars have argued,then Matthew’s gospel would certainly be a fitting sequel. An Old Testament canon ending with Chronicles would have placed Israel in an eschatological posture, looking ahead to the time when the messiah, the son of David, will come to Jerusalem and bring full deliverance to his people.

The sufficiency of Scripture rests in the fact that it alone can provide man with the knowledge needed to be reconciled to God.  The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way, “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down... Continue Reading