We have to remember that God’s timing is not our timing, that his timing is perfect. That when he says “No” to something or “Wait”, he has reasons based in his love for us, even if we don’t understand them.   But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were... Continue Reading

You know what scares the heck out of me? The thought of falling away from Jesus. Of going apostate. To use the old summer camp language, of backsliding. Why is this so scary? Because I know myself! I know how easily I can get sucked into sin. I’ve seen solid Christians completely wreck themselves upon the rocky shores of wickedness. It’s a terrible, frightening thing to behold. You know that line from “Come Thou Fount” about being “prone to wander”? That’s me! This is where the doctrines of grace give me great comfort.

When people-pleasing replaces God-pleasing, fear of failure is at the root. People are driven by the need for approval and desire to become successful, not only to avoid being rejected, but for self-approval. Once again, we are focusing on something other than Christ, which is idolatry; we are engaging in people-centered worship and self-centered worship. Many people-pleasers believe this kind of behavior is commendable because it involves serving others, but it isn’t—it’s motivated by approval and the assurance that we are a success.

In Ephesians 5, the wife is called to submit to her husband “as to the Lord”. As in the above, men do not possess authority due to their person, and wives do not owe submission to husbands because they are male. Rather, like all commands to Christians, the requirement for self-sacrificial love on the part of the husband and submission as to Christ on the part of the wife are alike calls to regenerate Christians to live righteously before the Lord—not primarily before each other. The call of the wife to submit to her husband is not a call to the husband to require this submission of his wife, nor extract it by virtue of his superiority, by manipulation, sanctions, or even allurements. This is because her call is to submit as to Christ; that is, her submission is part of her Christian walk before the Lord and is not owed to her husband by virtue of his or her subsistence. The husband is not endowed with such inherent authority.

Some of us have taken justification to mean we no longer have a dynamic relationship with our heavenly Father, as if God is indifferent to our sin and our obedience. But Scripture says we can grieve the Holy Spirit, and in Hebrews 12 we see that a father disciplines those he loves. God is not pleased when we sin. Or, as John Calvin puts it, God can be “wondrously angry with his children.” This doesn’t mean God is ever against us as his justified people. He is always for us. But just as a parent can be upset with a child, so God can consider our actions grievous and discipline us accordingly.

As a holy sacrament, baptism is a wonderful thing. It God’s gift to the church but it has never worked ex opere (by the working). It works as a sign and seal and it becomes a seal when the Spirit grants new life and true faith. It works as a symbolic representation, as a sacred ritual but however many people in the 4th century and after who came to believe that baptism necessarily confers what it signifies, the Creed no more requires us to think that than does Scripture itself.

Those physical healings were vivid displays of both Jesus’ power and His compassion. They were proof of His deity and living demonstrations of His divine authority. They established His unlimited ability to liberate anyone and everyone from the bondage, the penalty, and the consequences of sin. As such, the healing ministry of Jesus was illustrative... Continue Reading

We don’t need to go on a three-day retreat or read extensive theological treatises in order to enjoy communion with God. What we do need is to learn to savor the love, grace, and fellowship of our triune God (2 Cor. 13:14). As we meditate on the mercy of God in Christ, we are slowly... Continue Reading

Don’t just keep going. Do so because you know the bigger picture, because if no seed is sown at all, you can cry all you want and absolutely nothing will happen. It’s not the tears that produce fruit, or even the faithfulness of the sower, but the faithfulness of the One who alone can take... Continue Reading

Those who share Madora’s confusion need to understand where Jesus fits in to God’s design. The good news of the gospel shines forth against the desperate need of the human condition, a condition that characterizes all people, of all religious stripes, of all sorts of sincere personal beliefs. And they need to care where Jesus... Continue Reading