“Dear Christian, if you believe, if you have professed faith before the elders in a congregation with the marks of the true church, if you know the greatness of your sin and misery and are trusting alone in Christ for your righteousness, come to the table.”   Who are to come to the table of... Continue Reading

Foh's interpretation of Genesis does exactly what Henry rejoices wasn't done in the passage. She puts enmity between the man and the woman. And that is the great danger inherent in her interpretation and in those who have adopted it. Foh's interpretation of desire creates, maintains, establishes an inherently antagonistic relationship between husbands and wives and between men and women in general. And all in a desire to bolster support for male headship in the home and the church.

Reformed congregations are adopting Lent for the very same reason. People like Lent. It is socially acceptable, even hip to go about with ashes on one’s forehead once a year. It seems counter-cultural but when the cultural approves of it, beware. The culture is not so “chill” with Christ’s cross and the foolishness of the gospel but they approve of Lent because it looks like something they can understand: works (στοιχεῖα).

If we believe in the Holy Spirit, why do we flock to celebrity preachers to tell us what music to listen to, what movies we should watch, how we should dress, how to be manly, how to be womanly, what household chores a man should do, how to focus on our family, what household chores a wife should do, how to educate our children, how long should our skirts be, how high should our necklines be, where should we shop, where should we NOT shop, what books should we avoid, how often should we exercise, how do we exercise as Christians, should we have friends of the opposite sex, should we have friends of the same sex, how close should we be to them….and on and on and on and on…?

The aseity of God means that I really need to give up my foolish efforts to try to create change myself. I cannot do it. Perhaps the crack-addict, and the negativity-addict, cannot see a reality beyond their addiction. That’s because we are finite and sinful. We aren’t self-existent. We do not have what it takes to create reality out of nothing. But God does. Because God is.

I know that Lent means a lot to many Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists and is a significant part of their traditions. But, as I look at the Bible and the true nature of Christian liberty, repentance, and fasting I’m not convinced that the Lenten season actually encourages those things–I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m Presbyterian! It certainly has the appearance, but lacks the power; it has the glitter, but it’s not the gold. Even if you disagree with me (and I’ll happily give you that liberty) I hope that you can take some encouragement: put no confidence in the flesh but only in Jesus, rend your heart and not your garments, add to your profession of faith every grace of the Spirit, and take the path of daily self-denial which is identification with Jesus Christ and the promotion of his glory.

This passage is my favorite because it reminds me that my faith in God rests not in what he provides or doesn't provide, not in whether he moves in my life the way I desire or whether he rescues me from hard things. It reminds me that my joy is not dependent upon what I have. My joy is found in God, who is my salvation and my strength. Whatever my circumstances, whatever fears or anxieties I have, whatever darkness lurks on the horizon, whatever is happening in the world around me, God is my salvation and my joy.

This breakthrough in my understanding (via doctrine) and the desire to learn more (theology) were the means that brought me out of despair. I began to see that God was trustworthy, not because He gave me a happy ending, but because He is who He says He is in His Word.

“What Reformed theology teaches is that it is true the believer makes the right response and the non-believer makes the wrong response. But the reason the believer makes the good response is because God in His sovereign election changes the disposition of the heart of the elect to effect a good response.”   Soli Deo... Continue Reading

Clear biblical mandates, rather than dubious examples, are to be our moral guide: “Whatever the Lord commands in general terms is to be accounted as an inflexible rule of conduct; but to rely on particular examples [of characters in the biblical narrative] is not only dangerous, but even foolish and absurd.”   “The things related... Continue Reading