Was it wrong for Paul and Barnabas to argue with the Judaizers(Acts 15:2)? For that matter, was it wrong for the church to debate the question in council (v.7)? What would have happened had Paul and Barnabas and the rest of the church kept silent because they thought public disagreement and dispute were improper? At... Continue Reading

God created the world, as Webster wrote, out of “supreme generosity.” Even though God displays His glory in salvation and condemnation, we should not forget that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). Though not all... Continue Reading

Sola Scriptura doesn’t mean we only look at Scripture, but that Scripture is the only infallible revelation from God that we need. We can hold to sola Scriptura while still leaning on other tools to aid our understanding of God’s word and promises…Biblicism, in contrast, would say that the Bible is equally clear in all... Continue Reading

The writer of Hebrews commands us to lay aside sin if we ever want to run the race with endurance. But is that all?   Every Weight It’s not just sin that keeps us from running well. We are called to lay aside every weight. Imagine that you are running an endurance race. There are... Continue Reading

What are you waiting for? You have years of partying, manual labor, and bad dieting under your belt, just like me. It could be any moment that you stand before Christ, and like so many others proclaim ‘Lord, Lord’, just to hear those final words in the end.   It’s 5:30 a.m. on a cool,... Continue Reading

If Satan were God’s rival, as some imagine, he would not present himself with the other angels. He would not obey God’s commands.  But what do we find in the book of Job?    When trials come one after the other, or when they are particularly severe, it is natural to ask questions. And if... Continue Reading

Tetzel peddled righteousness for gold, but God gives it freely through faith in his promised Word, the person and work of Jesus Christ.   On August 11, 1519, Johann Tetzel, the German Dominican priest whose indulgence peddling sparked Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, died. Tetzel was among many hawkers of these “get out of purgatory” cards,... Continue Reading

Jesus died—that’s a straightforward truth we confess in the Apostles’ Creed.    But we should linger on it for a while, because God wanted exactly this: a death. And because of it, God now urges all people: Be united to Christ!  As we read in the letter to the Hebrews: Jesus suffered death, “so that... Continue Reading

The type of goodness Paul has in mind in Galatians is an inspiring goodness – a passionate doing of what is right that spills over to others in generosity.   As we have studied the fruit of the Spirit, we have seen how we’ve had to define each term carefully from Scripture because our culturally... Continue Reading

What I want you to know today is that you’re not behind; you’re being remade. And the sooner you stop demanding answers and start asking better questions like, “Who am I becoming?” and “What is God forming in me?” the sooner the wall will shift from a prison to a place of presence.   You... Continue Reading