I Am (Still) A Complementarian
I think there is still much value in the term "complementarian"
“With our culture’s continued march toward sexual anarchy, the term complementarian still helps explain what the Bible teaches about men and women. And it does so by standing together with other brothers and sisters who labor to teach a Biblical understanding of sex and gender.” My good friend, Todd Pruitt, recently wrote a post... Continue Reading
Eternal Subordination of the Son and Books for Women
My hope is that the current debate over the Trinity would encourage us to consider carefully all of the books we use
Kassian and Wolgemuth explain that, in their view, authority and submission are rooted in the Trinity. They teach that without an authority/submission relationship between God the Father and God the Son, authority and submission are meaningless: Continuing to look at the influence of the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS/EFS/ERAS) doctrine in evangelical publications,... Continue Reading
The Justification of Works by Faith
The believing sinner's good works are cloaked in Christ's own perfect righteousness (apprehended by faith), and so are most pleasing to God
The doctrine of justification of works, unlike that of justification by works, stands to provide sinners of sensitive conscience with much relief. It encourages us to broaden our appreciation for what Christ accomplishes for us; he has not merely justified our persons by his perfect obedience, he has also justified our efforts to conform our... Continue Reading
Why the Church has to Start Talking about Hell
To reject hell is to reject the teaching of Christ, to demean his atoning work on the cross and to attack the character of God.
Belief in Hell is counter cultural. It is not easy. And there are lots of questions that we will have. But we need to be aware that in denying hell, we are denying the triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we don’t take Hell as seriously as Jesus did, then I suspect that... Continue Reading
3 Types of Legalism
Legalism involves abstracting the law of God from its original context.
“The essence of Christian theology is grace, and the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude.” The legalist isolates the law from the God who gave the law. He is not so much seeking to obey God or honor Christ as he is to obey rules that are devoid of any personal relationship. Have you,... Continue Reading
My Spirit, My Head, My Heart, My Hands, and My Eternal Security
Can we know for certain we are not a duplicitous, hypocritical, superficial Pharisees waiting to be surprised and outed on the Day of Judgment?
We know we are united with Christ and filled with his Spirit because we believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world. Both of these conclusions and confessions are evidence of the Lord’s sovereign, irresistible, and effective work. How do we know we are eternally secure? How... Continue Reading
Yes Christian, You Need the Church
We all need a healthy reminder from time-to-time that we need the church in all seasons and successes of life.
The church is not an option for some Christians, it’s a mandate for all Christians. To be a Christian involves participation in the local church. Charles Spurgeon once remarked, “Nobody can do as much damage to the church of God as the man who is within its walls, but not within its life.” As we... Continue Reading
Between Pearls And Privatization
We should be wary about the rhetoric of cultural “transformation” in this life
Over against transformationalism, I am arguing that we need to recover the older Reformed conviction that there is a distinction between the sacred and the secular. Calvin used these categories without embarrassment. The common is not “neutral” and the secular is not dirty. We recognize this very distinction every time we administer holy communion. Reformed... Continue Reading
Using Signs of Saving Grace
Every born again child of God who places true faith in Jesus Christ will struggle with assurance in various degrees over the course of their lives.
The signs of grace given in Scripture belong only to the godly. It is not that the godly have more of them than the wicked, but that hypocrites do not have them at all. There are positive signs and negative signs, and the positive signs are more important. It is deceitful and futile to argue... Continue Reading
Eternal Subordination of the Son and Books for Youth
Continuing to look at the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS/EFS/ERAS) teaching and the unexpected places it shows up
It is concerning to me to see how widespread the ESS teaching has become. I am becoming much more vigilant in what I buy for my children to read. As the next generation of the church, it really matters what they are taught. In continuing to look at the Eternal Subordination of the Son... Continue Reading