6 Ways the Psalms Sing to Our Fears
When I am struggling with fear, I find meditating on the Psalms a great help and comfort.
At the end of the day, we need to “fear” the Lord, which means we need to have a deep reverence for him, our lives profoundly oriented to him and his ways. Over fifty times in the psalms, the writer calls us to “fear” Yahweh. So a very important aspect of rooting out unhealthy fear... Continue Reading
Strangers And Aliens (23d): You Are Not Alone (1 Peter 5:6–11)
Politicians have often been tempted to declare “Peace in Our Time.”
In our time there has been an almost desperate desire to be approved by the broader culture, even as orthodox Christianity is marginalized. We see this in the compromises made by the mainline denominations. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the liberals and critics demanded that the heretofore culturally acceptable and occasionally influential... Continue Reading
The Beard-Battle That Almost Split Christendom
A fond look back at the time when growing facial hair was an excommunication-worthy offense
Even Baptist minister Charles Spurgeon, in an apparent attempt to win a “most overstated case for anything ever” competition, famously advised his students that growing a beard was “a habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial.” At first glance, a beard may seem like an unremarkable thing—just a bit of protein, really, sort of... Continue Reading
Singing the Lord’s Song in a Foreign Land
Derek Kidner once remarked of Psalm 137 that “Every line of it is alive with pain.”
“The Psalmist is not only weeping, but he reached to hang up his lyre on the branch of a willow tree somewhere along the Tigris or Euphrates River in this cradle that gave birth to the ancient civilization (137:2). The Babylonians, his captors, wanted to hear him sing a song of Zion. But the Psalmist... Continue Reading
Empathy, Experience, and the Gospel
Greater empathy: not at the expense of orthodoxy but perhaps a better way to "deploy our orthodoxy."
For a society that is so individualistic, we’re driven by a herd mentality. We may even be wired that way. Just watch little kids copy each other’s behavior. The herd’s values vary from one social group to another, but you quickly learn what is accepted/expected and what is not. Given this pressure, it’s hard being... Continue Reading
Holiness Is Our Goal
Scripture tells us that God’s goal for us is that we might be holy, that is sanctified.
It is precisely because we are in relationship with God that we ought to pursue holiness, the two go together well and are in no way opposed to each other. Holiness is relational wholeness with God, relational wholeness with God includes walking in the path of his commands. You shall be holy, for I... Continue Reading
The Danger of ‘A High View of the Efficacy of the Sacraments’
The Confession teaches that true grace is conferred to and efficacious for the elect alone.
Concerning baptismal efficacy, the Westminster Standards restrict it to the elect alone who are the subjects of God’s efficacious grace. A wrong view of baptismal efficacy changes the meaning of all the most important doctrines of salvation. Efficacious grace means that the elect alone are: redeemed by Christ; given a new heart; justified, adopted, and... Continue Reading
Nahum, Judgment, and Jesus
How do you tell others about bad news?
So when we read Nahum, we don’t need to focus on the bad news. There is always going to be bad news to share. Instead, we should see it as motivation to share the good news of the gospel—because the glorious light of the cross of Christ is the best news we have to share.... Continue Reading
Critique of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Report on Republication
A review of the OPC report on Republication
“One would hope that a newly-appointed committee of the OPC would redress the grievous wrong that has been committed with regard to this committee’s reading of the work of Kline and restate the biblical teaching pertaining to the covenants, giving priory to Scripture rather than the Confession.” The Report on Republication written by a... Continue Reading
How The Church Today is Getting Discipleship Wrong
The way many leaders approach maturity is to assume that knowledge produces maturity. Since when?
Maturity takes time and is not linear. It would be great if there was instant maturity in faith and in life. But it never works that way. You can’t expect a 3 year old to have the maturity of a 13 year old, or expect a 23 year old to have the maturity of a... Continue Reading