America’s Tug-of-War Over Children
What activists really want is the separation of truth and state.
Christians must stand firmly as the culture rages against truth and pushes it further into the fringes of society. We have a duty to be loud and proud about God’s truth, because those who know the truth cannot be deceived. Lies, identity confusion, and disrespect of God’s sovereignty are destroying our children. The side that... Continue Reading
Son of Man
Psalm 8 is a Kingly Psalm
Son of Man is the bigger and grander title, and we should read it in two ways: one as here in Psalm 8, the Son of Adam, the Serpent-slayer. The other as in Daniel 7, where Daniel extends the promise of the new Adam to show us that he is God come himself. Son of Man, after... Continue Reading
He Will Quiet You by His Love
In Christ alone will your desire for true love be satisfied.
If you think that nothing can ever take away your shame, hear the promise of the Lord, “I will change their shame into praise” (v. 19). If you think that no one could ever love you, be encouraged by the word of the Lord, “I will bring you in” (v. 20). If you think that... Continue Reading
Westminster Confession of Faith: Faithful, Pastoral, Global, and Enduring
High Doctrine of Scripture
The Confession begins by making the case for the necessity of Scripture, God’s written special revelation and inscripturated self-disclosure. The first chapter goes on to state the contents of Scripture positively (what books are in the Bible) and negatively (what books are not). Then it shows in consecutive sections why we believe the Bible is... Continue Reading
The Marks of the Church
The true church is marked by submission to the Scriptures.
Among the Reformed churches, eventually three marks were identified: faithful preaching of the Word, faithful administration of the sacraments, and faithful exercise of discipline. In focusing on the marks of the church, the Reformers were not saying that all a good church needs to have are the marks of the church. They focused on the marks... Continue Reading
A Killer Confession, A Priestly Pardon(er)
There is goodness in confessing sin as a corporate body.
The woe one feels in relation to God happens because one realizes his or her sinfulness before a holy God. We see this individually, but we also see this corporately. For more of a corporate version of confession one can turn to Nehemiah 8:5-10. There Ezra “opened the book in the sight of all the... Continue Reading
All, Every, and Not One
We are dependent upon the goodness, the grace, and the guidance of our God.
One day it will be said of you that not one of the good promises God made to you in his Word failed, but that each and every one came to pass. One day it will be said of all those who are his that God was faithful to his every word and true to... Continue Reading
Americans’ Values Are Changing
Christians can display God’s true value to a shifting nation.
Christians, connected to the true Vine, can show the better way, loving our neighbors (even when we are hated) and loving truth. In a world starving for the right values, God gives our lives true value. The world is valuable because God created it and Christ died to save it. May God grant us the courage to... Continue Reading
Unpacking “You Do You”
Biblical wisdom exposes many problematic dimensions of the “you do you” mentality.
Love your friends, families, and neighbors by avoiding the tepid “you do you” response when you see them making poor choices. Instead of sanctioning their subjective whims, point them to the objective, higher wisdom of God. Remind them that it might at first feel like a constraint, but in the end God’s wisdom will bring... Continue Reading
Self-Edification Is Not Enough (1 Corinthians 14:1-25)
Untranslated speaking in tongues was not to be part of the church’s worship.
A key enduring takeaway for us from Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 14:1-25 would be that, as God’s temple building project continues, we must be careful to use our gifts not merely to edify ourselves, but to edify others also. Self-edification is just not enough. Having established love as the precondition for fruitful ministry through... Continue Reading
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