We must also realize that a virtue, such as agape love, is not something you simply constantly do 24/7 to the point of exhausting yourself completely unless, as was Christ’s case, God calls you to empty yourself to the point of death in a particular moment. After all, the paragon of agape love, Jesus, demonstrated... Continue Reading

God’s Word could not be clearer. Our sexuality is created by God for His glory. If we love and fear God, if we have been made right with God through Jesus Christ, we will submit our sexuality to God. We will repent of sexual immorality and seek sexual purity according to God’s plan.   If... Continue Reading

If the offended God, who is holy and perfect, can extend His grace (His ill-deserved favor) to sinners like us, then what should we, the recipients of such grace, extend to those who have sinned against us? Are we full of His deep grace?   To be gracious is nice, attractive, and pleasant. But to... Continue Reading

Yet beneath the city’s beauty, signs of brokenness were visible everywhere—homeless people on the streets, refugee families with babies seeking assistance, and crowds gathering for riots and protests—reminding me that this is the world that “is” at the moment, beautiful, but also broken and deeply wounded by the cosmic plague of sin.  While shopping in... Continue Reading

The only hope any of us have of growing in our obedience, of being more like David when he lived by faith and not by sight, is not by trying to be like David in our own strength but rather, in reliance on the Holy Spirit, trusting in the Christ to whom David pointed and... Continue Reading

Rejecting a literal, historical Adam—or some of the details about him and Eve— undermines the authority of Scripture and has enormous theological and moral implications. The historical last Adam came to solve the real, historical problem caused by the historical first Adam.     In recent years, in an effort to harmonize the evolutionary story... Continue Reading

The officers of the church will take the lead in the great task given for holy service and witness bearing, for better or for worse. May the Lord grant His bride qualified men to guide her well, and may He give the members grace to identify them.   To all the saints in Christ Jesus... Continue Reading

For those who hold to the spiritual view of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is truly present, and these benefits are truly enjoyed by means of the Holy Spirit and believer’s union with Christ.   In Matthew 26:26-28 Jesus spoke a few simple words that have been the cause of a great many differences between Christians.... Continue Reading

Have we not looked at the stars to realize our smallness? Have we not stared at the ocean, contemplating our powerlessness? Yet, a hundred times more, when we stare at the picture of Calvary, our life issues all begin to fade, the want of heaven and eternal glorification grow, and the marvelous nature of our... Continue Reading

Male leadership in family, church, and society is firmly rooted in God’s creational intention and design. This leadership is not, in the first instance, a result of the fall, though the fall is also a part of the equation. Paul’s grounding of male authority in 1 Timothy 2 in the creation account in Genesis 1–2,... Continue Reading