We come [to the King] and keep coming—daily in prayer, weekly in corporate worship. God’s Spirit gives us reverence with confidence, humility with boldness, awe with audacity. In light of God’s might, we approach him with holy fear; in light of his mercy, we come with expectant delight. In Christ, we enter not only assured... Continue Reading

Christians do need to obey God’s command to gather regularly with their fellow saints under the oversight of a faithful minister (1 Peter 5:2–3). This is the way God has ordered his church on earth so that his sheep are properly cared for and guarded from the snares of the evil one (Hebrews 13:17). You... Continue Reading

As the people said to Moses in the book of Exodus when he was instructing them in faith, “na’aseh v’nishma”: We will do and then we will understand. That change in belief might come from experiencing benefits you didn’t expect, but it also reveals a basic truth about the mind. As much psychological research over... Continue Reading

What does God have for me on earth, while I await heaven? Or better, how I do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. If that is the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray (Matt. 6:9), how then should we live? As new creations in Christ, how do we order our steps? Do... Continue Reading

Warning passages are a God-ordained means to a God-ordained end. They’re one of the ways God ensures that all genuine believers will persevere. And that’s why I think the bumper sticker line “once saved, always saved” is misleading. A more accurate way to say it is “once saved, always a believer” or “once saved, always... Continue Reading

It is important to build your understanding of the Trinity from the Scriptures, which are perfect, and not an external source, which is imperfect. Extra-biblical sources can be very helpful in explaining and understanding what the Bible teaches, but the foundation must be Scripture.   The belief in Triune God is a core foundational doctrine... Continue Reading

Cultures may recognize and employ moral principles, but this doesn’t mean they created these principles. In fact, many scientists and philosophers are suspicious about any causal relationship between evolution and moral virtue. The evolutionary process often results in disharmony and strife; morality seems to require us to overcome the “evolved beast” in each of us.... Continue Reading

If somehow you started your Christian life without someone explaining that you were signing up for suffering, it’s time to break it to you: there is no such thing as a Christian life without suffering.   There is a line in a well-known story of Jesus (Matt 20:20-28) that often gets overlooked. James and John... Continue Reading

The more holy we become through Christ’s life in us, the more sin we will see in ourselves. There is less sin than before, but we hate it more. We begin to see evil through the eyes of Jesus Himself; that is, we begin to despise it for the filth it truly is.   For... Continue Reading

Had Adam fulfilled the Covenant of Works, he would have been granted an end to his probation and been brought into eternal life. Just as Adam’s fulfillment of the covenant would have presumably resulted in physical changes to creation, so perhaps his failure resulted in corresponding changes. This, of course, is speculative. But it is... Continue Reading