“Judge Not”
A misused, but necessary, command.
Judge according to the Word of God, yes, but never indulge in self-righteous, hypocritical, hypercritical, prejudiced, merciless judgmentalism. That is never the way of Christ, and it should not be the way of Christians either. Matthew 7:1 is one of the most needed and one of the most abused statements in the Bible. It... Continue Reading
The Doctrine of God and a Pastor’s Ministry
Rather than approaching God merely for what He can do for us, we must learn to love and worship Him for who He is.
By engaging in God-centered preaching and pastoral ministry, we will redirect people’s natural inclination to focus on self and lead them to turn their eyes upward to contemplate and worship a holy, loving, and righteous God. Pastoral ministry is exceedingly demanding and requires us to tackle a large number of tasks, such as preaching,... Continue Reading
Should Christians Be Sad When a Fellow Believer Dies and Goes to Heaven?
Our sorrow over the death of a fellow believer is a grief with hope.
Christians should grieve over the death of a fellow brother or sister in Christ. It is good and right to feel the weight of sorrow when our beloved fellow Christians are taken home. It is not a grief without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), but it is a grief, even a “sorrow upon sorrow.” If we are citizens of heaven, awaiting a... Continue Reading
Is Watching Porn a Sin?
What does God have to say about pornography?
As the one who created this world and the people who live within it, God is the one who gets to determine what is a sin and what is not. It doesn’t really matter what you or I believe about it, but it matters an awful lot what God believes about it. I’m so... Continue Reading
Why Are We Scared to Teach Our People Theology?
Why do we think only bible colleges can adequately teach these things to our people?
There is nothing stopping the majority of pastors from teaching basic systematics and biblical theology in their churches. Most could have a reasonable stab at historical theology and ecclesiology too. Assuming they’re able to teach the Bible at all, I’d imagine hermeneutics are going to be there too. One of the great things about... Continue Reading
“Disqualified”: What It Means and How a Pastor Gets There
While having sin exposed is never pleasant, it does always lead to God’s glory being vindicated.
“Disqualified” means is that…conduct, traits, or sins come to light in the elder’s life that are not in keeping with the qualifications, and the elders realize that the person is no longer qualified…When that happens, the person is no longer a pastor or elder. I’m always ultimately thankful when the Lord uncovers things that... Continue Reading
Why Paul Is a Complicated Missionary Model
We must be careful when trying to reconstruct a Pauline approach.
We should note that Paul, writing with apostolic authority, repeatedly instructs churches to imitate him (Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). He specifically charges church leaders to follow his pattern of life, both his faithful teaching and his sacrificial suffering (Acts 20:17–35; 2 Timothy 1:8–2:3). In the world of evangelical missions, it’s common to appeal... Continue Reading
The Chief Ends of Man?
How Westminster weds glory and joy.
The emphasis on personal enjoyment of and communion with Christ goes all the way back to the founding of Puritanism itself. William Perkins, the “father of Puritanism” and author of the first Puritan preaching manual, The Art of Prophesying (prophecy being the old Puritan word for preaching), used the analogy of the preachers as bakers,... Continue Reading
Is “Allah” Just Another Word for God?
Just because “Allah” means “God” in Arabic, that doesn’t mean English speakers should use the term.
“Allah” and “Yahweh” refer to fundamentally different conceptions of God. Allah is one God who exists as one person. Yahweh, however, is one God who exists as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, Allah is a transcendent being and is impossible to know in a personal way. Yahweh, by contrast, is not only... Continue Reading
Grumbling – Minister’s Letter August 2024
If I start grumbling stop me.
There must be some psychological explanation but yawning is contagious. It is the same with grumbling and discontentment. It happens in a marriage, in families and certainly in congregations. Sadly a little grumbling goes a long way. Seeing grumbling for what it is helps us. My grumbling is not just against others or circumstances but... Continue Reading
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