My Body, My Choice
Follow the science...or not.
The First and Second Commandments to love God and love our neighbors serve as our life ethic. Regardless of whether we talk about abortion or pandemics, we seek to love God most and lovingly serve others well. Why? Because we respect God and respect the image of God. You’ve heard it. “My Body, My... Continue Reading
The Order of Salvation—The Application of Redemption (Part 5)
Justification does not give us a new nature. Justification gives us a new legal record.
Justification is not progressive, it is instantaneous. It doesn’t change our nature or our condition. It changes our status or our legal record. It is not something that we produce. It is something outside of us. It is not our own righteousness. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. As we’ve been surveying the... Continue Reading
Lockdowns & Online Church: Time to Evaluate?
Taking stock of both the costs and the benefits.
Are we really settled with the idea that the authorities can mandate what we do as a church, who we meet with, what we wear, etc.? Is the plan to do what is commanded, or what is culturally popular, whatever the reason? Or are we making different plans to handle what may still lie ahead... Continue Reading
Ten Words That Changed Everything About My Suffering
God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.
God permits awful things, but (to paraphrase Dorothy Sayers) something so grand and glorious is going to happen in the world’s finale that it will more than suffice for every pain we experienced on this planet. God will exponentially make up for every tear (Psalm 56:8), and will abundantly reward us for every hurt (Romans... Continue Reading
Pragmatism Isn’t the Problem
The problem isn’t only external. The problem lurks in our own hearts.
Faithfulness in ministry may mean displeasing a colleague, a mentor, or a training group that embraces more pragmatic methods. If our solitary aim is to please him who enlisted us (2 Tim. 2:4), we will do well. Faithfulness is its own reward. In The Devil’s Dictionary, the satirist Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) defined dishonesty as “an... Continue Reading
Stop Assuming Jesus Is in Your Corner
People from a wide variety of beliefs hold that Jesus was, at the very least, moving the same direction they are.
No one, most especially his disciples, spent any time around Jesus without being made to feel uncomfortable. That’s a good test of whether we have encountered the Jesus of the Bible: Am I challenged and convicted, as well as loved and saved? If ‘90s trends are truly back, it’s about time we dusted off... Continue Reading
Strange Lyre: The Idols of Intensity and Extemporaneity
Ironically, when we pursue intensity in worship, we have shifted the focus from God Himself to a supposed experience of God.
Errors are only compelling to the degree that they contain some vital truth, now heavily distorted. The truth is that both extemporaneity and some form of intense spiritual experience are part of true, living Christianity. The problem is when the experience of intensity is sought for its own sake, and when the method of extemporaneity... Continue Reading
J. I. Packer on “Impressions”
God ordinarily guides his children in their decision-making through Bible-based wisdom.
Those who are being “led by the Spirit” into humble holiness will also be “led by the Spirit” in evaluating their impressions, and so they will increasingly be able to distinguish the Spirit’s nudges from impure and improper desire. J.I. Packer’s essay, “Guidance: How God Loves Us,” in God’s Plans for Us (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001),... Continue Reading
What Can God Do With Broken Hearts?
His specialty is bringing much from little, beauty from ashes, strength from weakness.
God delights to use what has been broken. He delights to display his power through what is weak, to display his strength through what is small, to display his glory through what has been shattered. God has a special place in his heart for the weak, the weary, the downtrodden, the broken. “Come to... Continue Reading
What Is the Kingdom of God?
The kingdom of God will be ruled by God’s appointed Messiah, who will be not just the Redeemer of His people, but their King.
John Calvin said it is the task of the church to make the invisible kingdom visible. We do that by living in such a way that we bear witness to the reality of the kingship of Christ in our jobs, our families, our schools, and even our checkbooks, because God in Christ is King over... Continue Reading
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