Exchange of Letters on Sanctification and Expectations of Transformation
A minister and a Session exchanges on the doctrine of sanctification and its expectations for transformation of heart, mind and behavior.
There is no disagreement in the PCA that sin remains in this life, or that glorification comes only at the coming of Christ. The debate is whether progress in holiness is essential to our definition of Christian, or in different words, whether a person can be plagued with homosexual desire (or any other sin) unmitigated,... Continue Reading
Isn’t He Beautiful?
The message is striking but clear: Israel meets God in its Personal Mediator at Huge Expense!
It is hard to imagine that the writer to the Hebrews was cold, indifferent, or “matter-of-fact”, when he describes the Lord Jesus Christ – it is with glowing worship he depicts the Eternal Son of God, who took human flesh to Himself, to put our guilt to death: He is the God-appointed, Spirit-anointed, never-dying, ever-living,... Continue Reading
About Those Prophecies of Trump’s Re-election
There are now relevant standards and sanctions in Scripture to apply to prophesiers and their overseers.
In the NT, we do read of prophetic ministries in the churches that failed. Christ’s letter to the church in Thyatira (Rev 2:18-29) presents just such a case, and it’s not presented as an isolated concern. Pointedly, Christ makes Thyatira an example from which “all the churches” should learn (2:23). Of course, the issue at... Continue Reading
The Pain of Fatherlessness
In our genderless affirming culture, there are growing calls to abandon traditional roles for men and women, mothers, and fathers.
As the number of out-of-wedlock births reaches 40% in the United States (73% in black community) the idea that women don’t need men to father a child has become an epidemic. The statistics in this category are shocking as poverty rates, educational delinquency, and sexual abuse soars for the children of these homes. Every area... Continue Reading
Reaping the Woke Church We Have Sown
The American churchgoer is trained to view the church with the sole purpose of making people happy, commonly labeled as moralistic therapeutic deism.
The remaking a Christianity without standards has been a deadly project. Now we are faced with culture demanding that happiness equates with the freedom to marry the same sex, the freedom to identify with whatever gender one decides, and freedom to obliterate distinctions between men and women. Further, intersectionality and critical race theory demand full... Continue Reading
How to Pray When the Wicked Prosper: Wisdom from the Psalms
The nations and their rulers will continue to rage against Jesus and His kingdom until Jesus wipes them out in final judgment. Set your expectations accordingly.
Prayer doesn’t usually change our situation immediately, but it changes us. We grow in trust of our sovereign God, and take refuge that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9). Our situation may stay the same or... Continue Reading
When God Says No To Earnest Prayers, Pt. 2
The Lord’s no is always His yes to our greater need.
When we pray, we want Jesus to act immediately, don’t we? We want Him to relieve our pain, to take away our sorrow. Instantly! We want answers now, not later. We want relief today, not tomorrow. Waiting is not our strong suit, especially in our “give-it-to-me-now” culture. And yet our Lord, because of His great... Continue Reading
Don’t Drop the Rock!
Sin is never simple. Sin is never harmless. Sin is always selfish, always an occasion of harm not only to the sinner but to the whole church.
This puts the call on every well-known pastor, every high-demand conference speaker, every bestselling author, to see their popularity as sacred, to see their integrity as essential, to know the importance of battling hard against the first stirrings of the least sin. For they must know that the destruction that would come with their fall... Continue Reading
Did You Enjoy Your Singing on Sunday? Did God Enjoy It Too?
The sound of the church is often the sound of the band. It might be loud, but is it excellent?
The motive of our worship must be consistently examined. Why do you crave a certain kind of worship? The cancer of church consumerism teaches families to move from one church to another separated by just a couple of miles because one church offers a more “exciting” song selection, a more passionate band, or a larger... Continue Reading
More Voices From the Past on Loving God
For love to correspond to God’s love, it must be accorded to the right objects according to their value and nature, and thereby be of the right degree and kind.
The so-called “worship wars”, whether ancient or modern, largely are debates over what is appropriate love for God, and what is not. Whether it be the matter of images, the order of the Mass, the use of an organ, singing in the vernacular, the presence of an altar, the presence of statues, crucifixes or candles... Continue Reading
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 866
- 867
- 868
- 869
- 870
- …
- 1551
- Next Page »