The Christian realizes that before God he or she possesses no “rights” by nature. In our sinfulness, we have forfeited all of our “rights.”   It was years ago now, but I still remember the discussion. I was making my way out of our church building some time after the morning service had ended, and... Continue Reading

When we have the word hidden in our hearts, we won’t easily be satisfied with falsehood and contradictions. In order to be discerning, we need to know our Bibles.   Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.— Charles H. Spurgeon When it... Continue Reading

The superiority of Western culture can be objectively demonstrated when cultures are appraised based on the only befitting standard for judging a society or culture—the extent to which its core values are life affirming or antilife.   Relativism, the idea that truth is a historically conditioned notion that does not transcend cultural boundaries, has existed... Continue Reading

The church has the true message for reconciliation in this world: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church has the true model for reconciliation in this world: the one new humanity found in Jesus Christ.   The name Benedict Arnold is forever associated with treason. What most people don’t know is that Benedict Arnold was... Continue Reading

Christian fellowship and unity are vital, but so too is Christian truth. When bad behavior or bad beliefs are being allowed to go unchecked, Scripture makes it clear that this needs to be called out, and if need be, fellowship may need to be broken.   When there are serious differences on serious issues, how... Continue Reading

Take cheer, troubled one—the Lord’s work is not done. The same Lord that used the cross for the redemption of the world is at work in your trials for His greater purposes. In this, we can have joy.   Like the inhospitable cold corridors of the emergency hallways we entered, so were the years of trials... Continue Reading

The Catechism summarizes for us the high expectations of the holy God and lays those expectations on all. There are none who do not sin. Though some sins are more heinous than others, no sin, no matter how seemingly inconsequential to us, escapes the judgment of God. This brew has a bitter, terrible taste. And... Continue Reading

Think with me about this unique ministry of your Savior, friends. Certainly, while on earth, Jesus tended his lambs; was near to the downcast and brokenhearted; and sought out those of his who were lost. It could easily be said during his humiliation, that Christ sought to sustain the weary with the word of the... Continue Reading

“The ethnic and cultural boundary between the Jews and the Samaritans,” J. Daniel Hays writes, “was every bit as rigid and hostile as the current boundary between Blacks and Whites in the most racist areas of the United States” (From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race, 163). Hays’s excellent book alerted me... Continue Reading

Brilliant theological minds have differed on the precise definition of the image, but I think it’s best to contend for a holistic view. The image of God is structural, relational, and functional. To put it concisely, the image of God is the essential and unique quality of human beings whereby we reflect and represent God in the context of meaningful relationship with... Continue Reading