Reformed mission is thoroughly church-oriented. Mission begins with the church (in sending) and ends with the church as disciples are gathered into local assemblies. While the church sends out its best to foreign lands—imagine Paul and Barnabas leaving your church!—conversions occur by God’s grace, and new churches are organized and established. These new churches then... Continue Reading

Whatever else may be said about the ways in which Satan works in the church, of this much we can rest assured, the Gospel is the object of satanic assault. Satan loves to work through the hypocritical lives and censorious spirits of members of the church to pervert the grace of God in Christ in... Continue Reading

The NIV and NET are alone at saying, “Jesus was indignant” (ὀργίζω). The NIV has a footnote, “Many manuscripts Jesus was filled with compassion” (σπλαγχνίζομαι). “Indignant” is a toned-down word for “be angry.” So was Jesus angry or compassionate?   At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he came across a leper who said, “If you are... Continue Reading

How is it, then, that we develop a more reverent esteem for Christ? We do so as we receive and rest upon Him alone as the eternal Son who is greater than the prophets of old.   The author of Hebrews teaches that our perseverance is traceable, in part, to the depth of our appreciation... Continue Reading

This truth about God is worthy of all wonder and adoration. It focuses, indeed, it fixates our praise on One who is entirely unchanging in his praiseworthiness. At no point ought we to expect that God will “let us down” or do something not in keeping with his perfect goodness and wisdom. As the Dutch... Continue Reading

As Paul described his ministry, we are given an example par excellence of the active ministry a pastor should have. Here are five ways you should pray that your elders and especially your minister will bring the truth of God’s Word to bear on the life of your congregation in order to keep the wolves... Continue Reading

We can distinguish between good and bad shepherds by again asking the world’s easiest theological question: “Is it lawful . . . to do good or to do harm?” In the end, good shepherds can readily be identified in one simple way. They, like Jesus, don’t hurt the sheep but do good to them.  ... Continue Reading

Remember, pastor, God requires clarity, not cleverness; doctrinal fidelity, not rhetorical flourish. As others have said, others may be able to preach the gospel better, but they cannot preach a better gospel. You may not be eloquent or effective by the world’s standards, but God may still consider you “able to teach.”   “I just... Continue Reading

 Paraphrasing the words of cultural commentator and theologian David Wells, our society has rapidly lost moral altitude. We’re not merely morally disengaged, adrift, and alienated; we’re morally obliterated. We’re not only morally illiterate; we’ve become morally vacant. The onset of this spiritual rot has come so rapidly that many would say that we’re in a moral... Continue Reading

If Christ died for all in the same way, we forfeit one of the most precious blessings he purchased — the faith by which we are saved — and we rob God of the full glory he deserves. Definite atonement, far from dulling love or blunting evangelism or blurring assurance, sets each ablaze with new... Continue Reading