The rise of persecution against Christians in Iran has served both as a sign of the rapid growth of Christianity within the country and as fuel for further growth. In the 1990s, several key leaders of the church in Iran were killed. One of the most famous martyrs, Mehdi Dibaj, gave a defense before the... Continue Reading

Sometimes what is obvious in a person’s life is sin, but the real problem is suffering, and sometimes what is obvious is suffering but the real problem is sin. This requires you to proceed carefully, with humility and patience, as you come to know people. When in any doubt, lead with God’s compassion for those... Continue Reading

You are quite right to be frustrated when friends in your seminary classes treat the issue only as a juicy controversy into which they can sink their theological teeth. For you, and so many like you, it is a profoundly personal matter demanding pastoral sensitivity and the kind of careful nuance often missing in online... Continue Reading

People can see our growth, perhaps. But they can’t usually see us growing. That slow growth can cause us to ruffle each other’s feathers at times. That Christian friend of ours seems to never be able to grow out of that struggle. It’s been years, and that believer in the church can’t quite get traction in... Continue Reading

Finney instituted the altar call, pleading during that prolonged service for sinners to come forward, kneel at the bench before the platform, confess their sins, and be saved. The New Measures were necessarily bound to Finney’s theology, which was also not only new but an intentional and decided departure from the Calvinism and from the... Continue Reading

There is no defense for such an act. There is no justification. No explicitly Christian theology can ever justify such terror mingled with anti-Semitism or other racial bias and sin. Orthodox Presbyterians know this is not the norm. Racial bias and violence are not taught explicitly or implicitly from its pulpits (at least not in... Continue Reading

If we unpack all of what Scripture teaches about the local church, we’ll find that church membership is in fact in every nook and cranny of the New Testament. In that light, I want to focus on just one aspect of how Scripture talks about the church—the images of the church—and consider how these metaphors... Continue Reading

When studying for my presentation, I wrote this this section of notes last because I did not want to view my study of Scripture through the eyes of my own experience. After completing my study of Paul and Timothy and coming to my conclusions, I thought I’d look at my own life to see if... Continue Reading

Newton reminds his reader that ministers of the Gospel have a diversity of gifts from the Spirit. Check this: Some are more happy in alarming the careless, other in administering consolation to the wounded conscience. Some are set more especially for the establishment and confirmation of the Gospel doctrines; others are skillful in solving casuistical points.... Continue Reading

Bethany Christian Services, a global nonprofit founded in Michigan in 1944 that currently operates in 35 U.S. states, has announced it will facilitate the placement of foster care children into gay and lesbian households in Michigan. The change will not impact other contracts the organization is currently is engaged in.   GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, (LifeSiteNews)... Continue Reading