My Marine Buddy’s Witness Led Me to Christ
Don’t underestimate the influence you can have on others for Christ.
Men, who really knows you in your church? Your soul was made for godly masculine intimacy with other Christian men, and with Christ. Take time to pursue it. Heaven and hell really are hanging in the balance. Two audible dings immediately rang out as my cell phone turned on. “Heard you guys lost a... Continue Reading
Why the Church Must Recover a Theology of Life
Abortion rates are rising. The church must step up with a lived theology that proclaims a pro-life ethic.
Our congregations begin to truly mirror the image of God when we move toward broken people instead of away from them. Only that kind of church will meaningfully confront abortion. The Post-Roe Paradox: Why Abortion Rates Are Still Rising On January 27, 1973, a single decision legalized abortion in every state. Almost fifty years... Continue Reading
A Marriage with Christ in the Middle (Colossians 3:18-19)
Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness are all found and pictured in our Lord Jesus Christ.
If Christ is in the middle of a marriage, a wife will gladly submit to her husband, and the husband will gladly love his wife. May God give grace to our marriages today, and may all glory go to Him. Husbands and wives find much in Scripture for how to love and respect one... Continue Reading
An Optimistic Farmer
The sower appears to be more concerned that that a section of good soil might remain unsown, than that the seed might be sown too liberally.
The return on good soil will more than make up for any “wasted seed” along the way. As we preach and promote the gospel, there might indeed be hard soil. But we must, like Jesus, be willing to sow optimistically. The story of the parable of the Parable of the Sower (Mk 4:1–20 and parallels)... Continue Reading
“Praying in the Holy Spirit”: What Does Jude 20 Mean for Christians Today?
In Jude’s context, prayer is directly connected to spiritual perseverance amid false teaching and moral compromise.
In an age of distraction, superficiality, and spiritual confusion, Christians must recover serious, Scripture-shaped, Spirit-dependent prayer. Not theatrical prayer. Not mystical speculation. Not cold formalism. But humble, biblical, Christ-centred communion with the living God. Among the shorter books of the Bible, the letter of Jude contains some remarkably weighty exhortations. Writing to Christians threatened... Continue Reading
Calibrating a Dial or Rendering a Verdict?
How the AIC Improperly Frames the Question
If homosexual desire is a form of “unnatural” desire, then it must be addressed as such. The church must decide whether it will accept or reject it as compatible with ordained office. A verdict must be rendered. The current discussion surrounding ordination and same-sex attraction has largely been framed in terms of degree. How... Continue Reading
Out of the Echo Chamber
Why church politics gets better when we buy each other lunch.
In the end, a presbytery characterized by love shows the world that the Gospel is real. It proves to a broken, divided world that the church can handle intense disagreements without splintering into warring tribes. For many elders, Presbytery and GA meetings can easily feel less like courts of the Lord Jesus Christ and... Continue Reading
What is the Seal of the Holy Spirit?
Some Christians in the first centuries defined the seal of the Spirit as baptism itself.
We might say that baptism is the visible sign of the Spirit’s invisible work within us that tangibly shows God’s seal upon us and his promise to save in the gospel. Paul speaks of the Spirit sealing believers in three texts (2 Cor. 1:21–22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). While interpreters often associate this sealing with... Continue Reading
The Body of Christ: On the Nature of the Church (WCF 25.1–25.6)
The Westminster Confession utterly shatters a low view of the church.
While our experience of the visible church is fallible—flawed, messy, and subject to error—it remains the apple of God’s eye and the earthly expression of Christ’s bride. We must not abandon the visible church, for it is the very place where Christ has promised to meet us, feed us with His Word, and prepare us... Continue Reading
This Is How We Know We Know
The Holy Spirit not only designates a Christian by the knowledge of God, but also characterises knowledge by keeping the commandments.
Religion is not defined by a number of opinions, or by a collection of articles of faith, but rather by practice and obedience to the known will of God. This is because knowledge is a duty in relation to something else—it is instrumental to something else—it is not principally intended for itself, but for obedience.... Continue Reading