All other subjects that students in higher education study can be seen as potentially contributing to human happiness by improving the lives of the students and of wider society in a variety of different ways….However, only theology can tell you about the true and lasting happiness that comes from a right relationship with God through... Continue Reading

Believers, being renewed in the image of their Creator and sharing equal standing before Christ, must completely abandon former destructive behaviors—especially deceptive speech—which undermine unity in God’s family.   A father, wanting to teach his young son about the impact of anger, gave him a bag of nails and instructed him to hammer a nail... Continue Reading

In a connected world, digital discipleship includes practising disconnection. Perhaps it’s not time to throw your phone in the river just yet, but do consider switching it off.   We live in a deeply connected world. There are some signs that geopolitically that might be changing, but individually it’s as true as ever. The distraction... Continue Reading

The Lord’s Day is a weekly reminder that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It carries us from creation to consummation, from glory to eschatological glory. It is the memorial of God’s mighty acts, so it is fitting that on that day the Church... Continue Reading

Fellow pastors, beware of the danger of the ordinary Sunday. Protect your heart. As Solomon says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Don’t allow the challenges of leadership to let you grow calloused toward God or God’s people. It is the ordinary Sundays that contain the snares that... Continue Reading

Is Rome’s baptism perfect? Hardly. Can it be improved? Absolutely. Is Rome’s baptism ideal or recommended? Surely not. But does it remain valid? Yes, and for that reason, people who’ve been baptized in Rome should not be re-baptized. They should instead trust that divine intentions and divine grace outmatch Rome’s with every drop of baptismal... Continue Reading

Justice and mercy are not opposites but partners in the pursuit of human dignity and flourishing. To live well is to walk the narrow path between them—holding fast to what is right, while never losing sight of compassion.   Humans possess an innate sense of justice—a truth recognized by philosophers since antiquity and confirmed by... Continue Reading

When we pray for God to tear down those obstacles that hinder the Kingdom from a full advance, we do well. God truly does hate such things. But, at the same time, it may be that one of those sinful enemies of ours who despises God, who we in turn hate with perfect hatred, is... Continue Reading

Paul says to the Thessalonian believers, “You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers” (1 Thess. 2:10). The one who called himself the foremost of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) was not attempting to describe himself as perfect, but he did recognize an important tool for... Continue Reading

What can the living do?  One thing the Bible does say is that we are to love our enemies.  This does not mean we must have good feelings toward them, or to plead for a non-capital punishment.  It does mean that we can preach the gospel to them, and pray that God will grant them... Continue Reading