Tempted On All Points?
The temptations that Jesus faced continually pushed him to the maximum of his mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual capacity and did so for lengthy periods of time
“Jesus did not need to experience every single temptation possible, but only a sufficiently large representative sample that enabled Him to comprehend and understand every possible temptation in the world. In that sense we can say that He was tempted on all points through a sufficient sample, yet without sin.” Here’s John Piper’s answer... Continue Reading
On The Path To The Cancer Ward
I’ve discovered that grief travels in three directions: past, present, and future
“The aim of Steve’s chemo is curative, they keep reminding us. I think it’s to help us “stay positive”. It doesn’t help much. Doctors are relatively confident about colorectal tumors, and that’s how they’re treating Steve’s small bowel cancer—but no one knows much about this rare disease.” There’s a chemical smell that hits you... Continue Reading
Conservative Evangelical Leader Appointed Bishop of Maidstone
The next Bishop of Maidstone will be the Reverend Prebendary Roderick Thomas
The Reverend Prebendary Rod Thomas said: “It is both a privilege and a challenge to be asked to become a Bishop in the Church of England. The prospect of serving as the Bishop of Maidstone is similarly both exciting and daunting, and so I ask for prayer that God will give me the necessary strength... Continue Reading
Van Gogh Isn’t the Only One Missing an Ear
Compassion doesn’t mean that we should be comfortable with sin and error
“Maybe if we didn’t focus on the language that turns people off, we could present Christianity as the best choice and less of a stumbling block. There have also been appeals to the compassion of Jesus when dealing with sinners. But compassion never compromises truth.” Confronting someone who is in sin or error with... Continue Reading
The Real Miracle
This is the real miracle – that God would save us, redeem us and use us in His Kingdom
“The continuation of the Christian life is also a miracle. When I was a very young believer, a friend said to me, “It’s a miracle that we desire to come together with the church to worship God each Sunday.” I thought about that statement for months. At first, I wasn’t sure that I agreed with it.”... Continue Reading
The Sin of Ham
As I've gotten older, I think I have developed a greater sympathy for the sins and shortcomings of my fathers in the faith.
We are faced with two temptations in dealing with our fathers, whether our biological fathers or our fathers in the faith. Particularly regarding our fathers in the faith, the one temptation is hagiography, treating them as if they were perfect and had no sin. The other is to focus in their sin alone, as if... Continue Reading
Is Christianity Dying?
Christianity isn’t normal anymore, and that’s good news.
People who don’t want Christianity, don’t want almost-Christianity. Almost-Christianity looks in the mainline like something from Nelson Rockefeller to Che Guevara at prayer. Almost Christianity, in the Bible Belt, looks like a God-and-Country civil religion that prizes cultural conservatism more than theological fidelity. Either way, a Christianity that reflects its culture, whether that culture is... Continue Reading
Wanted: A Teaching Church
The heartbeat of the Christian ministry and of the Christian life is a teaching church
The Bible is the Word of God. All Bible-believing evangelical churches affirm this. In historic Protestantism, there is a theology of the Word that not only professes sola Scriptura but also professes the sufficiency of Scripture for all things concerning doctrine, worship, and godliness. What the church of the twenty-first century needs to be is a... Continue Reading
“All Things” – Do We Really Believe It?
In despair, I look not to my own heart or to the world around me. I look to Christ.
Has God kept these promises? Yes, in Christ! So, if God has kept every promise in Christ, He will keep every promise made in Christ. Some days, life seems unbearably painful and confusing. Some days the world seems to be spinning out of control. Some days, I wonder how the sin in my own heart... Continue Reading
What to Do About Moralistic Therapeutic Deism?
There is no getting around the necessity for sound Christian doctrine.
Dean posits a false dichotomy when she insists that the purpose of instruction in the faith “is not primarily to foster beliefs about Jesus but the cultivation of trust in him.” She has little use for apologetics upholding the truth of the Gospel. Instead the Princeton professor favors a kind of Christian testimony that “neither... Continue Reading