How to Avoid a Cult of Personality
To be clear, it's not necessarily a sin to be popular, well-liked, or deeply respected. But how are you seeking to lay attention, power, and control at Jesus's feet?
There is nothing wrong with your people admiring you as their pastor. The problem starts when the healthy admiration morphs into unreflective obedience, fearful retreat, or a messianic complex. For it has been reported to me by Chloe‘s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one... Continue Reading
In Defense of Creationism
A defense of the historical-grammatical approach of interpretation.
Every New Testament author either directly quotes or alludes to Genesis. Dozens of times Adam, Eve, the Serpent, Cain, Abel, Noah, the Flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Lot, Sodom, Gomorrah, and so on, are directly (and indirectly) referenced. They are spoken of as literal historical characters and events, not mythological beings and occurrences. You may... Continue Reading
For Better, For Worse
Don’t fall for the conventional wisdom that sells marriage short.
Sometimes, in fact, there’s so much emphasis on the grim side of things that we’ve lost seeing marriage in the glorious context God intended it. In our grown-up desire to “get real,” we’ve let Satan so disfigure and discolor our ideal picture of marriage that we’ve come to settle for way too little. A... Continue Reading
On the Whole Counsel of God
A further explanation of the "Conservative Christian Declaration."
It is our contention that “gospel minimalism” harms churches, and this not because of what it emphasizes, but because of what it neglects. Therefore, while affirming the place of the gospel as the boundary of fellowship, we want to insist that the whole counsel of God is the center of fellowship, and that pursuit of... Continue Reading
What Macklemore Got Wrong…And Right
The big question is which God you will believe in. The false god of “same love,” or the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ?
So here’s the question for everyone watching the Grammys and wondering what God really thinks about all of this spectacle. Are you going to believe in the God of the Bible and His way of salvation? Or are you going to trust yourself to the god of “same love.” The god of “same love” says... Continue Reading
Two Tales of a Doctrine: Reviewing Definite Atonement
Tom McCall (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and Aaron Denlinger (Reformation Bible College) each provide their own review of the new edited work by David and Jonathan Gibson.
The question of the extent of Christ’s atoning work has been a source of debate for a very long time. From the advance press and glowing recommendations, one might be tempted to think that the release of From Heaven He Came and Sought Her will bring closure to that debate. But I doubt it; I take it... Continue Reading
The Sad Reality of Super Bowl Sunday
The influx of “fun loving” sports fans heading to the Super Bowl creates a huge demand for the services of pimps and their often-reluctant women
Even as teams and fans get set to travel to New York and New Jersey before heading out to MetLife Stadium for this year’s NFL extravaganza, law enforcement officials and advocacy groups are raising awareness with area businesses on how to spot trafficking and what to do about it. It’s a sad state of affairs... Continue Reading
Leithart on Justification and Baptism
"Does the New Testament teach that 'baptism justifies you'? I think the answer is Yes."
However, it is worth pointing out that this article represents a doubling down of error on Leithart’s part, bringing his public teaching more explicitly at odds with the reformed standards (both the Westminster Standards and the 3 Forms of Unity) and, indeed, a fundamental reformational and Protestant understanding of justification. This ought to be sufficient... Continue Reading
Calvin the Liturgist: How ‘Calvinist’ is Your Church’s Liturgy?
Calvin's approach to liturgy, described in The Form of Prayers, was biblically thoughtful and consistent with early church worship.
To achieve this tone of spirituality, said Calvin, simplicity is important. Liturgical practices that call attention to themselves obscure God, kill worship, and subvert the life of faith. One must understand Calvin’s long passages against images, relics, veneration of the saints, sacramental ism, and all human ceremonies as his conscientious effort to restore direct, simple... Continue Reading
Stop Comparing Your Trials
Comparing your trials to someone else’s cuts you off from the comfort God wants to give you in your trial
No matter what we go through, someone out there has faced something that’s more difficult, more intense, more challenging. But that doesn’t change God’s compassion for you in your trial.The God who reveals himself as boundless in compassion and mercy walks with each one of us in our trials, tailor matching the comfort receive to the need of the moment.... Continue Reading