4 Things Jesus Didn’t Die For
Because of the lack of clarity regarding Jesus’ death, deceitful doctrines have crept into our churches.
Jesus didn’t die so we could achieve the American Dream, but so that we could inherit immeasurable riches in the presence of God for eternity. Jesus didn’t die so we could create our own little social/political kingdoms in this age, but so that we would rejoice in the coming kingdom of the next. Jesus didn’t... Continue Reading
Hard Labor
I’m concerned that we might be losing the ability to imagine other people’s difficulties because we’ve become so consumed with our own.
Still, I wonder if in our encouragement to mothers, we might have developed a touch of socio-economic myopia. In our attempts to support each other, have we ignored other types of difficult work? Have we so hallowed this calling that we’ve failed to remember that many, many people work quiet, thankless, exhausting jobs? Many, many people struggle through their... Continue Reading
Creeds and Confessions: Biblical and Beneficial
The creeds and confessions are the official public faith of the Reformed churches.
The creeds and confessions are also beneficial because they provide a public standard for church discipline. They provide an objective standard to evaluate teaching and protect members from being excommunicated and shunned without any biblical steps of reconciliation simply because of personal differences or disagreements with the pastor. They are also useful in witnessing to... Continue Reading
More Trouble For Mars Hill: Cutting Jobs, Merging Churches
Mars Hill church says financial issues have led it to consolidate or close some of its branches, including three in Seattle, and it plans to lay off some employees.
The church, which had blossomed to 15 branches in five states and had followers around the world, also plans to cut 30 to 40 percent of its paid staff of about 100. That staff already had seen layoffs last spring and a string of departures in recent weeks by pastors angry or uneasy about the... Continue Reading
Should I Attend A Same-Sex Wedding?
Sooner or later, every Christian must decide whether or not to attend a same-sex wedding
“I recognize that my views on marriage are out of sync with our wider culture and that as a consequence I am likely to be accused of bigotry and homophobia. This is a small price to pay for remaining faithful to Jesus and no less than we should expect as his followers (Matt 5:11-12). It... Continue Reading
On Local Churches And The Sovereignty of God
We affirm the primacy of the local church in the conservation and nourishment of biblical Christianity
“Pastors and teachers preach and teach the Word, equipping the members of the body to build one another up to maturity. To each member is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. In these actual, gathered communities, God’s people can learn by experience what is excellent. Of course, if these assemblies pass... Continue Reading
What Are Church Historians Good For?
Church historians make at least two key contributions to Christian theology and life
“Good church historians avoid the temptation of refusing to draw instruction from the figures and events of church history. Historians can be so committed to locating their subjects in their discrete historical contexts that they fail to remember that their subjects are participants in one common human history and therefore that they are able to... Continue Reading
Christ And The Law
There is no dissociation made by Jesus between the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament or the Law of God from the Old Testament or New Testament
“Let us think about how Christ fulfilled the Law and the prophets. To fulfill means to take up to the full capacity or to totally provide for the need. Thus when Christ says I have come to fulfill the Law, he means that he came with the purpose of living up to the full capacity... Continue Reading
Are Those Who Have Never Heard of Christ Going to Hell?
Nothing is more terrifying to contemplate than any human being going to hell
“Every human being knows that there is a God and that He is accountable to God. Yet every human being disobeys God. Why does Paul start his exposition of the gospel at that point? What he’s trying to do, and what he develops in the book of Romans, is this: Christ is sent into a... Continue Reading
The Marriage Bed For The Exhausted Wife
For the wife who is struggling with joyfully connecting with her husband sexually, you are not alone
“A sexless marriage is a dangerous place to be for both the husband and the wife. For the husband or the wife, fighting lust towards others could be much more difficult. The wife will likely feel distant from her husband. Together, the couple will become more like business partners or roommates than like Christ and... Continue Reading