I appreciate the catholic approach that Bates brought to his work Beyond the Salvation Wars. Some critiques of his work have been largely knee-jerk reactions. But in reality, we should do our best to consider what the Bible says about salvation and how we might talk with other communions.   Augustine writes, “grace … is... Continue Reading

While our world sees gossip as something akin to a naughty pleasure, the Scriptures warn us that it is truly wicked. Indeed, the apostle Paul repeatedly warns us that those who give themselves to it are under the judgment of God.   I was recently given Matthew’s C. Mitchell’s short book Resisting Gossip by a... Continue Reading

What I found in Van Til was a profound and refreshingly biblical explanation of the unbeliever’s heart and mind (Rom. 1:18–23)—a revelation (to me) of a fundamental aspect of biblical anthropology. Unbelievers are truth-suppressors. They know the true God, but they suppress that truth through their unrighteous behavior. Their thinking is futile, their hearts are... Continue Reading

The epistle to the Hebrews cites a passage from Psalm 22 that we wouldn’t expect. This isn’t the cry of dereliction on the cross, nor is it the declaration of resurrection, nor is it the future look towards nations and generations being saved. But it’s a line that you may have missed. “I will tell... Continue Reading

Smith’s critique is rigorous yet compassionate. He shows how many, like those with an intersex condition, are harmed when the culture adopts transgender theory. He also recognizes that real people experience gender dysphoria and that the gospel can help. The arguments about transgenderism have real-world implications. This is the most thorough evangelical analysis of transgender... Continue Reading

Christians who have not read The Pilgrim’s Progress have not experienced one of God’s best gifts to His church. Heaven may reveal how God used this little book to sustain many a pilgrim to the very end.   It was written in prison. It has never been out of print since its first publication in 1678.... Continue Reading

A study of the construction of places of Yahweh-worship, including primitive altars, the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and The Second Temple all anticipate a future and final temple that would be made without human hands.   The virgin birth of Christ has always been proclaimed as a doctrine to be believed by the church. It is... Continue Reading

Natural theology does not begin from atheistic anthropology, according to which man does not possess an innate idea of God. Natural theology begins from the common epistemic faculties of human beings and the evidence of the external world. Together, Vos argues, these provide all people, whatever their ideological presuppositions, with testimony of God.   Even before attending... Continue Reading

A Christian can defeat himself in two ways: one is to forget the holiness of God and the fact that sin is sin. The Bible calls us to an ever deeper commitment in giving ourselves to Christ for Him to produce His fruit through us. The other is to allow himself to be worn out... Continue Reading

What if Agnes Shankle had stayed silent? What if she had simply gone with the pulpit committee’s judgment? What if she had thought, “Who am I to speak up? I’m just a Sunday school teacher.” In the entire one-hundred-and-fifty years of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, this might prove to be the most decisive moment. Had... Continue Reading