Does God promise me a suffering free life? No. But he does promise to be with me, step for step, as I walk through the Valley of Death (Ps. 23:4). He promises that I will not be burned when I walk through the fire (Is. 43:2). He promises to work and weave every circumstance together... Continue Reading

The Greek word most often translated as “forgive” in the New Testament is aphiemi, which can mean to cancel or pardon, give up, leave alone, tolerate, even (in one case) divorce. The overall sense is of letting go. Charizomai, used far less frequently, has more muscle: to repair brokenness, particularly by incurring the cost. The... Continue Reading

What Paul is saying when he insists that all of the scripture has been breathed out by God, he is saying that it’s ultimate origin is in Him. It is His word. It is His speech. He is the One who is the source of these writings. And so when we talk about the doctrine... Continue Reading

Is it okay to leave a church for financial reasons? The Bible clearly teaches that we are to manage our household well (1 Timothy 3:4-5). That management includes the financial stewardship we have been entrusted. In that sense, if someone cannot provide for his family, it is likely okay to seek another church. The pastor,... Continue Reading

Any peace and hope we have in our lives right now can be traced back to the fact that God alone is God, that he is the sovereign power behind everything. And this has future-creating wonder. God’s sovereignty, John Piper explains, is not mainly a theological problem with the past, but an invincible hope for... Continue Reading

You may have prepared all week, you may really want to preach, but we need moments in our life and ministry that remind us of our frailty and that we are expendable. God can use someone else besides you in this moment even if you thought all week you were the man for the task.... Continue Reading

Let me provide an example. It has become a truism among some to identify traditional Reformed worship as “western.” Its stodgy order, its music, its wordy intellectualism, its emotional restraint, are all “western.” This is stated as an accusation needing defense by traditionalists. Reformed worship is western, and so, because the church’s membership is increasingly... Continue Reading

The Church is a divinely ordered society with divinely ordered worship. In its local expressions it will naturally differ but scripture does not permit it to ape the culture in which it ministers (2 Cor. 6:14-18). That the Church’s teaching and worship will be foreign to those outside is inevitable. Not only is it counterproductive... Continue Reading

So why the bust up over homosexuality when the most important things have already been made matters over which we can institutionally agree to differ? I suspect the answer is the yuck factor. Homosexuality is, or perhaps better was, revolting to a certain generation. It disgusted them in a way that polite, educated men denying... Continue Reading

Older liberal Christians have assumed that a younger generation of evangelical Christians, who are clearly more liberal politically than their generally Republican parents, will join them on the theologically liberal, desacralizing side of the church. What is actually happening, though, may be more complicated than this. Younger Christians who are keeping the faith are often... Continue Reading