Consider the opposite theological position which affirms that God elects people based on some kind of forseen faith. If God already knows who will be saved even before He creates them, then such a reality (their salvation) is fixed and cannot be otherwise. Thus God would be wasting His time to try to convert persons whom He knows will never come to faith.

The coming of Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and that the Devil will seize every opportunity to trumpet his own celebrity. Perhaps the best response to the Devil at Halloween is that offered by Martin Luther, the great Reformer: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn.”

Every catechism, by reason of human weakness and time and space and an editor’s whims, is limited. The NCC is no different, of course. But it’s helpful to consider its limitations in light of its objectives. Keller introduces the NCC as a catechism which maintains what he characterizes as the three historic aims of catechisms.

I think it is imprudent for a pastor to endorse either candidate for President of the United States, since neither is likely to uphold clear biblical teaching as the guide for his government. This does not mean, however, that there are no important differences between the candidates and the parties. There are, I believe, clear matters where policy commitments can be seen to be generally supportive of or hostile to a biblical worldview. In cases where a candidate’s stated policies are directly contrary to God’s Word, such evil plans should not be supported by Christian votes.

I pastor a church filled with people in the Intelligence Community. When it comes to what exactly they do, I don’t ask and they don’t tell. Why? Because then they’d have to kill me.

Imagine this: your father commits a heinous crime. As hard as it is to think about, you know the evidence is conclusive. He willfully and deliberately stalked a woman he did not know. He picked her at random, followed her, and then he brutally raped her. Or imagine something worse. He committed an even worse... Continue Reading

There are men entering the pastorate because they have great gifts for making things happen and great passion for changing their communities, but they should not be pastors because they cannot teach and have little patience for loving an actual congregation. I’m not at all convinced that our pastors are prepared to preach good sermons and shepherd a congregation.

I would look at precisely what kind of divorce lawyer this Christian is. If he is an “ABC easy divorce for $125″ advertisement sort of lawyer, who is seeking to entice people into divorcing for his financial gain, then, yes, that’s unjust and outside of what it means to follow Christ. But I wouldn’t assume that’s the case.

What are the implications of all this for the 2012 election?  These complexities suggest that it is impractical to apply confessional criteria to political candidates.  As is often pointed out, we are electing a President, not a national pastor.  Ultimately, the decision for whom to vote should be made on other grounds, and the “Christian... Continue Reading

Underestimated light. Nothing compares to the Word of God for true illumination. The faint gleams of natural revelation and human reason are light, to be sure, but they are distant candles to the present white light of God’s holy Word. And yet how ready we are to wander around in the gloom, imagining that we... Continue Reading