Identity is an important concept and it’s biblical. There are biblically-sanctioned identities based on traits (“patience,” “kindness,” “faithfulness,”), relationships (“father,” “mother,” “sister,” “brother”), roles, (“friend,” “pastor”), and personal histories (“I became a Christian”). But there are also biblically-condemned identities based on all of the above. Both have eternal consequences (1 Cor 6:9-11). Confuse them at... Continue Reading

The first thing the church should do is to stop excusing its existence and appreciate its own importance and achievements. Christianity has been instrumental in forging the culture of Western civilisations. Most of the world’s great universities were founded by Christians; the church built up the welfare state long before governments took on that responsibility;... Continue Reading

Immanuel, God with us. Not just near us, in some nice palace somewhere. But with us, like ‘in Nazareth’ with us. Jesus of Nowhere, Galilee. He came to be with us, so that He could be for us. And He is forever with us, for He still carries the lowliest of labels. It was all... Continue Reading

Seek to put into practice some of these basic principles. Make use of the resources that willl help you better understand what you are reading. And may God send His Spirit to grant the blessing of inward spiritual illumination as we commit to reading, marking, learning, meditating on, believing, and putting His word to practice... Continue Reading

The cross eats up our shame. So the shame of our sin, though felt, does not belong to us in the same way it would apart from the cross. For this reason, when we hide taboos like this, then we make shame meaningful and confession implausible and love unseeable.   Just hours away from me... Continue Reading

Trump’s not even a deeply religious person, but a kind of lapsed Presbyterian. His marriage to Melania isn’t recognized by her own Catholic Church. So he’s not even a prophet. We have no way of knowing if he is (in Protestant terms) “saved,” or (using Catholic language) in a “state of grace.” He’s just a... Continue Reading

How, then, does the gospel of Jesus Christ speak to this common quest for more? The tenth commandment, “You shall not covet” (Ex. 20:17), gets right to the heart of this matter. Westminster Shorter Catechism 147 identifies the duties required here as a “full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of... Continue Reading

Civil government, Calvin argued, was not a construct of society but was itself ordained by God: “[T]hey have a mandate from God, have been invested with divine authority, and are wholly God’s representatives, in a manner, acting as his vicegerents” (4.20.4). He goes as far as to say that civil authority is “by far the... Continue Reading

Humans demonstrate our fallenness by our never-ending insistence on being autonomous, that is, being free from any and all standard—including God. People don’t naturally want accountability nor a standard to live up to. But that’s what God gave us in the Ten Commandments. That is His righteous standard, so to speak. And for humans, it’s... Continue Reading

The wisdom of the wicked is foolishness before the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. Like Ben-Hadad they may try to take and harm the Christian. They may find out where the Christian is. They may have armies to send after him. But the Lord brings the plans of the wicked to nothing for the wisdom of... Continue Reading