If asking Presbyterians to be evangelical commits Presbyterian adherents to religious practices at odds with or different from the Reformed faith’s churchly piety, then being an evangelical may actually be a curse rather than a blessing. The reason is that Presbyterians intent on being evangelical may end up abandoning the very practices that have been... Continue Reading

Paul taught that everyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). He did not say, “Just the awkward, hyper-spiritual, loud-mouthed-and-lacking-love believer.” He said all. And to help us, God gave us a book full of godly, yet hated men and women pursuing righteousness.   A liberating truth... Continue Reading

If Arianism were to rear its head today, it’d likely gain acceptance rather quickly because there would be few pastor-theologians willing to speak against it as forcefully, passionately—and yes, harshly—as Athanasius. We’d thoughtfully debate the issue with our “peers” while the heresy infected our flocks. Unlike the bishop of Alexandria, we wouldn’t risk being exiled... Continue Reading

Packer then made the connection between Lloyd-Jones the apothecary and his affinity for Puritanism when he wrote, “One thing that delighted him about the Puritan writers was that they, too, in their character as physicians of the soul (their own phrase to describe themselves), were thorough in diagnostic analysis within the frame of their profound... Continue Reading

One final point I’d like to make addresses a very specific complaint launched by the Revoice set. It’s the idea that celibacy is some great burden or sacrifice that churches are laying on homosexuals in a pharisaical manner. First and foremost, this is utter poppycock. Churches who demand that homosexuals and the unmarried live a... Continue Reading

The definition of non-sexual gayness emerging at Revoice is theologically problematic since (with a great deal of theological ignorance) it creates a third category of human sexuality, denying the biblical, ontological principle of distinctions (what I call Twoism). God is separate from his creation and has placed distinctions in his creation, one of which is the male/female... Continue Reading

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) will be completed. Only it won’t be completed by American churches. The Holy Spirit is passing the baton on to others. Countries that were formerly missionary-receiving countries have become missionary-senders. Which is why I stay in Malawi, training the leaders of this new movement of God.       Today’s... Continue Reading

Should we not make every effort to prevent misunderstanding by clarity in our own words? And yet shouldn’t we also be very generous (or at the very least patient!) in how we read other people’s actions and words? Yet we live today in a society that tends to encourage people to put the onus of... Continue Reading

When skiers fall fast, it is much easier to get up, much easier to continue without being hauled off the course in a stretcher and unable to ski for months. In the same way, when leaders are continually unrepentant, a season comes when they are sidelined. It would be so much better to fall fast.... Continue Reading

“Even in a society dominated by images and video, words remain the battleground for sexual purity. Every illicit image whispers a lie and makes a promise it cannot keep. By listening to the words of God and knowing him with fear and affection, we are prepared to prove that sexual sin’s promises are untrustworthy and... Continue Reading