“Let’s get more specific, calling out a point where most of us smugly disagree with Jesus.  And I don’t mean just those outside the church! From pastors to parishioners, we find ourselves less than eager to talk about a subject Jesus demands we address candidly. We dodge his call, but his message and our avoidance... Continue Reading

“To begin with, Judges shows us that Israel descended into calamity when it moved away from living by faith in the Word of God to living by sight in the wisdom and values of the world. As we see in Judges 2–3, Israel rapidly descended into gross sin and disobedience, serving the statues and altars... Continue Reading

One way to say yes to this question is to believe in corporate guilt, or imputed intergenerational guilt. Todd Pruitt, a PCA minister who voted for the overture to “repent of corporate and historical sins” nevertheless doubted whether such corporate guilt made theological sense.   Does it make sense to repent of someone else’s sins?... Continue Reading

“It is right that we let these convictions grow over time as we spend time in the Bible, and learn from mentors, from experience, from life.  In this post I’d like to flag up one of these convictions.”   A preaching ministry is built on a whole set of convictions.  Convictions about God, the Gospel,... Continue Reading

“Shame can be another term for unbelief in God’s love for you in Christ. It’s one thing to believe that your sin has been removed from you; it’s quite another to believe that there is a divine love that can never be removed from you.”   1. Shame is different from guilt. Ed Welch, a... Continue Reading

“Give Him the time of day to speak to the exact issue that troubles your soul. After all, He was the only man to ever claim God-hood, die a sure death on a cross and prove His divinity by rising three days later from the grave. Trust me; this man; this God-man can handle your... Continue Reading

Don’t rush to judgment. It’s easy to think after a few minutes on the internet that we are experts on the Supreme Court, police training, what cops are really like, what Black Lives Matter is really about, why there are so many shootings in Chicago, and how each new tragedy could have been prevented. Let’s... Continue Reading

Supposedly America is in moral decay, for which there’s much evidence. But then there always has been. A quote has long been attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville saying 180 years ago that America is great because America is good. He never said it, but pretend he did. In the 1830s millions of Americans were slaves,... Continue Reading

What must you do to be saved? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” He is the Passport to heavenly citizenship. He gives you title to belong to God’s people. When God looks down and sees Christ is your hope and sees Christ is in you, He re-classifies you: “My people.” “I will say to... Continue Reading

Now, Paul is not speaking here of a mercenary transaction. We’re not trying to earn Christ’s favor by accumulating some level of merit. No, by virtue of Christ’s own righteousness counted to be ours through faith alone, we already have His favor. The supreme ambition of the Christian is not to earn righteousness, but, as... Continue Reading