Assurance and presumption also differ in their motives and basis. Assurance comes from the Spirit of God working through the Word of God to produce spiritual comfort (Rom. 15:4). Presumption comes from a natural understanding of regeneration, which cannot be spiritually understood without the Spirit’s work (John 3:10). Presumption leans at least in part upon... Continue Reading

Yet I have heard stories of women who were told to go back and submit no matter what their husbands did, while still maintaining a reverential attitude toward their abusers. There may have been some exceptions if there was a pattern of violence, but never permanent freedom from the abuser. And what makes a pattern?... Continue Reading

Of course it goes without saying that passion for evangelism and a desire to reach more people is of vast importance and should never be set aside. Every individual in the church must continue to strive for reaching the lost, but we must remember that at the same time dissatisfaction in ministry is harmful and... Continue Reading

The Church in America has been spared from the worst consequences of persecution by the Lord, so much so that we have come to view such mercy as a right we deserve instead of a kind Providence from a loving God. As American Christians, we must understand this because even though we are (and should... Continue Reading

In his brilliant book How Societies Remember, social anthropologist Paul Connerton says that every revolutionary regime has to suppress, even exterminate, the symbol system that keeps the people it wishes to rule bound to old ways of thinking. The forces of revolution have to deprive the ruled of their memories: “All totalitarianisms behave in this... Continue Reading

“By sealing us in person, God both claims us and gives us claim on Him. The Holy Spirit came on Pentecost to possess the new people of God; at the same time, He gave Himself to be their possession, their inheritance.”   The figure of a roaring lion stretches across the little jasper seal. In ancient... Continue Reading

Those who opposed theonomy in 1976 were right, so why have they now embraced those who teach the Federal Vision? As I have written before, my opposition to the Federal Vision is because of my love of the gospel. It does not matter how loudly someone says that all they are trying to do is... Continue Reading

“How then should Christians think about corporate apology and repentance? My short answer: as a careful, genuinely corporate exercise there can be great value in approving statements of shared repentance, but as a genre of complaint and rebuke, public apologies are normally misguided and misleading.”   It’s been a busy season for public apology and... Continue Reading

“The creative arts have trouble doing abortion advocacy because of that deeply held universal view that killing innocent, unborn children is not exactly heroic. Comedians, who are dark people willing to joke about death, can’t even do it well. Here are a few examples.”   One thing that the abortion movement has going for it... Continue Reading

“It should be a non-negotiable rule, a canon of Christian discourse if you like, that if a brother has a concern about another brother’s theology, he should first speak with him personally and certainly out of the public gaze. There may come a time when it will be necessary to make the concern public, but... Continue Reading