First, notwithstanding the Biblical mandate for male pastoral leadership in the church, women do happen to make up half of church history and have  played a vital role in contending for the faith. But most  church history courses won’t cover these contributions, which is too bad. Neglecting to teach such an important aspect of church... Continue Reading

Fourth Hindrance. I don’t have the time. Wrong. How much time do you spend on social media, television, movie streaming services? Surely there are fifteen minutes you can carve out of every day to spend time in the Word of God. Not every day’s reading will be a profound spiritual experience. But a daily dose... Continue Reading

Is the spirit of Old Princeton finally dead? To this we must answer with a qualified “yes.” To be sure, elements of the Old Princeton legacy persist at a number of evangelical seminaries, but the total package—that breathtaking combination of wide-ranging scholarly attainment, healthy confessionalism, and a balanced view of the nature and authority of... Continue Reading

Submitting to the “wise and fatherly disposal” of God “in every condition” is distasteful in our secular age, where the prevailing bourgeois ideal is the right of the sovereign self to determine its identity and destiny, free from any “rules” or requirements. Denying yourself and submitting to King Jesus, then, is true countercultural living.   What does countercultural Christianity... Continue Reading

“Now that we have been born again, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit long to grace us further. Our justification is complete, but our sanctification is in progress, and we need more grace. And how exactly are we further graced, transformed, improved, encouraged, and spiritually blessed?”   Before we were born, the Father showed grace... Continue Reading

“Many different titles are used in the Old Testament to draw our attention to a particular function of the redeeming work of Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man.”   Shakespeare’s Juliet asks, “What is in a name?” She loved Romeo, regardless of his surname. Despite her wishes to the contrary or her... Continue Reading

“Many pressures we face as parents have more to do with us than they do with our kids. Of course we love our children and want what is best for them, but underneath some of the choices we make, and the pressures we give into without really putting any thought into them, are driven somewhat... Continue Reading

“What does it mean to be content? Paul may have startled his Philippian friends by using a Stoic term for a Christian disposition. Was he hinting that what Stoicism sought—detachment from the disturbances of strong emotions—the gospel alone provides, but without denying or avoiding the reasons for the emotions themselves?”   In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine... Continue Reading

God designed your soul. And He designed you so that, just as a car engine is designed to run on gasoline, you’re designed to run on Him. He is what life is about. All of the disappointments, discouragements, and uncertainties of your life find their resolution in Him. And all of the satisfactions, fun experiences,... Continue Reading

A failure to read systematically through the Bible also tends to generate an atomistic understanding of verses. We may be familiar with what a particular verse says, but we are not aware of its context or its connection to the rest of scripture. This often leads to serious theological error. It also often means we... Continue Reading