There is almost a cottage industry of guys whose seeming job is to give everyone a lecture soon after any stretch of time when error gets publicly called out. Calling out the guys who call others out is a predictable (and absolutely ironic) part of the life cycle of any controversy in modern theological discourse,... Continue Reading

Our American culture today says “I’m okay; you’re okay.” Labeling something as “judging” can be a very quick way to silence almost any sort of disagreement or disapproval. But again, it is simply impossible to follow our culture’s logic consistently so that we refuse to morally disapprove of any sort of action. The fact is... Continue Reading

Follow your heart. That’s the worst advice you could ever give anyone. That assumes that our heart is the ultimate authority in our lives. That our heart won’t mislead us. That our heart knows what is best and right and true. But for believers in Jesus, we know, or eventually come to know, that our... Continue Reading

Jesus didn’t die so we could achieve the American Dream, but so that we could inherit immeasurable riches in the presence of God for eternity. Jesus didn’t die so we could create our own little social/political kingdoms in this age, but so that we would rejoice in the coming kingdom of the next. Jesus didn’t... Continue Reading

Still, I wonder if in our encouragement to mothers, we might have developed a touch of socio-economic myopia. In our attempts to support each other, have we ignored other types of difficult work? Have we so hallowed this calling that we’ve failed to remember that many, many people work quiet, thankless, exhausting jobs? Many, many people struggle through their... Continue Reading

The creeds and confessions are also beneficial because they provide a public standard for church discipline. They provide an objective standard to evaluate teaching and protect members from being excommunicated and shunned without any biblical steps of reconciliation simply because of personal differences or disagreements with the pastor. They are also useful in witnessing to... Continue Reading

“I recognize that my views on marriage are out of sync with our wider culture and that as a consequence I am likely to be accused of bigotry and homophobia. This is a small price to pay for remaining faithful to Jesus and no less than we should expect as his followers (Matt 5:11-12). It... Continue Reading

“While other theological and politically liberal groups have addressed questions relating to African American experiences, we have yet to see this happen on a broad scale from a Christian and Reformed theological perspective. Further, we have yet to see this kind of work being done by African Americans themselves in any sustained and widespread way.”... Continue Reading

“Good church historians avoid the temptation of refusing to draw instruction from the figures and events of church history. Historians can be so committed to locating their subjects in their discrete historical contexts that they fail to remember that their subjects are participants in one common human history and therefore that they are able to... Continue Reading

“Let us think about how Christ fulfilled the Law and the prophets. To fulfill means to take up to the full capacity or to totally provide for the need. Thus when Christ says I have come to fulfill the Law, he means that he came with the purpose of living up to the full capacity... Continue Reading