Whenever the “first gay athlete” story breaks it becomes an excuse to strengthen a dozen prejudices in the interest of purportedly breaking through another. The narrative is nice and tidy because it’s already been written. Rinse, blather, repeat. All that’s left is for 72 hours of self-congratulatory punditry and the presumption that no thinking person... Continue Reading

We have died to the dominion of sin, because He died to sin’s dominion. This is something different than that which we get in justification. In justification, we get the guilt of our sin removed, our sins forgiven and Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. In definitive sanctification we undergo a radical breach with sin’s dominion and power. This... Continue Reading

Aside from the fundamental work of caring for the children’s souls, there is the work of caring for their minds and bodies. A mother is a teacher (with the world’s most inquisitive pupils), nutritionist, story teller, kinesiologist, and many more things. Anyone who claims that staying at home with children is boring does not have... Continue Reading

Creating response protocols for churches to follow when a member, pastor, or staff member receives a child sexual abuse disclosure will churches respond consistently in a manner that ultimately protects children. How we respond to abuse disclosures will have lifelong impacts upon the survivor. The Church has a responsibility to make sure its response demonstrates... Continue Reading

“Among the other implications of this text, what does it mean for evangelism? Simply put, it means that the first hurdle, the hurdle of “proving God’s existence” has been cleared. We don’t have to convince anyone of what they already know to be true; we need to help them stop suppressing it. This is not... Continue Reading

Paul rejoiced that his suffering was a benefit to the church. The church is called to imitate Christ. It is called to walk the Via Dolorosa. Paul’s favorite metaphor for the church was the image of the human body. The church is called the body of Christ. In one sense, it is proper to call the... Continue Reading

Calvinism, true Calvinism, is not to blame; but sadly there are Calvinists who are less innocent, who do reduce the problem of evil and suffering to tweetable soundbites which inevitably lack the complexity of the Biblical teaching, who do ignore the whole counsel of God in their teaching and preaching and choice of praise songs.  And I... Continue Reading

 Adoption is a good, right and beautiful thing. It is one of the best ways for us to battle the evil of abortion. It is something gloriously used by God to bring children to Himself–who might otherwise never hear the Gospel–by placing them in Christian homes where they are taught the Scriptures and the Gospel.... Continue Reading

But the idea that NT prophets could make mistakes isn’t persuasive for several reasons. 1.) The burden of proof is on those who say prophecy in the NT is of a different nature than prophecy in the OT. Prophets in the OT were only considered prophets of God if they were infallible (Deut. 18:15-22), and... Continue Reading

But when I write about church discipline, the topic expands into both biblical teachings, particularly ecclesiology, and practical church ministry. A healthy church is ultimately a biblical church. And there should be little debate about the biblical mandate for churches to exercise church discipline.   ThomRainer.com focuses on the local church, pastors and staff, and... Continue Reading