God’s Grace in Substitution
God showed them such grace, yet they never truly turned to him in faith.
1 Kings 18 is not only a demonstration that our God is the true God. It is a picture of atonement, of God providing a sacrifice instead of pouring his judgement out on our heads. We should always be astounded at the depth of God’s love for people like us. The top of Mt... Continue Reading
The Cost of Diversity
There is an actual cost to make the diverse body of Christ possible. But ultimately, that cost is not ours, but Christ’s.
We should praise God for the diversity of people brought together in the body of Christ. The “successful” people like Lydia, the people with lots of baggage like the slave girl, and the hardened veterans like the jailer. Some might seem easier to lead to Christ – praise God when they are! Some are more... Continue Reading
The Seed of Salvation, Pt 2
Turn to God in repentance, put your faith in Jesus’ death for you and then tell someone about this good news.
Nothing you do in life is as important as being a carrier of God’s word. Every job you have is just tent-making so you can have opportunities to preach God’s word. Nothing we do has any value unless we use it as a platform from which to launch the word of God. Some time... Continue Reading
A Family Update and a Cause of Death
And now we know. Now we know that the heart of an otherwise healthy young man can just stop.
It was comforting in the sense that he did nothing wrong and we did nothing wrong. It was comforting in the sense that the people who tried to save him did all they could since, without specialized equipment, there was little that could be done to save him once he collapsed. And it was comforting... Continue Reading
A Celebration and Lament over Science
There are other things about the world, more secret than the stars.
When David saw the stars and the sun, he praised God. What spectacular new beauties we now have on display, through the discoveries of the twentieth century! These things are so wonderful as to surpass the imaginations of previous generations. And so, the twentieth century and onward should be the greatest century ever, in the... Continue Reading
Be Angry but Sin Not!
We must refuse to let justifiable outrage spill over in into a bitter, resentful, all-out, no-holes-barred, outburst.
Christ was always reasonably angry, with just cause, in proper proportion to sin he met or a incalcitrant rebel heart. Yet, our excellent, sinless, Lord never once gave way to the pressure or stress of an assault on His person by an uncontrolled outburst against a perpetrator: He could drive money-changers out in order to... Continue Reading
What Is Gossip? Exposing a Common and Dangerous Sin
We will give an account for every careless word we have spoken, not just for the malicious ones.
The Lord Jesus taught us that all of the words we speak, good and bad, flow up and out from the abundance of good or evil stored in our hearts (Matthew 12:33–37). The same is true for why we want to listen to gossip. Like calls to like. We are attracted to evil because of... Continue Reading
How Did John Calvin Die?
"We can truly say,” Theodore Beza noted, “that in this one man God has been pleased to demonstrate to us in our day the way to live well and to die well.”
He was indefatigable, and his literary output was extraordinary. But when it came to his view of himself, Calvin had learned the grace of humility. In death, as in life, his great priority was never to point to himself, but to Christ his redeemer. The last ten years of Calvin’s life were quiet and productive.... Continue Reading
“Conversion Therapy” Law in Australia Makes Fulfilling the Great Commission Unlawful
The law demonstrates the power of an emotional narrative attacking one type of harm, which is then broadened out to threaten those who would teach and encourage obedience to the truth of God’s Word.
The law clearly targets prayer and other “religious practices.” It then defines “sexual orientation” in s 59(3) in so broad a way that the term covers sexual activity as well as sexual attraction. The result is that encouraging someone not to act on a sexual temptation seems to fall within the definition of the phrase “change or suppression... Continue Reading
Recovering the Priority of Personal Holiness
In an age when the church is emulating the world... the example of John Owen shines like a beacon on a stormy night.
Rather than devoting much time to developing innovative amusements for the worship hour, Owen made private communion with God a top priority. He understood why the apostle Paul wrote: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to... Continue Reading
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