Bound Together
Paul promised: “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
God promises: “Even a woman may forget her nursing child, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49: 15,16) Among those who first heard these words, who could have anticipated the Greatest Cost, Christ’s engraved/cross-scarred hands, seven hundred years later? Friends, pastor/poet Holy... Continue Reading
Lose the Gospel, Return to Childishness
This childishness is the inevitable outcome of the kind of theological liberalism that has dominated so many churches for several generations.
The church must bear witness to a grown-up faith. That means that we need a renewed sense of the holy, the sacred, and the transcendent. And that must start at the top, where it is too often most absent. The X feeds of many of the loudest Christian pastors today indicate little difference from the... Continue Reading
Thoughts about Imminency
The doctrine of imminency states that Jesus is returning soon. Classical dispensationalism and the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine were devised in the early nineteenth century to be consistent with a particular view of imminency.
We should pray for the quick coming of things agreeable to God’s will because we strongly desire them. At the same time, we should patiently submit to the wisdom of God’s timing in answering our prayers. We should sincerely pray for the Lord Jesus to come quickly even if we have reason to believe that... Continue Reading
Two Things Nearly Everyone Believes About the Universe
God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe.
I hope God’s Crime Scene can help you answer this question by employing a number of very simple investigative tools detectives use every day. Criminal investigators recognize one important evidential truth: the identity of a suspect must account for all the evidence “in the room”. Whatever caused the origin of our universe must also account for all the other evidence we... Continue Reading
On Many Paths to God
We must call out biblical error loud and clear.
Pope Francis, once again, has landed himself in hot water by stating that there are many roads to God – not just Christianity. And it was not enough for him to state this once, but he doubled down on it again a few days after his first remarks. He said this a week ago at an... Continue Reading
God Still Visits Egypt
Reformation in the Making
God, being rich in mercy, has begun to visit the church in Egypt over the last two and a half decades. In 2005, the Alexandria School of Theology (AST) was founded under the Anglican church of Egypt, with a missionary from the Presbyterian Church in America as its first principal. This seminary has played a... Continue Reading
How to Identify a False Teacher, Part 2
Three types of fruit we should examine to discern if someone is a false teacher.
The second step to examining if someone is a false teacher is to look at their fruits. We can examine their fruits in three specific areas: their lives, their lips, and their leadership. If we see bad fruit in these areas, that is a sure sign that someone is a bad tree, a false teacher,... Continue Reading
Scruton on the Death of England
On mourning what we have lost.
Roger Scruton often wrote about his beloved England and how he was witnessing its tragic collapse. In 2000 he penned England: An Elegy (Bloomsbury). While focusing on just this one nation, much of what he says there can be applied to other parts of the West. Here I simply want to offer some quotes from the volume.... Continue Reading
The Legacy of John W. Montgomery
Born, Oct. 18, 1931—Died, Sept 25, 2024
“John Warwick Montgomery was an evangelical, evidential, and confessionally Lutheran apologist, a defender of the faith for all people and for all seasons. The raison d’être for the degrees, the books, the debates, and his tireless contribution to the defense of the faith was not his pursuit of an esoteric idea or an intellectual chess... Continue Reading
The Atonement’s Influence on the Western Legal System
What impact did the Cross of Christ play in our understanding of law?
The Church was the first to create universities, and law was the first area of study. As the political and secular realms needed to catch up to these advances in law, they all studied at law schools run by the Church. There are countless other ways Christianity and its doctrines are foundational to the Western legal... Continue Reading
Why Join a Church?
Ten biblical reasons why every professing Christian ought to join a local church.
God’s great love for the church beckons believers to join the church. The Bible repeatedly stresses how vitally important the church is to the living, triune God. The church was on his heart in his work of creation (Eph. 3:9-11). The church was on his heart in his work of salvation (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 5:25). The church was promised his special... Continue Reading
Why Do We Care About History?
Tucker Carlson’s interview with Darryl Cooper shows why the study of the past matters.
We bring courage to historical study because it takes courage to confront the realities of human sin as it manifested itself in the past. And we need the courage to avoid simple explanations about past events and personalities. History also requires that we exercise justice to the dead. We avoid cherry-picking from the past for... Continue Reading
The Sins Against Jesus in Heb 10:29 and Matt 12:32
The sin against Jesus in Hebrews 10 is unforgivable, but the sin against Him in Matthew 12 is forgivable.
The sin in Hebrews 10 is aggravated by the fact that the offense against Christ by the apostate in that text is worse in its character than the offenses of the crowds and the Pharisees against Christ in Matthew 12. In Matthew 12, the crowds were sinning against Him in thought and word, but it... Continue Reading
Pondering the Passage of Time
Do we value our past? Do we see God in it?
The past isn’t a museum, it is happening every moment we live. We are creating our past every moment. How we understand the past is a very present concern. We need to be discerning in understanding the past. And we need to be mindful that our present lives are adding to the past we are... Continue Reading
Memorizing the Bible
How is one to get started memorizing Bible passages?
One can begin with the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Some might wonder how memorization of such a short passage could be beneficial. Any passage memorized comes from a context and each text stored in the memory can be the key to remembering the content of its chapter. Why did Jesus... Continue Reading
Peace Child
“The Son of God, loved me and ‘gave’ (‘paradidómi’) himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Absolutely astonishing! What shall we, soaked in sin, say to such blood-stained passionate pursuit? If God is for us, who can be against us? Christian and those who will yet trust him, Father God would give up his only Son before he’d give up on you! And, Jesus would betray himself before he would betray you!... Continue Reading
The Fragility of Idols and the Security of the Savior
While the human longing for security and stability is as old as humanity itself, we are living in a cultural moment where safety and security remain in the forefront of our minds and in the foreground of conversations.
Once we are aware of our own fault lines, we seek to reinforce these places with the sturdy, immovable, unchangeable words of Scripture. Grass withers, flowers fade, and false centers shake, but the Word of God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). We would do well to listen to the advice of writer of Hebrews to those... Continue Reading
Do You Long for Truth and Meaning in Life? Read Hebrews
Hebrews reveals the perfection of Jesus as the one and only Mediator between God and humanity, who secures our communion with God.
Hebrews presents a realistic but hopeful paradigm to make sense of your daily experience: like the Israelite generation who left Egypt with Moses, your life is a trek through a hostile wilderness, en route to a homeland that transcends this sin-stained earth. A Treasury of Truth and Encouragement Hebrews is a rich treasury of... Continue Reading
Growing Numbers of Latinos “Revert” to Islam
The search for God is happening largely as a search for meaning without the pressure of family life or cultural traditions.
Like many Americans, Latinos find themselves seeking stability in an uncertain time. Growing numbers are leaving the Catholicism in which they were raised—and they face unique cultural challenges and have distinct cultural affinities that make Islam attractive. Hispanic women in particular find themselves drawn to Islam. In 2014, the PBS program Religion and Ethics... Continue Reading
Christian Institutions in a New World
Book Review—"Religion & Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War"
Miles Smith’s book is an excellent reminder that conservatives should never prioritize an idealized individual or nation. Rather, we must work to preserve those institutions that point us to better lives. Liberalism has not been wanting for obituaries in recent years. Academics such as Patrick Deneen have argued at length that the American experiment... Continue Reading
The Old Testament: Spectacular Stories and One Gospel
If we read or teach the Old Testament without landing on Christ, we’ve missed the point.
By powerfully saving Israel from danger and their enemies, God points us his greatest work of salvation (Luke 24:27; see John 1:19-27). Israel was waiting, expecting a Messiah to save them. But what many of them missed was that he came to deliver us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). Many make a similar mistake today. ... Continue Reading
“Freed” Rather Than “Justified:” A Strange and “Unjustified” Translation of Acts 13:38, 39
Why would modern translations depart from one of the earliest clear proclamations of the gospel?
At stake is the accurate record of the early proclamation of the saving gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. In terms of the progress of redemption, this speech of Paul at Antioch, delivered at the heart of the trade routes of Asia, represents the fullest record of an early... Continue Reading
Curved in upon Ourselves
Correlation doesn't equal causation—unless you're in a feedback loop
Failure to honor God leads to mental darkness, which leads to idolatry, which leads to a debased mind, which leads to corrupt actions, which leads to a disordered moral vision, and so on. Do people behave like beasts because they treat God like a creature, or do they treat God like a creature because they... Continue Reading
Praying in Jesus’ Name
When we pray to God by faith in Christ, we bring our requests to God in light of what Christ has accomplished in the work of redemption.
Looking to Christ by faith in His name means trusting in Him to supply what He has secured. We pray in Christ’s name as an act of faith in Him as the only Mediator and the fulfiller of the covenant promises. Certain practices have become so familiar among Christians that believers can be in... Continue Reading
What Did Paul Mean by “New Creation”?
On the day of the resurrection the Lord’s promises to his people will be fulfilled, and the people of God will be restored and unified.
The crucifixion of Paul and all believers to the world occurred when they were crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). A radical disruption has taken place so that the love for the present world has been severed at the cross. Old polarities, such as whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised are fundamentally irrelevant. What matters is... Continue Reading
How to Plan Wickedly Well
Our planning, even our careful and intentional planning, can be quietly wicked.
One way God guards us against arrogance is to remind us of our mistiness. Everything that feels so big, important, and impressive in our earthy lives right now will vanish and vanish quickly. We’re just a tiny burst of moisture, one that will evaporate almost immediately. God, on the other hand, knows everything there is to... Continue Reading
A Proof for God’s Existence
If change occurs, God exists. If anything exists, God must exist, and be upholding all else in existence. God cannot not exist.
Some may not be used to thinking of God as an unmoved mover. Yet is not the first cause of all things God? If God is anything He is that. But many more attributes may be derived from the unmoved mover being pure act, which will show that we are dealing with God. This is... Continue Reading
Already But Not Yet
God can, and indeed already has, conquered sin and death in Jesus. No longer enslaved without hope, Christians pray and fight the “long defeat.”
From 10/21-7/22, our now 43-year-old son Jordan went through great adversities. He responded to ongoing wicked trauma on many fronts by trying to take his life three times. We felt the power of that vortex too. Once, in Mexico, he jumped from a tower, broke his back and smashed his feet. His back required 8-hour... Continue Reading
Imbedded Deceit in Florida Amendment 4
While we should vote “no” to this amendment, we can’t stop there. The opportunities to bless our cities go well beyond voting.
Doesn’t a woman have the right to choose what happens to her body? Yes, to an extent. But none of us can legally do whatever we want with our bodies. U.S. laws prevent organ sales, public nudity, and prostitution. We also aren’t only talking about the mother’s body. We’re talking about the baby’s body inside... Continue Reading
Curriculum Battle in Texas
The Lone Star State strikes the right balance in bringing the Bible into the public schools.
Richard Land, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said it well, “You should never want the state to be deciding what is the correct understanding of religion. The last thing any devout follower of Jesus should want is government control of religion. The government will always get it wrong... Continue Reading