Culturally Respectable Racism
Why aren’t pundits who bashed evangelicals as racists more vocal about rampant anti-Semitism on the left?
One cannot join the “silence is violence” crowd when it suits you but then keep quiet when events reveal that your “evangelicalism is the most pressing and dangerous threat to America” is arrant, self-serving nonsense. The scenes that have been playing out on elite American campuses—scenes of the most explicit racism—are a national disgrace.... Continue Reading
Should We Consider Mary the First Apostle?
An apostle must be both called and given authority.
If “apostle” simply means one who is “sent” to share the gospel, then of course every Christian is an “apostle”. But if “apostle” is interpreted against the whole matrix of the New Testament, then every Christian is most certainly not an apostle. One of the glorious and beautiful truths of—and legacies of—biblical Christianity is Christianity’s... Continue Reading
A UFO in Ezekiel 1?
A Closer Look at a Close Encounter
Ezekiel 1 is full of bizarre imagery, yes. But the content is not about what we call a UFO. The chapter is a vision of heavenly creatures—called cherubim—and the majesty of Yahweh. The heavenly throne was supported by wheels, as if God sat upon a throne-chariot. God is exalted, transcendent, reigning supreme. When I... Continue Reading
Institutionalizing a Lie
The Biden administration’s new Title IX rules mean that all American public schools must operate on the fundamental falsehood of gender ideology.
Parents should ask school board members whether they plan to comply with Biden’s Title IX regulation. If the answer is yes, then traditionalist parents should look into transitioning their children—to private schools. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s National Health Service released the Cass Review, a report that urged Great Britain to pump the breaks... Continue Reading
Depravity and Deliverance
God's love is not based on our goodness, but on His grace.
The desperate plight of humankind highlights God’s gracious deliverance. The same power that raised Christ from the dead also raises sinners from spiritual death. The richness of God’s mercy flows from His redeeming love. Our lives are filled with “but God” moments. Perhaps it was an addiction in which we were ensnared, but God... Continue Reading
That I May Dwell in Their Midst—Exodus 26
Consider Jesus, the true and better tabernacle.
In becoming flesh, the Word also dwelt among us. Dwelt is the verb form of the Greek word for tabernacle (skene). Thus, we could say: And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. The tabernacle was a glimpse of heaven on earth, but Jesus is heaven come down to earth and living among us.... Continue Reading
Magistracy: An Institution of Christ upon the Throne
A 1744 Election Sermon
Sinners are apt to forget Christ in his exalted state; they look rather upon his past life, his low and mean condition, and are fearless of any harm from one so degraded: They slight his threats, and seem to question his ability to execute them, but they will feel the dismal effects of them, to... Continue Reading
At Least Know Something about Those You Criticise
On actually reading and listening to your opponents.
We find so many cases of folks arguing for their position, but too often without any real understanding of what they are criticising or arguing against. By all means argue for what you believe, but at least make sure what you are attacking is what the other side actually has said or believes. It... Continue Reading
Foolosophy
We profess to know God, but we deny him with our works.
Foolish people have corrupted themselves and they do vile, rotten things. The fool says in his heart that there is no God. The psalmist observes that there are no good works among such people. This serves to emphasize how this practical atheism isn’t an intellectual problem, but a moral one. Humanity’s problem isn’t a lack... Continue Reading
What The Pro-Palestinian Campus Protests Are Really About
When protests are childish, inconsistent, racist, and rooted in no shared vision beyond that of mere negation, then those who participate in them should be treated with contempt.
The thing that unites these groups is neither concern for Arab lives nor a respect for Islamic culture. They are united only in wanting to tear down. In short, these protests are a manifestation of the Mephistophelean spirit of negation or, in religious terms, the spirit of desecration. To borrow from Marx, all that is... Continue Reading
Protecting Our Grandchildren—Or Not
It is personally costly to look beyond this decade, beyond this century, and consider how our extravagant choices will impact our descendants.
Without a doubt, the most serious way in which we are not protecting our descendants is with regard to financial irresponsibility. Our national debt is approaching 35 trillion dollars, representing a personal debt of $105,000 for every individual (adult, teen, child, toddler, and newborn) living in America. We are all in serious debt, and we... Continue Reading
Are Husbands and Wives Addressed in 1 Timothy 2:9–15?
Paul’s admonitions in 1 Tim. 2:9–15 refer to men and women in general and should not be restricted to husbands and wives.
When husbands and wives are intended, the context makes it clear, but there is nothing in the context of 1 Tim. 2:9–15 to indicate that husbands and wives are in view. Paul could have easily added words like “your wives” or “your husbands” to clarify that wives and husbands are intended, but we find nothing... Continue Reading
Paedo-Baptism, Yes; Paedo-Communion, No.
In principle, regeneration is possible before or during baptism, but active faith is not possible for the infant in communion.
At the time of administration, covenant infants are capable of the grace signified by baptism (Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:15; John 3:8), but not the grace signified by communion. So, even though we confess that “the efficacy of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered” (WCF 28:6), the signification of... Continue Reading
The Nature of the American Regime
Rightly understanding our political situation is the first step.
There is good reason that the Right—along with increasing numbers of Americans—is distrustful of our public institutions, some of which need to be razed and some of which need to be rejuvenated. For many Americans, bromides against the “tyrannical government” and talk of “creeping Marxism” is not simply a product of their own populist delusions... Continue Reading
Encore: Sealed with Blood: Missions, Confessions, and Keeping the Faith
The Belgic Confession provides a model for vital Christian belief with the goal of building healthy churches in a non-Christian context, and De Brès sealed this document with his own blood.
The Belgic Confession was intended to serve as a discipleship tool, as all confessions were. Beyond the governing authorities, De Brès also had in mind those Reformed Christians who suffered immense persecution. He and other Reformed pastors worked tirelessly to disciple and equip their flocks to do the work of ministry, and the confession was... Continue Reading
The Great Man and the Local Church
The true story happens when the church gathers as God’s local community here and there, near and far, week by week.
If the ordinary believers in your church and mine were to stop mentoring the people they see each and every Sunday, the church would be devastated. The most crucial work of ministry has little to do with “out there” in the wider Christian world and everything to do with “in here” in the local church.... Continue Reading
Is Your Church Slow Enough?
The Church isn’t in a hurry. Neither should Christians be.
The typical question immediately after you’ve preached is a good starting point, it’s good that people have them, but the questions I really love are the ones that have nothing to do with what I was talking about. That means it’s sat with someone as they’ve thought about it over some time. Last Sunday (as... Continue Reading
So Heavenly Minded That You’re No Earthly Good
When we are heavenly-minded, we are free to store up treasures in heaven. Conversely, we are also free to turn loose of all the earthly things we might hold onto.
Apart from God’s intervention, we would never have known how empty, lost, and dead we were in sin. But now our eyes have been opened. And now we can not only see the goodness of Jesus; looking back, we can see the truly desperate need. We are compelled, then, to be of earthly good in... Continue Reading
Providence Christian College Board Calls Dr. Steven B. Kortenhoeven As President
The Pasadena, California based college called Dr. Kortenhoeven to serve as the 4th president of Providence.
Promoting the importance of Reformed, Christian education has been a life-long passion of Dr. Kortenhoeven. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Dordt University and his doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Azusa Pacific University. He has served schools and colleges for 33 years in Florida, California, and Colorado, with the last 20 years... Continue Reading
The Light Shines in the Darkness and Is Not Apprehended (Part Two)
John’s Gospel tells us that God’s redemptive purpose in his Son was assured even before he fully entered his passion.
By hiding, Jesus, who is the Light, publicly dramatizes the truths John succinctly captures in the prologue: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not apprehend it” and “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:5, 11). Herein is his prophetic pronouncement of impending judgment.... Continue Reading
Biden’s New Regulation Reinforces Transgender ‘Orthodoxy’
Biden’s Department of Education has signaled the new transgender orthodoxy will now be legally enforced in the sphere of publicly financed education.
Truth-as-identity is not appealable beyond the assertion of identity. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do to change this trajectory in the short term. Both Biden and his Education Department deserve condemnation for federalizing the issue. Yet as Trump’s Education Department made clear in 2017, they believe the issue of whether schools should accept the claim... Continue Reading
What Did Jesus Teach about Total Depravity?
The effects of sin are so prevalent that John the Baptist, Jesus, and his disciples preached a universal call for repentance in light of universal judgment.
It is clear that even God’s covenant people are sinners. For example, in Jesus’s answer to the Canaanite woman’s plea (“Have mercy . . . my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon”; Matt. 15:22) and the disciples’ strong suggestion (“Send her away . . .”; Matt. 15:23), he speaks of being “sent . . . to the... Continue Reading
Helping Teens Navigate a Sexualized Culture
We not only want our kids to know where babies come from, but we want them to know the Divine Designer of sex and sexuality.
We must understand that “the talk” is never going to be enough. Rather, we need to engage in “the talking.” Helping kids navigate the sexualized culture is an ongoing activity rather than a once-and-done endeavor to simply check off our parenting list. And like anything else in life, the more we talk, the easier it... Continue Reading
What Does It Mean to Bear Fruit?
Part of the result of our faith is that we will now accomplish the will of God by fulfilling the works He prepared for us before the beginning of time.
There is an interesting mention of fruit in Romans 1. Verse 13 says, “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.”... Continue Reading
Jesus And The Woman Caught In Adultery
The Lord acknowledged both justice and the unworthiness of anyone within the mob that day to carry out God’s law as God required.
Given the circumstances of no witness-accuser who possessed a desire for righteous judgment – the only one who could have put the woman to death and satisfied the intention of the law both in letter and spirit would have been God himself. Accordingly, one without sin may have thrown the first stone! By handling the difficult... Continue Reading
Stonewall Jackson: Saved by Providence
While Christians should never idolize any man, we can learn from and appreciate those who walked before us.
My story on researching Stonewall started in 2013 when I proposed a graduate-level research paper on the Civil War, proposing a paper titled God’s Friend or Foe: The Confederate Army. Being a Yankee, I aimed to prove how wrong the Confederates were. My professor kindly informed me I would be shocked by the Christianity found... Continue Reading
Do Egalitarians Need Safe Spaces?
The big question is whether egalitarianism is true in the first place.
Theology drives practice and culture, yet Viesca recommends downplaying theology in favor of pragmatic transformation. Again, she does not make a substantive case for the egalitarian position but rather assumes it to be true, while warning leaders against focusing too much on persuasion through Scripture. Rather, she argues that church leaders should focus their efforts... Continue Reading
Our Merciful High Priest
Jesus Christ, as the High Priest of the Church, was reliable before God and can be relied upon.
Never for a moment did his unspotted, perfect, obedience, hesitate or halt: from the heart, for the entirety of His life, His will and mind were aligned and allied sinlessly to God. Both tablets of the LORD, were harmoniously and persistently observed, even when facing the most extreme and difficult circumstances – from birth to... Continue Reading
3 Things You Should Know about Amos
Amos teaches us that covenantal privilege cannot be separated from the demands of obedience to God’s commands.
The role of the prophet was to mediate between God and His covenant people by declaring God’s word and encouraging obedience to His requirements. They were guardians of the kingdom, seeking to hold kings and other leaders accountable to God for their actions. They can be regarded as enforcement mediators of the covenant, dedicated to... Continue Reading
A Review: ‘A Christian Guide to Mental Illness’ by David Murray and Tom Karel Jr
The church should never “underestimate the power of including those suffering with mental illness and welcoming them in the church family.”
“The purpose of this book is to help the reader understand how the broken brain does not work, (analogy to a broken arm) to set the broken brain in the context of the gospel, and to discover how the church can bring comfort to the mentally ill and their families by watching for a Galatians... Continue Reading