Christians must never underestimate the importance of the body of Messianic signs, especially OT types and prophecies. The signs draw the Scriptures into a wondrous Christo-centric unity. They are a chorus of witnesses, singing of the divine Prophet, Priest and King. Because of them, we see that the Old Testament confirms the New, and that... Continue Reading

The Great Commission, together with the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven, engenders confidence that “the Kingdom of God increases, stage upon stage, to the end of the world.” But neither Matthew 28:18–20 nor any other Scripture stipulates the degree to which “the universal circumference of the Gospel’s triumph,” fully inscribed by the... Continue Reading

The Christian’s relationship to his parents is based on his relationship to God. Because God has placed these specific parents in their lives, any other behavior expressed in the horizontal way (between people) involves a vertical aspect (between God and man) as well. It is God’s will to have these imperfect families knit together.  ... Continue Reading

When disasters befall our nation, our primary focus should not be to engage in minute speculation about who is being judged but to take stock of one’s own spiritual state and the spiritual state of the nation as a whole. In other words, we must be careful not to miss the reason God works his... Continue Reading

As nice as it would be to chop our passage into two sections—one dealing with believers (Rom 12:9–16) and the other with unbelievers (Rom 12:17–21)—is that Rom 12:14 also deals with unbelievers. Why does Paul put this verse about how to relate to unbelievers in the midst of a section that is more about how... Continue Reading

“Shall we say that Jesus was not really dead, and reviving from the swoon, himself crept from the tomb? This was the hypothesis of Schleiermacher. But not only is it in direct contradiction with the eye-witness testimony (1 Cor. xv. 3; 2 Cor. v. 15; Rom. xiv. 9, et saepe [and often]), which is explicit... Continue Reading

Our kids need to hear the stories of Daniel and David, but they need to know the God of Daniel and David. That happens through systematic teaching of doctrine in a relational environment. By reading my kids systematic theology, they have been asking questions about God they hadn’t asked because it is creating categories about... Continue Reading

Biblical interpretation is a complex and weighty process. Arguing that ahistoricism partially underpins attempts to redefine key Christian doctrines today by no means implies the authority of historical teachings over the Bible or that Christians never reinterpret Scripture passages.   The church is always situated in a cultural context. Ever since the early church, Christians... Continue Reading

Reviewing what is probably the most significant manifesto on it, Swain and Allen’s Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation, I notice that the most they will purport is “that there are Reformed theological and ecclesiological warrants for pursuing a program of retrieval,” “numerous examples of thoughtful appropriation of the catholic... Continue Reading

True rest comes from trusting God with the pressures of life. It means pouring out our hearts to Him—our worries, fears, and frustrations—and finding in Him the security and peace we’re looking for. But why is this so hard? Why do we resist the very rest we know we need?   Rest. It’s most likely... Continue Reading

All our ideas should conform to a biblical worldview, whether we cite or allude to the Bible or not. Paul speaks of “taking every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and that we should be “transformed through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:20). Our Lord Jesus Christ commands us to love God... Continue Reading

Scripture is full of advice on marriage and family. The nuclear family is created by God. Father, mother, and children. When those in the home follow God’s Word and plan, the family works well. When that plan is broken, so are the families.   With the disintegration of the nuclear family, an ever-increasing divorce rate,... Continue Reading

God’s strength is received by faith. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chron 16:9). Do you hear that? “Strong support” to the one whose heart is His. This means that by faith in Him,... Continue Reading

Nehemiah goes on to describe God’s dealings with a stiff-necked and rebellious people. But where he ends the tug of war is not with their sin but with God’s steadfast love rooted in His unchanging character. “Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious... Continue Reading

O that we all in the Western world, from the grass roots to those in authority, would learn this lesson today, and that our sovereign God’s Holy Spirit would move among us in power, bringing us all to our knees before him as we wait for Christ’s Return.   2 Kings 25:29-30  So Jehoiachin put... Continue Reading

Let us not forget that God has always wanted our hearts. He especially wants it now, in your anguish, tragedy, confusion, and grief. Open your heart to him in prayer; draw near to him by pouring out your pain to him. Be brutally honest with your Father in heaven. Out of your calamity, call out... Continue Reading

God never has to change His mind because He was “too” something earlier. He was never too loving, too patient, too angry, too judging – He’s not “too” at all. He’s just right, and always in accordance with His perfect character. Oh, the freedom that comes from knowing this truth.   “God is not a... Continue Reading

Bounds did include the word “early” because he wanted to call Christians not only to pray, but to make prayer the day’s first priority. Here is how he continues his thought: “He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the... Continue Reading

God sovereignly ordains events in history to speak to his people concerning his plans. We, therefore, read the historical and prophetic narratives of scripture with an eye on the fact that God was orchestrating these historical events to point to future events or to function as examples to his future people. We, therefore, must understand... Continue Reading

Are you facing pressure to compromise your faith? The early church teaches us how to stand firm when it costs you – without losing your wisdom or witness. Our faith is worth defending.   During China’s Boxer Rebellion of 1900, insurgents captured a mission station and presented students with a terrible choice: trample a cross... Continue Reading

Best of all, when you pray the Bible, you never again say the same old things about the same old things. And you don’t have to think of new things to say or different things to pray about. You’ll pray about the things you do want to pray about daily, but you’ll do so in... Continue Reading

When your mind is stayed on God, you are continually reminded of His faithfulness, sovereignty, and love. Instead of dwelling on “what ifs” or “how wills,” you choose to meditate on Who God is. This does not mean you ignore life’s challenges; rather, you view them through the lens of God’s Word.   The news... Continue Reading

Money issues are often at the center when someone’s character is defamed by scandal. It could be theft, tax evasion, questionable accounting practices, or simply poor management. But whatever the specific instance, it is clear that a failure to handle money with integrity has the potential to disqualify a person from receiving our trust.  ... Continue Reading

Carter did know a far more realistic hope than that offered by John and Yoko. Upon learning that doctors had found four kinds of cancer in his brain, the former president shared his personal “attitude toward death” with his Sunday school class: “I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death. It... Continue Reading

“Save others by snatching them out of the fire…” (1:23). Jonathan Edwards famously said that we are like spiders dangling over the fire of hell. Until we find salvation in Christ, we are ever dangling and at any moment our life could end and plunge us into the fire forever.   Last week I attended... Continue Reading

My eternity will be immeasurably longer than my vapor of a life on earth. I want to spend this brief time pleasing the one who could destroy me but has instead chosen to rescue me. Conversely, I want to live less afraid of those who, in a worst-case-scenario, can only destroy my body. What do... Continue Reading

Unless our apologetic is informed by Scripture, the Christian apologist will operate with the same autonomous mindset of the unbeliever. In order to avoid epistemological inconsistency, the Christian apologist must adopt a Reformed understanding of man’s fallen condition as it relates to morality and intellection, and apply it to the apologetic endeavor. Once we adopt... Continue Reading

The true antidote to human sinfulness is neither regulation nor self-discipline. We will not be made more moral. We must rather be made new. Christ’s redeeming work on the cross is the only thing that can accomplish this, which is why those who have been redeemed can have a redeeming influence, even in an AI... Continue Reading

Jesus reminded us that if anyone wants to follow after Him, it means taking up our cross to do so. That means dying to ourselves…is synonymous with following Christ. If your representation of God costs you nothing, then it would be wise to take a second look at the God you claim to be following.... Continue Reading

The devil takes advantage of the wicked culture we live in, and he begins whispering in your ear, “You must fear the outcome of standing for Christ, so just be quiet about Jesus.”   In my last post, I wrote from Daniel 1 as we examined how the world attempts to indoctrinate us and try to... Continue Reading