EPC Opens Door to Ordination of Celibate Homosexuals
By a majority of 57 to 43 percent, the EPC Assembly voted to approve a Pastoral Letter that opens the door to ordain those who struggle with same-sex attraction as long as they are celibate, repentant, and seeking to mortify their sin.
As I listened to the debate, I had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu – that I had seen this all before. Seventeen years ago, I helped lead my congregation into the EPC to escape from the homosexual agenda that infected the PC(USA). Now, I was witnessing the very same thing in the EPC General... Continue Reading
On Being Moved
A theological anthropology of the emotions.
The task given to human beings at the beginning of Genesis relates to the concept of dominion.[14] It is, of all the creatures, this one whom God addresses as his partner in the project of creation. For the Psalmist it is a matter of wonder: ‘what is man that you are mindful of him?’ (Ps... Continue Reading
The Yoke of Christ
Why the ‘Beast of Burden’ image is the answer for weary souls needing rest.
“So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you. . .” Be content with who you are and all your not-enoughness. We are not God. He remembers how He formed us—limited, finite creatures of dust—He was there after all! But how often do we forget this?... Continue Reading
The Real Bottom Line
In the decisions you’re facing right now, are you seeking his kingdom first or your bottom line first?
“[S]eek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” Not second. Not when things settle down. First. A.W. Tozer put it plainly: “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.” Not an occasional preoccupation. Everlasting. Every leader I know tracks numbers. Revenue. Attendance. Headcount. Growth. There’s nothing wrong with that. Data matters. But here’s a... Continue Reading
The Sin We’ve Stopped Taking Seriously
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.”
We often remember the church father Augustine for his preconversion life of sexual sin—his illicit lover and his famous prayer (“Grant me chastity, but not yet”). But the more I read Confessions, the more I notice how pride runs just as deep and just as long, and arguably does more damage. Augustine describes his younger... Continue Reading
Restlessness
And the goodness of just consistently showing up over and over and over again.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about restlessness and consistency. It’s easy to get bored, to feel like life isn’t shaping up to be what you expected. We look out and see the kinds of lives others appear to be living and we wonder why ours may not be quite what we want. ... Continue Reading
God, Machines, and Biblical Christianity
Use the new technologies and things like AI carefully and for good outcomes, but take great care in being seduced by their dehumanising and anti-God proclivities.
Being new to Christianity, I can’t pretend it’s not convenient. I’ve never read the Bible all the way through, but I have an app that summarizes it for me, that texts me a passage every day. I use #Bible and Hallow and Glorify. And I’m sure this kind of thing has attracted more young people,... Continue Reading
The Wonderful Christololgy of Thomas Goodwin
"Thy misery can never exceed His [Christ's] mercy. . . . Therefore let neither [sin nor misery] discourage any from coming unto Christ for grace and mercy."
Goodwin labors to show us, Christ’s church, especially from the Book of Hebrews, that our Messiah is very active in heaven for His people on earth; and that, in His human nature, He sympathizes with us and shares our griefs and sorrows (and joys). Goodwin teaches that Jesus Christ, as God’s Great High Priest, given... Continue Reading
Does God have emotions?
God is constant in his love, goodness, wrath, and mercy.
The Confession states that God is without body, parts, or passions (Chapter 2.1). I believe that means, in part, that God does not experience emotional reactions to his creation. In fact, God is pure act, and never reacts. My friend, on the other hand, believes that, God loves as a man loves. Though in a... Continue Reading
Experiencing Your Identity in Christ
The more you fill your mind with the biblical truth about who you are, the more your self-image will come into line with God-revealed reality.
Both the prideful and the self-depreciating views are a product of a conformed mind, a mind that takes its cues from the world or self or Satan rather than from God. The transformed mind is very different. Just because God has made us righteous and guiltless in Christ doesn’t mean we automatically experience the... Continue Reading
Seven Ways Children Can Honor Parents
I wonder though, did we come to read a list of things for our kids to do for us, or for a reminder that we are children of God Himself?
When they do things without grumbling. Grumbling shows that there is a lack of trust in plans or provisions. A lack of grumbling is a display of trust. When they submit to discipline. While no child likes discipline, submission to discipline shows that they trust that their parents don’t intend their harm, and they also... Continue Reading
On Pleasant Places, Part 4: Delight in God’s Instruction
We can read, believe, and meditate on the same Scriptures that David had—and many more—and we can apply them to our decisions.
When we’re waiting to fall asleep at night, where do our thoughts turn? The very best place is the Scripture that we’ve memorized. Through protection. 8 I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. What does it mean that David has “set the Lord... Continue Reading
Growing Pains
“…he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6b.
Jesus was without sin, but not without suffering, not only on the cross but during the rest of His life. All this matured Him. It wasn’t that He was deficient, but it was God’s design for Him to feel the effects of living in the fallen world, and for Him to rise above it in... Continue Reading
How We Became Hypocrites
A reflection on Matthew 7: 1-5 and selected passages.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how... Continue Reading
Continue Steadfastly in Prayer
Prayer is effective. God uses the prayers of His people as a means by which to do miracles, from physical healing, to provision, and of course to save. Knowing this, how can we neglect prayer?
While we know that time in prayer is beneficial and vital, it is something that most Christians have to fight for in their daily life. Much of the time this neglect isn’t intentional, hence the command to be watchful. Other ways that we can translate this command are ‘be alert,’ or ‘be awake.’ It’s the... Continue Reading
Fathers: An Endangered Species
God intended fathers to have both a position of great honor and awesome responsibility.
As much as children need their mothers, God implanted a divine need in the heart of children for a father who is more than a passing contributor to their existence. A child who can look up to, love and respect his or her father is well on the way to a healthy and successful emotional... Continue Reading
Peter’s Protest
Only by the cleansing He provides can any be washed of their iniquity and cleansed of all unrighteousness.
In dramatic overreaction, Peter blurts out. “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:9) But Jesus reins him in and clarifies His mission. “Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of... Continue Reading
Resurrection and Adoption: A Response to Drs. Letham and Tipton
Dr. Garner’s response to Dr. Robert Letham and Dr. Lane Tipton published essays interacting with Dr. David Garner’s view of the Son’s adoption.
Dr. Tipton’s contention that I teach that Christ needed redemption himself and that his adoption bore redemptive efficacy for him is simply careless. The idea that our sinless Savior personally needs redemption and adoption is repugnant and blasphemous. Not only do I repudiate such views; I don’t know anyone who holds them. 366 pages of... Continue Reading
Sons in the Son
Reflections on the Letham-Tipton Critique of David Garner’s Book “Sons in the Son”
If we are all adopted sons, then we are all part of the blood royal. We are royalty with Him—not by physical descent, but by our union with Christ, the true and natural Son. This article from The Aquila Report is a critique of a book written by David Garner called Sons in the... Continue Reading
Daddy’s Here
When explanations fail, that Voice still calls to His children. Perhaps that's why those words still move us after all these years: "Daddy's here;. Daddy's here."
A father forms. He blesses. He corrects. He protects. He teaches. He commissions. With a word, he can instill courage or fear. He can strengthen a child for the journey ahead or leave wounds that linger for decades. A father’s voice can penetrate places explanations never can. Father’s Day can be complicated. For some,... Continue Reading
There Is No Breath in Them
The benefit to recognizing AI as a potential idol is that we can avoid providing it our affections while using it for good.
AI has made it easier for the true desires of our hearts to be exposed in inglorious new ways. Instead of allowing ourselves to be turned inward toward our new idols, we must help each other turn outward to the God who gave us the precious breath for both life and redemption [Modern Reformation]... Continue Reading
God Is Not a Socialist
Biblical and Moral Reasons for Rejecting Socialism
The gospel transforms people from the inside out. Socialism strives to transform society from the outside in according its own standards and godless ideologies. One trusts the power of God. The other trusts, and enforces, the power of the state above all else. Modern socialism/progressivism present themselves as compassionate, enlightened, and morally superior. They... Continue Reading
You Are Not Your Genitals
We are told that the deepest truth about a human being can be discovered by examining his sexual desires and practices.
Our identity is not found in the passions that wage war within us. Our deepest identity is found in our covenant representative. You are either in Adam or you are in Christ. Every other identity is far too small to carry the weight of an immortal soul. One of the strangest ideas ever smuggled... Continue Reading
Sustaining Strength for the Complexity of Pastoral Ministry
Faithful oversight of the church is hard, good, and all-encompassing work.
Pastors must be strengthened by…a supernatural work of God through the Spirit. It’s experienced—not just affirmed—and the experience comes from outside as we meditate on the reality of grace—“remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead” (2 Timothy 2:8). In 2 Timothy, Paul gives Timothy more than 30 imperatives to guide his ministry to the... Continue Reading
Clarity not Compromise
7 Reasons to Vote Against the AIC Report
The AIC has offered no historical witnesses for its cavalier interpretation of Scripture and the Confession and Catechisms; it is because there are no witnesses. For the AIC to suggest that 17th Century Puritans who wrote the Westminster Standards would approve of celibate homosexual ordination is false and preposterous, and they must surely know it.... Continue Reading
Husbands, A Warning Against Bitterness
If men did not struggle with harshness, God would not waste his time commanding against it.
Harsh men “persuade” their wives through physical, mental, or verbal strength rather than through love. They use harsh language with their wives. They treat them with a severity that others would find offensive if they could see it. This bitterness clearly fails to reflect the tender and faithful affection with which Christ loves the church... Continue Reading
Who Put Some OPC in My ARP?
Reflections On the 222nd General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
There are wonderful things happening, but we in the ARP need to be watchful and careful in how we approach leadership and the leading of the Synod.…We would be wise as a denomination to repair relationships, encourage one another in love, and to see that all the oars on the ship are rowing in the... Continue Reading
Who Should Serve the Elements of the Lord’s Supper?
Who may offer and who may withhold the bread and the wine?
A biblical order of the administration of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper would provide a meaningful framework for the exercise of proper shepherding of the flock at the high and holy moment of the distribution of the elements of the Lord’s supper. Introduction It’s a celebration, a festive moment in the life of... Continue Reading
Top 5 Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible
With every top 5 list presented, John Calvin and Matthew Henry should simply be assumed.
Every student of Scripture should consult John Calvin, who wrote commentaries on almost every book of the Bible.…[nor should they] skip Matthew Henry’s older commentary. It is easy to dismiss Henry in this age of modern technical commentaries, but his work is a gold mine—especially in terms of practical application. In 2008 I put... Continue Reading
What Will a Resurrected Identity Look Like?
Your new identity, like your new body, is still distinctively you.
As a Christian, your identity is resurrected in the image of God. You have the seed of God in you now. But you’re also becoming something much more glorious. The hope of Christian identity is a resurrected self. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above…for you have... Continue Reading