While our culture continues to slip into chaotic depravity, more and more people are voicing their fears and frustrations. What will become of this country? What will become of the world? What challenges will our children face? The darkness seems to be overtaking the light. The world now views orthodox Christianity, as Rod Dreher has rightly noted, as the Enemy. Yet, in the midst of this rapid decline into darkness, there is hope. The gospel is not hindered by the depravity around believers...
What seems to be surprisingly absent in many recent discussions about complementarianism in the home is a treatment of what the roles between husbands and wives in the marital relationship should look like in a biblically principled fashion without personal applications of those principles. As many have been reminding us--words and definitions matter. I suspect that the lack of positive treatment is due, in large part, to the fact that the Scriptures do not give us a detailed list of the specifics of every interaction within the marital relationship. Rather, the Holy Spirit gives us broad principles and examples to follow--thus admitting a measure of subjectivity and necessitating that we seek to proceed with the wisdom that is needed commensurate to the particular situations that may arise....
A friend of mine has often reminded me that most friendships among professing believers cannot bear more than a single offense. People in the church are so easily offended that they are ready to write off another believer over the most insignificantly offensive word or actions. This betrays the fact that we have not learned to bear long with one another and to forgive one another. We have developed thin skin and speck-fixated eyes....
We must resist the urge to subtweet. If something cannot be stated in as direct a manner as possible, we should abstain from saying it in a passive-aggressive manner. We should always ask ourselves the question, "Do I need to write what I am about to write, or should I simply sit this one out?" We should also try to discern the motives behind anything that we post on social media. The more self-aware we are, the less damage we will do to others who read us. If our motives are to bring glory to God, then we should seek to speak and write forthrightly according to His word (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17). ...
Every true believer is being led by the Spirit of God. We are led away from our sin and into paths of righteousness. This is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. There is, to be sure, no greater experience to be enjoyed by the children of God than that of being transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God. When the Spirit leads the sons of God, He leads them into conformity to the Son of God. As children of God we gain the family likeness. God is committed to conforming His children into holy sons and daughters. In order to do this, He gives us His Spirit to lead us to mortify sin. The leading of the Spirit then is not a special mystical experience reserved for the few, but a present reality for all true believers in Jesus Christ. ...
Close ministerial friendships are one of the kind gifts of God. Myriad have been the examples of close friendships shared by gospel ministers of the gospel throughout church history. One thinks of Andrew Bonar and Robert Murray Mc'Cheyne, or John Newton and William Cowper. Who cannot see the fruit that was born from the friendship between Martin Bucer and John Calvin. Scott Manetsch notes, "it was Bucer’s friendship and fatherly support that helped Calvin regain his sense of vocation to Christian ministry and proved decisive in shaping his future career as a church reformer."...
One of the most challenging trials for believers during our pilgrimage through this dark and fallen world is to truly believe and rest in the love that God has for us. Sinclair Ferguson once noted that the experience of so many believers is the internalizing of the thought, "He loves me, He loves me not." Many believers lack the assurance of their salvation precisely because they focus on the enormity of their sin to the exclusion of the enormity of the love of God for sinners. God's love superabounds to the salvation of sinners. So how should we think about the love of God toward us who believe, while we acknowledge the reality of sin in our lives? ...
The exodus of Israel out of Egypt was typical of the ultimate spiritual exodus believers experience through the redeeming work of Christ; nevertheless, the relationship of the Old and the New Testaments are united in the redemptive purposes of God–from Genesis 3:15 to the fulfillment of all things in Christ. One can err in only seeing Israel's exodus out of Egypt as a physical deliverance....
When we approach the matter of addressing textual variants in our preaching, we should keep a few things in mind. First, we must labor to help the people of God be confident that God has preserved His word for His church in the manuscripts that we have available to us. Second, we should help them understand that the contemporary translations of Scripture are trustworthy throughout (the majority of variants in the ancient manuscripts being of such minor significance as to be related to single vowels; and where there are inclusions of highly questionable variants, none contradict the harmony of the doctrines taught in Scripture). Third, whatever course we decide to follow on preaching more substantial variants, we should address these things generally rather than with great specificity. ...
While our culture continues to slip into chaotic depravity, more and more people are voicing their fears and frustrations. What will become of this country? What will become of the world? What challenges will our children face? The darkness seems to be overtaking the light. The world now views orthodox Christianity, as Rod Dreher has rightly noted, as the Enemy. Yet, in th...
Keep Reading What seems to be surprisingly absent in many recent discussions about complementarianism in the home is a treatment of what the roles between husbands and wives in the marital relationship should look like in a biblically principled fashion without personal applications of those principles. As many have been reminding us--words and definitions matter. I suspect that the la...
Keep Reading A friend of mine has often reminded me that most friendships among professing believers cannot bear more than a single offense. People in the church are so easily offended that they are ready to write off another believer over the most insignificantly offensive word or actions. This betrays the fact that we have not learned to bear long with one another and to forgive one ...
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The Bible is structured by architectonic principles. Reformed theologians have, by and large, agreed that all of God's special revelation is structured by a Covenant of Works and a Covenant of Grace. This is not to say (as many have wrongly charged) that Covenant theologians do not believe in a difference between the Old and New Covenants. Neither does it mean that they do...
Keep Reading We must resist the urge to subtweet. If something cannot be stated in as direct a manner as possible, we should abstain from saying it in a passive-aggressive manner. We should always ask ourselves the question, "Do I need to write what I am about to write, or should I simply sit this one out?" We should also try to discern the motives behind anything that we post on socia...
Keep Reading Every true believer is being led by the Spirit of God. We are led away from our sin and into paths of righteousness. This is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. There is, to be sure, no greater experience to be enjoyed by the children of God than that of being transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God. When the Spirit leads the sons of God, He leads ...
Keep Reading Close ministerial friendships are one of the kind gifts of God. Myriad have been the examples of close friendships shared by gospel ministers of the gospel throughout church history. One thinks of Andrew Bonar and Robert Murray Mc'Cheyne, or John Newton and William Cowper. Who cannot see the fruit that was born from the friendship between Martin Bucer and John Calvin. Scot...
Keep Reading One of the most challenging trials for believers during our pilgrimage through this dark and fallen world is to truly believe and rest in the love that God has for us. Sinclair Ferguson once noted that the experience of so many believers is the internalizing of the thought, "He loves me, He loves me not." Many believers lack the assurance of their salvation precisely becau...
Keep Reading The exodus of Israel out of Egypt was typical of the ultimate spiritual exodus believers experience through the redeeming work of Christ; nevertheless, the relationship of the Old and the New Testaments are united in the redemptive purposes of God–from Genesis 3:15 to the fulfillment of all things in Christ. One can err in only seeing Israel's exodus out of Egypt as a ph...
Keep Reading When we approach the matter of addressing textual variants in our preaching, we should keep a few things in mind. First, we must labor to help the people of God be confident that God has preserved His word for His church in the manuscripts that we have available to us. Second, we should help them understand that the contemporary translations of Scripture are trustworthy th...
Keep Reading