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 things like gender debates rage on in the make believe world of Western social media (with Christians being excoriated for their views on male headship in the home and church), the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan reminds us that there is an Islamic patriarchy that makes "dishwashing" debates look like something akin to kindergarteners yelling at each other on the playground during recess. Women and children are begging to be rescued from Afghanistan. This is in no way whatsoever meant to downplay the real evil of real abuse in our own country. Real evil needs to be fought wherever it appears. However, we must also come to terms with the fact that many are not living in the real world when they rant about how often a Christian husband should be washing and folding the laundry. My friend and fellow PCA pastor Alton Hardy offered some reflections on this matter. He wrote, ...
Personal pronouns have been all the rage and debate in recent years. It's amazing how important such short words are in our everyday speech and in our anthropology. That being said, personal pronouns are also some of the most important words to interpret when reading the Scriptures. . .Person pronouns guide the interpretation of a passage, they inform us of the individual and communal nature of the Christian life, and they aid the minister in the preaching of God's word....
We love the idea of diversity, until it cuts across our own idea of personal uniformity. I have been thinking often of the diversity of personalities represented in the church, and how that diversity plays into the heated conversations that we have online. We often fail to adequately understand why someone might be more vocal that we wish them to be, or more quiet than we would be. ...
When we consider all the depths and riches of the details and redemptive-historical background of Jesus' first miraculous sign, we are encouraged to believe in Him for spiritual renewal and joy. As the greater Moses, the Seed of the woman, and the Bridegroom of His Church, Jesus came to bring the life-giving blessings of redemption. He came to make all things new. May we know afresh the blessed realities of Jesus' first sign at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. ...
No matter how long men lived after the fall, the curse of the fall echoed in the words, “…and he died.” Man cannot outlive death, no matter how long his life may have been. The futility of life and the inevitability of death served to produce in that primitive era a greater taste of the bitterness of the fall, the longing for the promised Redeemer, and the hope of the resurrection. The extraordinarily long lives of Adam’s descendants served the purpose of God’s mercy, as did the shortening of man’s life. God shortened man’s lifespan so that we may hope in His mercy and long for His promised redemption in Christ. Additionally, it is a mercy for God to take believers away from this wicked and fallen world. Scripture teaches that the Lord sometimes takes the righteous away in order to keep them from experiencing more of the calamities and evils in this life (Isaiah 57:1...
When Christians publicly confess the truths that the church has always confessed, God is distinguishing between the church and the world...
Pastors must learn to strike the balance between pastoring people through the daily needs of their lives and courageously tackling false teaching that threatens the purity of the gospel and the church. Ministers should consider themselves to be, first and foremost, shepherds of the flock of the Lord Jesus which God has entrusted to their care. If they must engage in public controversy, let them do so with prayerfulness, patience, and a pastoral-heart. It is far too easy to make public platforms a counterfeit for pastoral ministry; and, in so doing, to lose the pastoral tone requisite when engaging in polemics ...
In all that happened to him, Daniel was serving the purposes of God in redemptive history. He was standing as a typical last Adam, gaining representative dominion over the threatening powers of darkness and subduing even the ravenous bests. In the destruction of Daniel's persecuting enemies, God was foreshadowing the judgment that He will pour out on the wicked in the last day. In Daniel's being thrown into the lions' den and bring brought out whole and alive, God was giving us a prefiguration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is in that death and resurrection that the new creation is secured, the enemies of God conquered, and the people of God exalted. In this way, Daniel 6 is not so much about Daniel in the lions' den as it is about Christ in the lions' den of the wrath of God for the redemption of His people and the consummation of all things. ...
Excoriating pastors for being abusive seems to have become par for the course these days. Much of this is in reaction to a failure on the part of churches to hold their leaders accountable. Usually, charges of abuse come in the context of a pastor who has supposedly bullied his elders, staff, or members of the church. Sometimes it is in relation to a pastor who is charged with covering sexual abuse in the church and has not done his utmost to defend the accuser and bring it to the proper authorities. Still, at other times, it may come in response to the perception of hyper-masculinity or oppressive patriarchalism that is said to foster a culture in which women are oppressed in the church their gifts asphyxiated. In whatever legitimate form it may arise, Christians should be ready to decry pastoral abuse. However, as finger pointing commences online, the opposite danger inevitably surfaces. Under the notion of exposing "pastoral abuse," well-meaning believers imperceptibly begin to fall into the snare of "pastor abuse."...
Jesus is the rock who followed the Israelites throughout their wilderness journeying. When they complained, God graciously answered their accusations by placing Himself in their place under the rod of His own justice. In this type, we discover that Jesus steps in the place of His people on the cross to be struck with the rod of divine justice. Now that He has offered Himself once-for-all without spot to God, we are called to simply ask Him for the living water, and He has promised to answer us for the soul-quenching blessing of the Spirit. ...
Jesus’ prayer in the Garden reflected what was going on in His heart. The Savior was not recoiling from the eternal plan of redemption. He is not faltering at the thought of the physical suffering He was about to endure. His soul was weighed down with grief over the prospect of having the unbroken communion He had experienced with the Father every second of every day of His life broken when He would be forsaken under the wrath of God. It would have been sinful for the sinless Son of God to want to lose the sweet communion and fellowship that He had with His Father....
Scripture teaches that there will be a last day when the infinitely just and holy God will exercise perfect justice--showing a full manifestation of His mercy to those for whom Christ has satisfied divine justice (Eph. 2:7) and pouring out His wrath on unbelieving men and angels (Matt. 7:21...
I have several friends in ministry who recently unplugged from social media. When a particular flashbulb, social media incident precipitated angst and outrage on "Christian twitter," my friends remained calm and steady. When I asked if they had heard about such and such a occurrence, they nonchalantly shrugged it off. I was envious of the freedom they were evidently experiencing. They were not carrying burdens they did not need to carry....
The justification of the believer is as sure as the resurrection of Christ. In fact, the resurrection of Jesus is the assurance that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." When a believer struggles to be settled about the once-for-all nature of their justification before God, he or she must look on the crucified and risen One by faith. Jesus was justified before Hod in His resurrection so that we might be justified by faith in Him. ...
While engaged in the work of church planting in the PCA, I led a men’s theology group every other week for nearly seven years. We worked through the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), and the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC)...
Deep down in our hearts, we all like to convince ourselves that we are more knowledgeable and wiser than we actually are. This is why Scripture raises the warning about being "wise in your own eyes" (Prov. 3:7). Pride manifests itself in a thousand subtle ways in our hearts. Add to this the fact that we live at a time of remarkable societal pride. Society feeds the pride of young men and women by telling them that they can change the world--regardless of God-given giftings, intellect, upbringing, associations, providential encounters, guidance, or hard work. Society tells us that the elderly are a burden to progress. While there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9), ours is an increasingly narcissistic culture. This is nowhere more evident than in our disdain and disregard of the elderly....
If, instead of seeking a “seat at the table” or seeking to control “power structures,” we stooped low in order to serve others for God’s glory and their good we would find the true greatness after which we ought to be seeking. The kingdom of God is countercultural, and the way of the kingdom is the way of the cross; it is the way of service to the King and to those in His kingdom; it is wanting to see others use their gifts and advance. It is wanting to see God work powerfully through all of His servants, rather than seeking to simply advance our own selfish agendas and pursue our own self-interested goals. ...
As the people of God, we don't need preaching that touches a momentary itch...
The canonical setting of the book of Job and the relationship it sustains to Genesis 3:15 encourages a Christological understanding of Job's declaration. To strip it of the canonical context would be to empty it of its meaning. Job, like the rest of the Old Testament, is a revelation of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27). When we understand the redemptive historical connection, we can sing with joy filled hearts: "I know that my Redeemer lives, glory, hallelujah! What comfort this sweet sentence gives, glory, hallelujah! Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground, glory, hallelujah! The dead’s alive and the lost is found, glory, hallelujah!"...
Many have struggled to understand the book of Job. What is this mysterious book teaching about this righteous sufferer who was afflicted by the devil, discouraged by his wife, and falsely accused by his friends? Why did God sovereignly arrange the circumstances of his being tested and tried? These are questions that have led Christians to embrace the wide array of biblical teaching on the justice and goodness of our sovereign God; as well as to the example of how to perserve under affliction and suffering at the hands of Satan and men. However, other questions need to be answered when approaching the book of Job--namely, what place does this book hold in redemptive history? How does it relate to the fulfillment of all things in Christ? ...
There was one nation in human history that had perfect laws--Old Covenant theocratic Israel; and yet, generation after generation were just as wicked--or more wicked--than the nations around them. So bad were the injustices in Israel that the prophet Habakkuk cried out, "the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth" (Hab. 1:4). The problem persisted to the exile and then into the coming of Christ into the world. The law could never produce righteous and merciful men and women. There had to be a better way....
The angst and vitriol of believers or either side of current cultural debates cuts across the clear teaching of Scripture. Instead of fueling and fostering such angst and animous, we should be praying for a spirit of unity that is rooted in the truth of Christ and the precious doctrines of Scripture. We should be seeking for God to give us a Christian spirit that is diffused with the sweet fruit of the Holy Spirit. What witness the Christian church would have in the world, if it modeled Spirit-wrought unity and love in the face of a world of division, strife, and hatred. May our one God the Father answer the prayer of our Savior in granting His people a spirit of true spiritual unity at such a time as this. ...
When we are tempted to trust in some particular peson or political party to provide deliverance and security, they we have a vain hope. The God who made heaven, and earth, the sea and all that is in them, is the One who provides deliverence and security for His people. This God has secured a city that has foundations--a lasting city--for His people (Heb. 11:10, 16: 13:14). He has, through His own death on the cross, secured victory over our enemies--the world, the flesh, and the devil. He alone provides salvation. He alone atones for our sins. He alone sets the prisoner free. He alone raises us from death to life. He alone is the One in whom we should find our help....
As we approach the New Year, many believers are considering Bible reading plans. This is good and right, since God calls His people to be men and women, boys and girls of His word. However, many believers feel the failure of their Bible reading over the past year and sometimes mistakenly think they can somehow make up for the deficiencies of the past year through quantitative Bible reading. It is important for us to remember that in studying Scripture, quality is actually more important than quantity. In light of this, it will do us good to shift gears to focus on putting into practice some principles by which we can benefit the most from our Bible reading in the New Year. ...
Since 2012, I have made it my practice to compile a list of all I write, teach, and preach throughout the year. Though this year has been a particularly taxing year for everyone--and a challenging one so far as productivity goes--here are some resources from 2020....
As we consider anew the divine activity in the lives of the wisemen, we are met with the reality of God's sovereign grace to those who were once far off from God. We are reminded of the way in which God chooses and calls pagans to trust in His Son. We are warned that we can have a deep knowledge of the Scriptures yet no grace in our hearts. We are motivated to believe in Christ despite any visible miracles or outward displays of glory. We are taught to trust in Jesus even when others around us show deep disinterest. And we are encouraged to give of our time, possessions, and persons to the King of Kings and the advancement of His kingdom--especially when the work of His kingdom seems to be lacking in outward impressiveness. ...
As we reflect anew on the mystery of the incarnate Son of God in the womb of the virgin Mary, may God grant us a newfound sense of wonder and astonishment. In the same way, as we reflect on His providential works in the world and His redemptive work in our lives, may we humble ourselves before His majestic throne--praising Him for all that He has done and is doing safe from the prying eyes of men. After all, we are meant to be astonished. ...
If 2020 has been challenging for pastors, consider the toll that it has taken on the pastor's wife. She is one of the unsung heroes of the church. The pastor's wife sacrifices unmeasurable and unrecognized time and energy to support the ministry to which her husband has been called--often without the support she needs. In many instances, she is indispensable to the ministry, since her husband's ministry will rarely outlast her support....
The Christian can have the strongest possible confidence that God cannot and will not change. He cannot and will not lie. This means that even when I feel most unstable in my ever changing affections, God and His promise does not change. This gives us the greatest possible encouragement to go to Him, casting ourselves and our burdens upon Him--knowing that He will always undertake for those who come to Him in faith (1 Pet. 5:7). After all, the covenant keeping Redeemer, Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ...
In my first foray into public ministry, I was met with what I deemed to be a highly unusual request. One of the elders of the church in which I was serving asked me to refer to the printed order of worship as a "playbill" rather than as a bulletin. This struck me as strange for a number of reasons--not least of which is that I couldn’t wrap my mind around how doing such would appeal to those visiting. However, a deeper concern revolved around my suspicion that this man considered worship to be a spectator sport--a baptized version of the theatre. Though our elements of worship were reflective of a historic Reformed liturgy, the telos of what we were doing in worship was not as clearly defined....
Believers often meditate on the love, the joy, and the peace of Jesus. However, most of us probably do not give enough attention to the thanksgiving of Jesus. One of the things that we can be certain of--concerning all of the sinless perfections of incarnate Son of God--is that Jesus expressed full and unceasing gratitude to His Father for every provision, every kindness, every protection, every soul-strengthening support and every miraculous act that the Father worked through Him during His earthly ministry. Without doubt, Jesus is the most thankful person who ever lived. ...
The more we understand the relationship between Satan and sin--keeping them in biblical perspective and viewing them in light of the person and work of Christ--the better equipped we will be to put sin to death and to avoid the temptations that so easily ensnare us. ...
Since the preaching of the gospel is the primary means by which God saves His people, ministers of the gospel should concern themselves with pursuing growth in their ability to skilfully communicate the truth of Scripture. Pastors should avail themselves of all the means of growth that are at their disposal. In so doing, we may never become the best preachers in the world, but we will--by God's grace--become more skillful in making known "the unsearchable riches of Christ." ...
With the potential for the entire world to stream into our minds and hearts by means of the internet, it is safe to conclude that there has never been a time when Christians needed discernment so much as at present....
I sometimes fear that there is a willful naïveté in the church with regard to the presence and power of Satan. One doesn't have to look far into the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, or the New Testament Epistles to discover the reality of the spiritual forces of darkness and to develop a theology of the assault tactics of the evil one. But it might surprise some to see what exactly these tactics are in their more subtle forms. ...
If the church is to be rooted in the timeless truths of God’s word, it needs leaders who are standing on the shoulders of giants in whom the Spirit of God was at work. If pastors are to navigate the overwhelming challenges of an increasingly secular and antagonistic society–not to mention the internal attacks from strong willed and self-seeking individuals within the church–they need to counsel of older and wiser saints. ...
In recent years, our society has rapidly embraced what has come to be known as the "cancel culture." If someone has said or done something--at any point in his or her life--that cuts across the grain of the suppose moral rectitude of society, he or she is swiftly excoriated to the point of irremediable social ostracization. An immediate sentence is determined by the masses and pronounced on social media in order to ensure its execution. There is no mercy, no call to repentance, and no hope of restoration...The rashness and widespread nature of the execution is, in part, the thing that makes cancel culture so brutal. The bitter and self-righteous speech of those pronouncing judgment gives the unremitting banter a veneer of justice. This is what makes cancel culture such a powerful weapon; yet, I suggest, a weapon to be avoided by Christians. ...
When we come to Christ, we learn to live in a way that is pleasing to God. We seek after His instruction and walk in His ways. Jesus is the rarest commodity–the eternal wisdom of God and sole source of righteousness and life. It is Him we must seek, find, and acquire more than any other commodities we may come to possess in life....
There is a clear pattern in Scripture of the way in which God uses the praises of His people for their future deliverances and the evangelization of the nations. May we enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, knowing that our God is enthroned on the praises of His people. We need His deliverance and the watching nations need His salvation....
By restraining wrong opinions about His person and work...
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...
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