How Patient Is God With Us?
God bears long with us in order to encourage us to repent.
We must remember the mercy of God in Christ, as we acknowledge, hate, and turn from our sin and rebellion to Him who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness,” to the God who “forgives iniquity, transgression and sin.” May God give us grace to see that his patience is part of... Continue Reading
William Borden’s Impactful College Years for Christ
We may be encouraged in our own spiritual life and service by Borden’s outstanding example.
In addition to financially supporting the founding of the Yale Hope Mission…Borden was actively involved in the carrying out of its ministry. He regularly took part in helping to conduct the Gospel services that were held at the mission. A foreign visitor at Yale said that what had impressed him the most during his time... Continue Reading
Leaving a Church Well
For those who are considering a transfer to another congregation for non-moral reasons.
It is possible, in certain circumstances, to depart from a congregation in a loving way. Then there are ways one can depart from a congregation which leaves a wake of pain and suffering behind. One way honors the Lord and the other harms His people. Today’s article is going to be difficult and could... Continue Reading
Calvin on the Authority of Scripture
Scripture, for Calvin, bears witness to its own authority.
The Holy Spirit does two things: inspires the writing of Scripture and indwells the people of God. As a corollary of both, he carries the divine writings into the hands of his people and guides them, as a people, in their interpretation. Scripture and Church, therefore, stand in harmony. Early on in John Calvin’s... Continue Reading
The Basics—The Holy Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity stretches the limits of human language and logic.
We must affirm that there is one God who exists in three distinct persons–Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are equal in glory, majesty and power. This is how God reveals himself in his word. It is common to hear people claim that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God. Not true.... Continue Reading
The Curse Under Our Breath
What Grumbling Sounds Like to God
Paul describes the luminary life of trusting saints; a life that shines in a dark and thankless world (Romans 1:21). Blamelessness, innocence, proving ourselves to be children of God—all by a supernatural life of worship instead of bleating. At first, it seems a little thing, A want unmet, a prayer unwinged. Voiceless, it interrogates... Continue Reading
A Nation of Biblical Illiterates
A timely wake-up call for Christian parents and pastors.
Parents can hardly pass on to the next generation what they lack themselves. How can we expect rising generations to take the Christian worldview seriously when the overwhelming majority of their parents are clueless, shaped far more by cultural trends than Scripture? The Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University has released its American... Continue Reading
Truth Beyond the Facts
Truth is going to change you.
Truth (Jesus Christ), in short, doesn’t just give us new life, a second birth; it also shepherds that new life. It makes us grow and change over days, months, years, and decades. Learning is a matter of taking small steps forward, but then backing up so that you can take a bigger jump, clearing... Continue Reading
Encore: Evangelicalism in 2020 and Beyond
Assessing the impact of Tim Keller's "Third Way."
Looking over the last twenty years, it becomes clear that Keller-movement Evangelicals built platforms, brands, and messages in order to be found winsome by the blue communities they sought to reach. As with the old-line liberalism of Friedrich Schleiermacher, exquisite sensitivity to target audiences will shape the message delivered far more than its deliverers intended. ... Continue Reading
And Then There Was One
Book Review: An Emotionally Raw Journey Through Spousal Grief
Echol’s book is not a theology of death, yet teaches that God reigns over death and provides ultimate hope beyond it. This is a beautiful, hopeful little book and one I’m glad to recommend. I don’t know what it is like to lose a spouse. I don’t know what it is like to bid... Continue Reading
Jesus is God: Four Ways to See Jesus’s Divinity in John’s Gospel
The Gospel of John is perhaps the richest vein in Scripture for mining trinitarian gold.
The Bible is unequivocal in calling Jesus “God.” And thus, we should worship him not only as a good and great man, but as our God—Creator, Redeemer, Lord, and Second Person of the Trinity. Indeed, let us come to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, bringing him all the praise he deserves. ... Continue Reading
Keeping the Faith: Spurgeon and the Downgrade Controversy
Spurgeon argued true believers cannot be ministry affiliates with those who have compromised the faith.
The controversy cost Spurgeon dearly. It cost him his friendships. It cost him his reputation. Even his own brother disowned his decision. Yet, for Spurgeon, to remain within the Union would be tantamount to theological treason. As Christians, we are called to share our faith, but we are also called to keep it. Like... Continue Reading
The Megachurch Century
On Jan. 1st, 1923, the first modern megachurch opened its doors, complete with skits, and toe-tapping tunes. But what have been the effects of this century-long confusion between church and theatre?
“…the dominating controversy within Christendom will be between those who give full weight to the supernatural reality at the heart of all Christian dogma, practice, and thought, and those who try to convert Christianity into a naturalistic religion by whittling away the reality and comprehensiveness of its supernatural basis.” 100 years ago to this... Continue Reading
Is Your View of Christ’s Mission for You Fuzzy?
The mission of Christ followers can be stated succinctly. It is to seek “rightness” over the earth.
How many goals can occupy the position of first in your life? Only one. “If you stay focused on one mission—seeking first Christ’s agenda of righteousness every sphere of your life and world—then,” says Jesus, “everything else will take care of itself.” This past week, while studying George Barna’s Millennials in America report, I... Continue Reading
Historic Selma Church Building Destroyed by Tornado
Black Church Landmark Is a Total Loss; Three Worshipers Escape
When [Rev.] Williams…returned to the church basement to gather his belongings, he could look up and see nothing but air where a tall church structure had once stood. When he entered the area of the basement that had protected him and two others, he found the Bible he had been using still open to the... Continue Reading
The Third Characteristic of a Healthy Church: A Decision To Live in Awe
How can we become more like the Church that changed the world and transformed the Roman Empire?
When we, as a Church, come to properly understand the power and activity of God in our world and in our lives, we’ll share the awe felt by the early Church. The resulting change in our character will bring glory to God. The first community of saints reflected the power and design of God... Continue Reading
Historic Selma Church Building Destroyed by Tornado
Organized in 1875 as a place for freedmen to worship after the Civil War, the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church arose out of Knox Academy.
This was a building where former slaves had worshiped, where planning meetings were held in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s arrival for the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and where the church’s pastor served as a peacemaker in bringing blacks and whites together during the Civil Rights era. –Civil rights landmark is a total loss... Continue Reading
Basic Axioms on The Holy Spirit
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, composed in A.D. 381, sums up the considered biblical exegesis and doctrinal commitments of the church at the time.
Given that the Spirit is one with the Father and the Son from eternity, he is to be worshiped with them in one united act of adoration. We were all baptized into the one name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since God is one indivisible being, it is inconceivable that the... Continue Reading
Overture 29 Points to the Need for Overture 15
How can Overture 29 deal with the Side B problem in the PCA, if our Confession and BCO have not?
What is missing from our Confession therefore isn’t something in Overture 29, but something that neither the Westminster Divines nor the founders of the PCA could have conceived of, namely the adoption of a homosexual self-conception. We would be good to remember that Former PCA Pastor Greg Johnson objected to Article 7 of the Nashville... Continue Reading
On Slander
In its widest sense, slander refers to any speech that harms the reputation of another person.
In his law God has prescribed a state of harmony which ought to prevail in human society; slander breaks this harmony and thereby upsets human society itself, supplanting mutual respect and love with suspicion, hatred, and strife. Where it has occurred, amends are to be made, fault acknowledged and repented, and the proper harmony restored... Continue Reading
Natural Law and Outhouses – What Do They Have in Common?
Both outhouses and natural law have been useful in their own day, but now they have become nothing but a blight on our landscape.
What is the fatal flaw among the natural law proponents? The natural law proponents have greatly underestimated the power of sin in the unbeliever apart from some form of the influence of the Christian Faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith VI.2 states that in the Fall man “became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in... Continue Reading
PCA Members Should Speak Out on Overture 15
I believe the failure of the PCA to include the language of Overture 15 in the BCO will be harmful to the peace and purity of the PCA.
One action our denomination can take now is by making it clear to the world, our presbyteries, and our churches through Overture 15 that men who define themselves as homosexual cannot be elders in our denomination. Perhaps even more important is that we make this strong statement to our members, church courts, the world,... Continue Reading
Free Will and “Gay Christianity”
Can man in his fallen condition blame someone else, even his Creator, for his moral failures?
How does the biblical doctrine of “Free Will” address the popular notions of “gay Christianity” or what has been called Side B or Revoice theology? This false teaching claims that one’s sexual orientation (a Freudian concept not a biblical one) is present at birth and is unchangeable. Indeed, this teaching considers it abusive to attempt... Continue Reading
What the Church Needs Now
The church must not use the world’s language, measurements, or solutions to correct the wrongs in the community of Faith.
The Evangelical world is in a great position to stand up against all manner of evil in our culture as it is unfolding before our very eyes in the name of social justice. We can give the world something concrete by which to see that Christ makes a difference in how to deal with sin.... Continue Reading
Living Stones
We are reminded that the church is not a building but a people.
In Him we are precious, valued, chosen not because we are choice but because of His grace. We are enfolded into Christ’s church not to be admired as we might admire the beauty of the great cathedrals of Europe, but to serve. Peter identifies us as a holy priesthood, tasked with the responsibility and joy... Continue Reading
Give Others Their Moment
Allow others to share without one-upping them.
Your friend shares about their special needs child? You are listening to a story of your friend who is a caregiver and the surgery the person they care for just had? Your friend just took their family to a special camp and had a great experience? Phil. 2:3-5, “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,... Continue Reading
God and Healing
Sometimes when we pray people are healed, and sometimes they aren’t. But why is that, why isn’t everyone healed?
It is important to wrestle with these questions in an attempt for answers. Why is God’s will so, seemingly, horrible to some people who love him? Here’s my answer: I don’t know. But I continue to believe that he is the sovereign King of the Universe, that he is Goodness itself, and that he loves... Continue Reading
The Book of Job is About Asking the Wrong Question
The big reveal after 34 chapters is that everyone was asking the wrong question.
God is too free and wisdom is too profound for the retributive principle to be immutably true in every situation; rather, it is mutably true in many situations. And so we should not judge on the basis of the appearance of things but be slow to judge. We will protect ourselves from thinking that God is... Continue Reading
Three Reasons to Study Church History
The history of Christianity lived out—is fascinating.
Were it not for heretics, we might not have the New Testament canon. Or a clarified doctrine of the Trinity (insomuch as we can clarify that) as found in the Athanasian Creed. And we likely wouldn’t have the understanding of Jesus as being simultaneously both fully human and fully divine, or his being of the... Continue Reading
Imagine That: Why You Need to Cultivate a Sanctified Imagination
Imagination, when rightly used, is one of the most powerful tools God gives us to put off the old nature and to walk in the new.
As you read the Scripture, pay attention to the imagery. Ask God to awaken your imagination. Instead of filling your mind with the endless images of television and YouTube, let the Word of God prompt your creativity. Begin to imagine what you can do to serve others and to share the message of Christ’s cross... Continue Reading