Are We Proclaiming a Hell We Don’t Deserve—and a Christ We Do?
The way we think about hell is always a reflection of how we think about sin and, in turn, how we think about Christ.
No one will ever be punished in hell for being unlike you in some superficial way. No, they will be punished for being so profoundly like you. That’s what is really shocking about hell. It’s shocking that we all deserve this fate, not one of us excluded. When Paul writes that “all have sinned and fall short... Continue Reading
Get Thee a Flawed Wife
A letter of encouragement—and realism—to Christian men considering marriage.
For them and many other Christian young men, delayed marriage is common. The reasons are complicated and include unrealistic expectations, lack of confidence, a desire for financial security, aversion to commitment, general immaturity, or more simply, the inability to find or keep a compatible partner. Recent studies indicate that fewer and fewer men are sitting in evangelical churches on... Continue Reading
The Gospel Is The Remedy For Racism
God’s Word is clear about the only remedy for racism: the good news of Jesus Christ.
Now, in the New Covenant, the promises of the ingathering of the Gentiles is coming true. Peter said, “for the promise is to you [Israelite men], and to your children [your covenant household], and to all who are far off [Gentiles], as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). The inclusion of the Gentiles... Continue Reading
The Divine Foundation of Authority
The very word authority has within it the word author.
An author is someone who creates and possesses a particular work. Insofar as God is the foundation of all authority, He exercises that foundation because He is the author and the owner of His creation. He is the foundation upon which all other authority stands or falls. “You’re out!” “I’m safe!” “Out!” “Safe!” “Out!” “It’s... Continue Reading
The Law Exposes Racism As Sin
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:39).
What is racism? The Oxford Dictionary of English s.v. “racism,” defines it as “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior…the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as... Continue Reading
Jonathan Edwards and Why I am a Cessationist
“If we aren’t really speaking in tongues, and if the Holy Spirit isn’t causing people to faint and act that way, what are we doing, then?”
Scripture demands we test the spirits to discern if they originate with God (1 John 4:1). The Israelites’ greatest threat wasn’t from the pagan culture outside their camp, but from false prophets within—many of whom drew larger crowds and were better known than genuine prophets. I’ve been a Southern Baptist all my life, and... Continue Reading
New Calvinists and Red Letter Christians Together
Moore’s challenge was to say that you can’t have King on your side today without acknowledging that your fathers and grandfathers opposed King.
What Moore did not say, and where he may have been guilty of the very problem that Jesus identified in the Pharisees, was to mention those contemporary prophets that evangelicals should be listening to and following. After all, Moore appealed to King to plead for the integration of evangelical churches. But by the time that... Continue Reading
How to Avoid Living a Fragmented Life
Resurrection is a benefit that we wait for eagerly during our current death-stained lives, but we should not think that resurrection is merely a future blessing.
Is fragmentation an all too real and present danger? Absolutely, but we have been united to a Savior who is whole. In our union with Him, we, too, can taste the heavenly gift of wholehearted worship and life. To be sure, sin is still at work in us to draw us away from this gift... Continue Reading
What Do You Do When Scripture Feels Dry Or Lifeless?
“I feel lifeless, and I continue to feel lifeless when I am in Scripture.”
The psalmist wants to be satisfied in the Lord, and remembers the time when the Lord was close, but now life is misery and that former experience feels far from him. It turns out that the person who feels so parched and far away has been unintentionally plagiarizing the experience of the psalmist. This... Continue Reading
A Psalm for Burial
The burial of Jesus isn't peripheral to his work. In fact, the Apostle Paul names it as one of those things of first importance (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
When we sing this Psalm [16] (the Psalms were written to be sung after all) we do so as those who have been buried with him in baptism. And it connects us to the very words of him who is the firstfruit of the resurrection, of him who bore our sins, and of him who was in... Continue Reading