A pastor friend of mine often reminds me that at the core of the gospel is the often-missed truth that Jesus died so that we could pray. The author of the letter to the Hebrews assures us that we may “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and... Continue Reading

“Someone has also said the devil has another pair of glasses he places on us after we sin. These glasses make sin appear so large that it cannot be forgiven.  If you are reading this today, have fallen into sin, and are despairing in this way, consider one last illustration. Though this post is not about the... Continue Reading

If we have left our life of sin to follow Christ, we are free from our past, never to be defined or constrained by it again. But we never completely leave it behind, because God says something uniquely stunning about himself through our past — our tax collecting, our fits of anger, our quiet jealousy and... Continue Reading

When fathers spend a large amount of time and large sums of money on football, equipment, tickets to the game, tailgating expenses, and spend very little energy in the body life of the church—such a testimony speaks volumes about the god the father worships.  Either God is perceived as boring and irrelevant or the children... Continue Reading

The American church faces a new situation. This new context is as current as the morning newspaper and as old as those first Christian churches in Corinth, Ephesus, Laodicea, and Rome. Eternity will record whether the American church is willing to submit only to the authority of God or whether the church will forfeit its... Continue Reading

If true Christian believing and true Christian belonging are two sides of the same coin, inextricably joined together, then praise that expresses the content of belief is the means by which such belonging is given public expression; and this brings us back to creeds and confessions as being normative guides to Christian doctrine and also,... Continue Reading

Intolerance is therefore not enough. If my only line of defense against white nationalism or racism is to hate the haters, then I have no ethic other than self-righteous pride in the fact that I am not among them, which is little more than a prejudice against the prejudiced. Moreover, if the day comes that... Continue Reading

True biblical religion prays not to earn God’s approval or check off a box, but in response to God’s gracious approval in Christ. True biblical religion knows faith without works is dead (James 2:14-17) and that anything done without love is a waste of time (1 Corinthians 13). True biblical religion sees the church as... Continue Reading

So what’s the answer? Quitting social media is surely an option, one which many should seriously consider. But far more than needing to leave something, we need to return to something. We need to return to the Word of God. We need to hear from God more than we need to hear from our friends.... Continue Reading

The issue of the New Perspective on Paul is hardly settled even within the field of Pauline Studies. For example, Simon Gathercole has shown that Jews in Paul’s day did boast in the Law and their ability to use it. There was an anticipation that Torah/Law keeping would be vindicated in the last day (Gathercole... Continue Reading