Love Doesn’t Trump God’s Moral Commands
True love is defined for us by God’s commandments.
Love 2.0 now means acceptance and celebration, and if one of God’s moral laws seems to oppose acceptance and celebration, then obviously the second great commandment to love-2.0 your neighbor should trump that law. In other words, now love 2.0 trumps actual love. The sad truth is that anyone who rejects God’s moral commands in order... Continue Reading
Fighting the “Respectable” Sins of Gossip and Slander
Three specific questions we must be prepared to ask when the temptation to gossip or slander arises.
Gossip and slander is a heart issue at the root. This means that if we are tempted ourselves to pass on true or false information about another person, we must be prepared to honestly ask, “Lord, what is going on in my heart right now? Why am I tempted to gossip about and/or slander this... Continue Reading
The Foundation of Christian Unity
Four phrases to describe what it means to live in a way that honors the Lord.
We are to walk “bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). The believer is to be “patient and kind,” and one who “rejoices with the truth” and “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4, 6-7). The believer isn’t to “envy or boast,” or be “arrogant or rude,”... Continue Reading
Rediscovering Womanhood
So what is womanhood?
Women are not only given different capacities for grasping and interpreting various aspects of life but are often strongly gifted in other ways as well, men stand to benefit significantly when they are willing to receive counsel from the women in their lives. The tricky part is that it must remain counsel, not command. Few... Continue Reading
Should the Sovereignty of God be Controversial?
We fear we can’t have comfort and solace if God is in control of the bad, but do we think we’d have any hope if He wasn’t?
As C.H. Spurgeon famously wrote, “The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.” This “perfect peace” perhaps is akin to the “peace which surpasses all understanding” in Philippians 4:7. This is peace that, despite what is happening around us, we look to God... Continue Reading
Are Israel and the Church Two Distinct Peoples of God?
Covenant Theology on Israel and the Church
We should read the Bible as one story, of one covenant of grace, with one church united in Christ, with Gentile salvation in view from the beginning. Yet we should also believe that God has a future plan for ethnic Jews, not by giving them a separate destiny as a separate people of God but... Continue Reading
12 Things that Happen on the Cross
Facets of the Atonement
The Christ has conquered death! Hallelujah. Death is dead in the death of the living one. He has wrested the keys of Hades from the Enemy’s cold hand and now rules over death. Satan, Sin & Death ‘died’ on the Cross and Jesus won. Satan was defeated in the way described in Zechariah 3.1-4: the true... Continue Reading
A Word to Young Men
Eight encouragements to young men.
Young men should be encouraged to be thoughtful in their consciences. Simply put, the conscience is our moral awareness. Young men are being taught by the world that the difference between right and wrong, good and bad is a difference of opinion or mere preference. Against this they need to be urged to form a... Continue Reading
The Goodness of Shame
The modern quest is to banish shame to the outer darkness of polite society.
We all feel shame when we do wrong. We should. It shows us that our consciences are working as God intended. But if we will lay down our claims to self-righteousness and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ we will be saved, we will be justified, we will be in the right with a holy... Continue Reading
Between Faith and Doubt
Five Questions for Our Skepticism
“I sympathize with doubters who may feel drawn to Christianity but find plenty of objections to keep them at arm’s distance. If you’re drawn to the message of Jesus but can’t seem to get past your doubts, perhaps it would be helpful if I share how I worked through some of my doubts.” I... Continue Reading
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- …
- 1508
- Next Page »