The main emphasis of Mark Dever’s message—”The Doctrine of Christ’s Work Accomplished and Applied” (presented at the NEXT 2010 conference) centered on Christ’s atoning sacrifice for sin. In his message Mark made a critical distinction in how the word ‘atonement’ is sometimes spoken about as compared to a biblical definition. Mark used an illustration from... Continue Reading

Grace. There is a word for you. Is it a word for Jim Joyce? You know the story: the previously anonymous Armando Galarraga was on the verge of pitching a perfect game for the Detroit Tigers. The final play for the final out was close at first base – except that it was not close.... Continue Reading

Others think we must bow to evolution or bow out of [academia]…I don’t think that’s inevitable… For such a time as this we must learn to trust God to change hearts without our having to back away from the Bible. One of the Bible’s great statements about courage comes in chapter 5 of Esther. The... Continue Reading

Friends, we live in a world and in a part of that world that is increasingly hostile to Christianity. We need to understand that as we make this decision to follow Jesus. The recent NEXT conference in Baltimore was outstanding. I had the privilege to sit in the front row for the whole thing and... Continue Reading

“Increasingly pastors see denominations as a tool rather than a goal. If the goal is the evangelization of the world, the denomination is a tool to achieve that.” A decade ago, Southern Baptists fought over the belief that Jesus is the only way to heaven and the inerrancy of the Bible. Today, they’re divided over... Continue Reading

How queer that Politically Correct ‘equality’ — fanatics in the military, who have already recognized the ‘religious rights’ of Wiccans, would single out traditional Bible-believers to be the object of their Zero-Tolerance policies. In the wake of the recent Congressional votes to repeal the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the US Armed Forces, Rabbi... Continue Reading

Man constantly seeks to compete and to get ahead. And he trips over others in the process. I got a lot of hate mail last week in response to my column about Joel Osteen. Much of the hate mail was from the usual sources. But much of it came from so-called conservative atheists. These conservative... Continue Reading

Watch this development carefully. Claremont may be the first multifaith seminary, but it will almost surely not be the last. Protestantism is hardly news, but on occasion a development arises that serves as something of a parable of that trajectory. Such is the case this week with news from California that the Claremont School of... Continue Reading

Latimer said, “We can talk about grace but lead lives that are very judgmental and disparaging that push people away.” One of the Milwaukee ballgame conversations Saturday night concerned work. Lutheran pastor Don Thompson described a Midwestern work ethic: “If you say you’ll do it, you’ll do it. If you say you’ll be there, you’ll... Continue Reading

The Strategic Plan presents itself as a gift promising better obedience to the Great Commission. Upon closer inspection, it looks like it might be a Trojan Horse bearing ecumenism and the social gospel. The PCA Strategic Plan includes a number of controversial proposals. However, the item that probably represents the greatest risk has gone almost... Continue Reading