Christ

Think of all the things we tell others we’re going to put on—the coffee maker, a meal, the finishing touches to a project, new tires, and of course, clothes. Some of these, like putting on the morning coffee, don’t take much thought or effort. But others, like putting the finishing touches on a...

The visible church is an institution. Like any other organization the church has structure. Anyone who takes the Bible seriously realizes that the gathered community of God has leaders, doctrine, and rules for membership. As unpopular as it might be to say, Christianity is a religion and the...

“A Christian without a church is a Christian in trouble.” [i] Like a lion hoping to snatch prey that wanders alone Satan aims to devour professing Christians who are disconnected from God’s family. We need the church. To become persuaded of this truth we need to know what the church is. It isn’t an...

Christiana Tsai and Her Persistence in Trials One day, Christiana Tsai woke up to find the room spinning around her. Her body grew stiff while the light stabbed her eyes as with daggers. This was the beginning of a long, intermittent illness that doctors could not explain. Her inability to move...

Throughout our lives we encounter times when things either seem to be going against us or for us. We would all likely agree that we much prefer the latter. But as believers we know that bitter experiences will come and Scripture reminds us that such times are opportunities to grow in our faith. One...

Glorification is the great hope of every believer in Christ. We who have been saved, who are now being sanctified and made into the image of Jesus, eagerly anticipate the day when the sanctifying process will be completed, and we will be glorified. In one sense, Christians really can’t even begin...

None of us need to be convinced of how difficult it is to tame the tongue. It is likely that you have already failed today. But in the midst of knowing how hard it is to tame the tongue, we need to be reminded of why it’s so difficult and where to go for help. James 3:1-12 points us in the right...

Westminster divine, Anthony Burges, contended that “of all points of Divinity, there is none that with more profit and comfort we may labour in, then in that of Justification, which is stiled by some articulus stantis & cadentis ecclesiae, the Church stands or fals[ sic ], as the truth of this...

Our English term conversion is not often used in our translations of the Bible. But lest we commit a word-concept fallacy, we should not conclude from this that the concept captured by our term conversion is infrequently found in Scripture. Far from it. Peter in his sermon recorded in Acts 3...

Many believers misunderstand God’s grace, and therefore lack assurance of it. They wonder if they are really saved. They live thinking they are never enough. They wonder if they forget to confess some of their sins if they will be kept from the kingdom of heaven. They may look at mature Christians...