Doctrines of Grace

If anything gives us the opportunity to be unfaithful to God it is trials. In the midst of suffering we are often tempted to doubt God’s faithfulness and friendship, goodness and grace, and power and promises. We sometimes wonder if we will make it, how we will make it, or why God is doing this to...
Face to Face with God We celebrate Christ’s work as our high priest and mediator. Is Jesus active in those roles today? And how is Jesus “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek?” Guest Desmond Alexander provides satisfying answers to these questions and others through the course of today’s...
Unconditional election, when rightly understood, is one of the most freeing doctrines for the under shepherd to embrace and one of the most assuring doctrines for the Christian to hold. It is beautiful because it reveals the beauty of our God whose grace is sovereign and whose mercies are new every...
We sometimes hear about the doctrines of Grace in a negative context. For example, we have all heard about the “cage stage Calvinist.” And apart from any caricaturing that may go on in the description there is some truth in it. But we have decided to move in a different direction with the series of...
The eighth chapter of Romans has rightly been described as one of the most beautifully rich chapters in all of Scripture. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that it is “one of the brightest gems of all… that in the whole of Scripture the brightest and most lustrous and flashing stone, or collection of stones...
So many people live and work for the moment at hand, pushing any idea of eternity out of their minds. They squander their time, money and resources without a glance at their Creator. They seek satisfaction, security and significance in relationships, education, and materialism. Yet if you speak...
Manual of Christian Doctrine Working in close proximity for years provided many opportunities for conversation between Jonathan and James. An annual topic of concern: choosing the theology curriculum for undergraduate students, particularly those in their first year at the university. What’s the...
Life can be a crucible. A crucible is a container in which metal is heated to such a high temperature that it melts. I imagine this analogy is too often appropriate for how many of us feel about our lives. We feel beaten down, discouraged, put under intense pressure and heat that we sometimes just...
Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified...
Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals What do evangelicals need to retrieve, and why? Gavin Ortlund is pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai, California. He joins James and Jonathan to talk about his book--Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals--and to answer these questions, and others. Some...