Grace

As I begin the New Year, I find myself meditating on the fruits of justification by faith, especially the great principle that it brings us access to God. Paul says that through Christ, “we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Rom. 5:2a). Peace with God creates...

Frank Houghton - Eager to Glorify God The news of the brutal murder of John and Betty Stam – together with a local shopkeeper who tried to defend them – shook the missionary community and other Christians everywhere. It was December 1934, and the 10th division of the communist Red Army had just...

In Anthony and Cleopatra (3:2) Shakespeare described it as the “ green sickeness”. In Othello, he called it the “ green eyed monster ”. Immanuel Kant described it thus: “inherent in the nature of man, and only its manifestation makes of it an abominable vice, a passion not only distressing and...

Another curious word game introduction sets the stage for answering a few listener questions. Tackled today: Liturgical dance, Carl’s colorful pants and his “Christian journey,” Todd’s no-book deal, studio cough switches, and more. Seriously: are the children of believers considered to be...

Hilary of Poitiers and the Wonder of the Triune God “He Who upholds the universe, within Whom and through Whom are all things, was brought forth by common childbirth; He at Whose voice Archangels and Angels tremble, and heaven and earth and all the elements of this world are melted, was heard in...

At face value, the 9 th commandment could be read as merely a prohibition against committing perjury or lying under oath. However, this commandment encompasses so much more. According to both the Westminster Shorter and the Baptist catechisms, “The ninth commandment requires the maintaining and...

Our dynamic duo brings up a topic that is usually difficult, and—many times—hard to swallow in the local church. Church leaders and congregants alike can also often misunderstand its procedure and purposes. What is church discipline, and what does Scripture teach about it? What’s the purpose of...

Anyone who might still hold to the classical liberal perspective that the God of the Old Testament was this angry, vengeful, “bad-hair-day” deity that frankly hated everyone and everything ,while the New Testament Jesus was a veritable hippie, spouting free love and holding forth no judgment of any...

The sixth commandment is “You shall not murder.” (Exo 20:13), [1] or, in the memorable KJV, “Thou shalt not kill.” The later vividly captures the word picture of the original, meaning, “to slay, or strike down”. The former is, however, more precise given occasions when taking life is authorized...

Simon Goulart – Preacher of Confident Hope In 1595, Simon Goulart joined the company of famous preachers who angered powerful women. The woman in this case was Gabrielle d’Estrée, mistress of King Henry IV of France, who persuaded the Protestant king to turn Roman Catholic in order to promote unity...