Love

Applying the Beatitudes

Matt Foreman
Nov 20, 2019
The Beatitudes, according to Matthew, mark the beginning of Jesus' public teaching ministry. They are the first things that Jesus emphasized as he proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom. Unlike Moses at Mount Sinai, Jesus began his Sermon on the Mount, not with commandments, but with promises of God'...

The Judgment and Wrath of God – An Unpopular but Necessary Theme

Dan Doriani
Nov 14, 2019
One summer, a family man (and personal friend) traveled to Paris, where he spent a morning enjoying Luxembourg Gardens. In time, he noticed a group of mothers who, he realized, were so engrossed in their conversation that they tilted toward neglect of their children. He watched as one child...

Healed in the Son

Keith Kauffman
Nov 8, 2019
“Love yourself.” This modern psychological mantra, we are told, is the cure that heals all ailments. Have a negative self-image? Just love yourself. Are you being treated poorly? Don’t let them define who you are – just love yourself. Is society, or certain aspects of it, abusing you and keeping...

Sobriety and the Gospel

Gabriel Williams
Oct 18, 2019
In my previous post , I discussed how patience (along with the closely-related virtues of endurance and perseverance) is one of the most valuable Christian virtues in connection to Christian maturity. However, there is another virtue of the Christian life which, when duly exercised, will contribute...

Infinite Goodness

Ben Ciavolella
Oct 4, 2019
Though he only published a sermon during his own lifetime, Stephen Charnock (1628–1680) wrote quite a bit on Christology, salvation, and theology proper. Discourses Upon the Existence and Attributes of God is one such work, and it continues to receive high praise. As J.I. Packer once wrote, "The...

Sure of our Salvation

Mark Johnston
Sep 26, 2019
I heard a comment recently from one of the young men in our church that gave me pause for thought. He said, ‘I don’t think I have ever heard a sermon about assurance.’ My initial reaction was to frantically cast my mind back over the last 40 years trying to remember if I myself had ever addressed...

Patience and Maturity

Gabriel Williams
Sep 25, 2019
Over the past several months, I've taken a break from regular writing and blogging because I've been pondering the importance of Christian maturity. The apostle Paul himself stated that one of the central goals of his ministry was to "present every man complete in Christ" (cf. Colossians 1:28-29)...

Created in Christ for good Works

Mark Johnston
Sep 19, 2019
Too often the idea of ‘good works’ has been the Cinderella of Reformed discussion. Wanting (quite rightly) to distance ourselves from any kind of meritorious implications attached to them (which lies at the heart of the Roman Catholic view) we have perhaps over-corrected our stance to our own loss...

Grace Now and Not Yet

Tim Bertolet
Sep 18, 2019
As heirs of the Reformation, we rightly champion salvation by grace alone. If God was not gracious to us we would have no hope. The simplest definition of grace is: favor extended where wrath is deserved. Others have made the definition in the form of an acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense...

When They Speak Against You

Keith Kauffman
Aug 22, 2019
It was a distinct moment of realization, a head-slapping, should-have-known-it nugget of truth that I had just heard. Dr. Mohler, at the 2018 U.S. Banner of Truth Minister’s Conference, made the simple point that we, as Christians in modern America, should not be at all surprised that our doctrine...