One of our great modern diseases is the inability to see the big picture. We specialize in our tasks, which Adam Smith described as the source of our wealth. But we also put our heads down and specialize in our thoughts. And this is how it comes about that we can be easily robbed of …
Michael Horton, Gender Stereotypes, and Me
Michael Horton recently offered up a critique of something he called “muscular Christianity,” and because I was (I think) referenced in his article as being among the bad guys, I thought I should say something about it. My first point has to do with the (I think) in the previous sentence. Throughout the article, Horton …
Grace and Sweat
INTRODUCTION:I am fond of saying that grace has a backbone, but I think it is time to explain what I mean by that. The context of these remarks is the general and current ongoing discussion about the worrisome trajectories of all those incipient legalists and antinomians out there. The incipient legalists are the ones the …
Table Choices
We are the people of God, and so of course He promises to feed us. We are the sheep of His pasture, and He also promises to feed us in the presence of our enemies (Ps. 23:5). And while we are being fed, our enemies are not silent about it. While we are being fed …
Kind of Ugly Anyway
Grace is free and more than a little wild, and this is why we are given the gift of being the servants or bond-slaves of the Lord. The grace of God is absolutely consistent with God’s holy character, and this is why His well-favored sons and daughters are free, and more than a little wild. …
Break, Blow, Burn
Let us try to forget the word evangelical as a demographic description. Let us try to forget the word liturgy as a description of the boring church you grew up in. Let us try to forget the word doctrine as it was handled by the 19th century divine, the Rev. Dr. Snodgood, in three volumes. …
And Not Like the Scribes
“What is it that overcomes the world? Is it not our faith (1 John 5:4)? We lament, Why does the world not believe? Well, when was the last time we commanded it to? When was the last time we spoke with authority, and not like the scribes?” (From With Calvin in the Theater of God, …
The Emperor’s Whitey Tighties
Yesterday our president hurled himself into a frothing maelstrom of flattery and praise by taking the astonishingly courageous step of endorsing gay marriage. Whoa. There have been other thoughtful interactions with this decision, as, for example, here, here, and here, but I have not asked for a moment of your time in order to thoughtfully …
Preaching Drives the World
“In sum, our view of Scripture drives our view of preaching, and our preaching drives the world. If the world is not in fact driven, then we need to work our way back up the drivetrain and ask ourselves some hard questions” (From With Calvin in the Theater of God, p. 94).
Spark Plugs
“Preaching is to the ministry of the church what spark plugs are to a car engine. Spark plugs are not the whole engine — and preaching is not all there is to ministry — but without the spark plugs the car will not work” (Edwards, Deep Preaching, pp. 21-22)