INTRODUCTION: One of the perennial pastoral problems in the Church is the question of assurance of salvation. On the one hand are some Christians who hold that to seek any kind of solid assurance is presumptuous. On the other hand are other Christians who appear to glory in just that kind of presumption—”just prayer this …
A Good Answer
Finally got a good answer to one of my questions here. In the past the SJC has interpreted the “strong presumption of guilt” as nothing more than “probable cause.” This is simply the threshold for indictment, before prosecution can begin. But as the SJC noted, once the trial starts, the burden of proof rests entirely …
The Great Tribulation
If we believe, by the time we are done, that God has given us an understanding of this chapter, our response should be one of humility and gratitude. The apocalyptic sections of the gospels have been the occasion of no end of confusion and dispute within the Church, and so we must watch our step. …
Preachers or Fops?
“As a general rule, I hate the fashions of society, and detest conventionalities, and if I conceived it best to put my foot through a law of etiquette, I should feel gratified in having it to do. No, we are men, not slaves; and are not to relinquish our manly freedom, to be lackeys of …
For Good or Ill, Imagination Rules the World
“The human heart’s desires may not be holy, and the imagination born of these unholy desires may even be demonic. After all, it was the tyrant Napoleon who hauntingly declared, ‘Imagination rules the world’ . . . Where there is no real moral imagination, itself a form of vision, the people will become captives of …
Andy Webb Explains
Andy Webb recently answered the question of an OPC pastor who asked why my procedural concerns about this PCA mess were being dismissed. “I thought his questioning of basic fairness and burden of proof were troubling and would welcome meaningful interaction with them rather than personal attacks and name-calling.” Yeah, I agree with that. In …
Without Stinting
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 132 “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not” (Prov. 21:25-26). One of the things that Proverbs is known for—a major …
Portico of Wrath
Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has been in conflict with the authorities at Jerusalem, who will eventually kill Him. “And he began to speak unto them by parables . . .” (Mark 12: 1-44). Remember that in the early portion of Mark, Jesus had five controversies with the Jews. Here, at the other end …
Holy Cheerfulness
“Sanctity in ministers is a loud call to sinners to repent, and when allied with holy cheerfulness it becomes wondrously attractive” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, pp. 18-19).
Grace or Law?
“A vision of the good has far greater power to move men and women to do the right thing than all the horrible images we may conjure up to terrify them into doing it” (Vigen Guroian, Rallying the Really Human Things, p. 10).