Worship is not to be thought of primarily as an experience, after which we can say that we felt worshipful. Rather, worship is an act, after which we can say, or not, that we were obedient. When experience is sought after in worship, we destroy the very thing we mistakenly exalt. When obedience is rendered …
No Bagatelle
“This is the dilemma for the one who would be unreconstructed. I don’t want to underestimate the effects of slavery on the South or minimize any enormities. As Genovese said, slavery was no bagatelle. But neither do I want to ignore the biblical teaching on slavery and act as though the Christian defenders of antebellum …
Execution of Homosexuals?
I recently received a letter from a lady on the other side of Moscow’s own little version of the national cultural divide. We had been scheduled to meet, and she was writing to cancel that meeting. According to the letter, the thing that concerned her was something that had to be addressed (by me) before …
Proverbs and Beyond
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 59 We have already addressed the fact that Proverbs is full of generalizations, and the fact that they are generally true. We also have to reckon with the fact that the substance of some of these generalizations is repeated over …
The Car of Revolution
“The car of the Revolution is barreling down the highway, and a few traditional-values conservatives have got a back door open and are trying to slow the thing down by dragging their feet on the pavement. It does not appear to be working” (Black and Tan, p. 20).
The Only Public Savior
“Given that Christ is our only possible Savior, how is it that Christians believe that Christ can be banished from our public life, while simultaneously believing that sin and disobedience can be kept out of our public life by some other means, some other savior? How can we reject Christ in this way and not …
Grape Juice in the Wineskin
“The new wine of the gospel will necessarily burst the Enlightenment wineskins. And yet, most contemporary Christians have turned their wine into grape juice in order to prevent the wineskins from coming to such an unhappy end” (Black and Tan, p. 20).
Delivered In Our Generation
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Gracious Father of all salvation, we magnify Your great works of deliverance through the ages, as You have always shown kindness to Your people. You brought Abraham out of the idolatry of Ur of the Chaldees. You delivered Moses when he was …
Invited to Stay
Jesus Christ invited Judas to this meal, knowing what was in his heart. Jesus Christ warned Judas about his peril, in much the same way that God warned Cain about sin lying in wait for him. And the greatest possible grace and the greatest act of treachery met together. But the Table was not defiled. …
Absolutely Uninterested
Although we are a Christian people, we still have a tendency to hide from the sheer goodness of the gospel. One of the ways we have of doing this is to turn the word sinner into a technical theological one, meaning that no one is perfect, and despite this, any one can call on God …