The Word is prior to the world. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This means that everything about that Word was prior to everything in the world. The world does not constitute reality; rather, the world reflects reality. Unlike the materialistic scientist, we do …
Invisible Sin
Once there was a man who did not want to admit he was wrong, about anything. Because he was a foot taller than his wife, and three feet taller than his children, and because he had a gruff voice, he was easily able to cow them into silence. His fits of anger, once sporadic, became …
Believing Your Own Propaganda
Dear visionaries, The debate between rival absolutes is one kind of debate, like the kind that happened at the battle of Tours. Obviously, when two contradictory claims of absolute truth collide, both can be wrong, but both cannot be right. The rules of engagement in this are of interest to those of us who believe …
Walking Oaths
In the Lord’s Prayer, Christ teaches us to hallow God’s name. This duty is a great one, but in our era it is not recognized as such. Some of the other commandments are generally recognized as important. As we shall see, this is not the case with this commandment, and repentance is in order. Countless …
The Meaning of Mercy
We now see a progression of thought in the Beatitudes. We began with the man who was poor in spirit, who was in mourning over his own sin. The Bible teaches that when a man is humbled, then God will lift him up. We see that here. God has shown mercy, and the recipients are …
Sabbath Authority
As God has shown His kindness to us, one of the most important cultural developments in Moscow over the last several years is the growing observance of the Sabbath feast. The practice, as it has been developing in many homes, marks the Lord’s Day as beginning Saturday night at 6pm with the Sabbath dinner, or …
Worship Tremors
If God in His grace allows this service of worship to be an earthquake, the tremors will be felt elsewhere. But this quake will not happen as the result of anything we might do or think up. Our service to Him is all of grace; if it is right, then He has done it. But …
Debating Relativism Is Like War With France
Dear visionaries, Just got back in town after a week out, and had a fun time catching up. I agree with William (!) about one post a day. What a good deal that would be. Although I am a little concerned that a liberal wants to work out this kind of a solution without the …
Spare Us Temptation
Our Father in heaven, we hallow and reverence Your name as the Lord Jesus taught us to do. We ask that Your kingdom would continue to be manifested on the earth, as we glorify the name of Your Son in heaven. We ask for our daily bread, and thank You for what is before us …
Wineskins and Other Metaphors
A recent letter writer to Touchstone magazine (responding to a review of a couple of D.G. Hart’s books) says this: “If one wishes to locate a separate Protestant “confessional” tradition, where should one go? Conservative American Protestantism is root and branch a tradition that depends for its existence and vitality on revivalism and the historical …