“Over against both of these positions, I propose a form of critical realism. This is a way of describing the process of ‘knowing’ that acknowledges the reality of the thing known, as something other than the knower (hence ‘realism’), while also fully acknowledging that the only access we have to this reality lies along the …
Altruism and Self-Interest
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 43 A businessman cannot function without a prudent sense of self-interest, and one of the reasons many Christians struggle in their oversight of business is that they do not understand this virtue properly. And the reason they do not understand …
And Not As the Scribes
As we come to the conclusion of Christ’s great sermon, we should consider these words of His to be the capstone. Without a proper understanding of application, all that has been said up to this point is useless. “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise …
Worship As A Gift
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Our Lord and Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, and who has poured out the Holy Spirit upon us. We long for fuller communion with You, and we praise You for …
We Believe In One Gods
We are gathered to worship the triune God. The fact that He is triune is not a side doctrine; it is at the very center of who we are. It is not the case that we believe that monotheism is “basic,” and that our particular form of monotheism affirms this extra truth. All unitarian conceptions …
The Kingdom of God is Not Like Crackers
The Supper of the Lord is not simply a continuation of the festival of Passover. It was instituted at that festival, and certain features of that feast are still incorporated in what we do here. For example, this cup is called by St. Paul the cup of blessing, which was the third cup in the …
Unity and Doctrine
This is an important issue to settle. For it is obvious that the issues surrounding Calvinism are not a dispute about secondary matters like baptism or church government. For those who have followed closely, this whole debate actually centers on the full meaning of the gospel. How should we then approach brothers in the Lord …
Continuing Kindness
Our Father and great God, we thank You for Your continuing kindness to us. We thank You for the work behind us, the work before us, and the salvation rest You have provided in the death and resurrection of Your Son and our Lord. We thank You also for the food and wine You have …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XVIII
INTRODUCTION: Being a married Christian is a function of being a Christian. In other words, we should not expect to find a set of marital “techniques” that are unrelated to the task of living as a Christian generally. For the unmarried, the best preparation for future duties is a pleasant embrace of current duties. For …
Marriage as Manifest Glory XVII
INTRODUCTION: In the Scriptures, jealousy is a virtue. Like all good things, it can be bent and distorted into sin, but for some reason, we have come to think that jealousy is necessarily sinful. This is not the case at all. In the modern world, we are not nearly jealous enough. THE TEXT: “Take heed …