I am enjoying my discussion with Brian Mattson on incrementalism and problems presented to Trinitarian orthodoxy by the syncretism of President Bush. I think Brian’s responses are thoughtful, biblically-based, and worthy of interaction. His site is worth checking out. In his latest post on this, he raises a point worth noting. I said that any …
God of Battles
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Great God of heaven, You are the Lord of battles. You rise up and Your enemies scatter. You speak the word, and Your foes are confounded. You are the ultimate Warrior, and You have given us the privilege of following You into …
Throwing Paper From the Walls
As you all know, this last week saw a renewed attack on us, this time from zoning scribes and Pharisees, professing Christians whose hypocrisy is so evident that even they appear to be dimly aware of it. But this exhortation is not directed at them—rather it is given to encourage you. And here is the …
God’s Low Standards
A moment’s reflection should show us that God’s standards are much too low. He has graciously invited to this Table all sorts of disreputable people. When He tells us in His Word that we should show hospitality to those who cannot repay us, we need to remember that this is something which He has done. …
Foundations of Marriage X
Introduction: Having addressed the question of masculinity, and how men are different from women, we now turn, as promised, to femininity, and how women are different from men. Please remember that our central concern (at this point) is not biology, but rather how the broader questions of masculinity and femininity relate to our obedience as …
For Now
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 31 Many years ago, when I was laboring away in a class of classical Greek, whenever our instructor would give us some grammatical rule or other, the class would chant in unison, “For now!” We knew that somewhere, up around …
Judah, Judea and James
In John 7:1, John tells us that Jesus did not go into Judea because the Jewish leaders were trying to kill Him. But the feast of tabernacles was at hand, and just a few verses later, his brothers (who did not believe in Him, v. 5), were taunting Him, trying to get Him to go …
All the Same Truth
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Great Jehovah, You are the only God! We worship You now in the great name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and in the power of His Holy Spirit. You rule the earth, and You do so in majesty, wisdom, power, authority, splendor, …
The Sin of Striking Back
When someone hurts you, the natural, carnal reaction is to strike back. No one needs to teach us this; we learn it from Adam. And even though we are in the new Adam, with this new way of being human being renewed in us, we still have regular provocations to the old Adam. As we …
Fellowship Around the Table
This Table is a table of communion, and since it is offered to sinners, it presupposes forgiveness. But this has implications. The Lord teaches us that we are to be reconciled to Him, and His forgiveness makes this possible. But He also teaches that, as far as it is possible with us, we are to …