As we come to the Table, we are charged to flee from idolatry. We do this in two ways. The first is that we leave all pagan idols behind. Whether these idols are actual gods made of wood or stone, or are idols of the heart and mind does not matter. We leave them behind …
Theonomy Is a Many-Splendored Thing
I may say this without fear of contradiction because a poet, one of our own, has taught us that love is a many-splendored thing, and no less than the apostle Paul himself has taught us that love is the fulfillment of the law. “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one …
The Meaning of Love and Justice/State of the Church #4
Introduction: The central difficulty with the great idol of the collective, the false god of statism, is that we have wanted to substitute the word of man for the Word of God. We want to define love according to our own lights. We have wanted to define justice without reference to biblical law, and this …
Asking for It
The gospel is powerful, and the word of God runs free in the world. As a result, the world will be converted. The gospel will accomplish what God commands it to do, and it will do so when and how He declares it. But that refers to God’s decrees and His control over all history. …
Broken Bread
One of God’s great patterns is that of taking apart, and then restoring fully. The restoration, the resurrection, is fuller, deeper, and richer than the original unity ever was. But before God tears, we consistently tend to panic, afraid that this time He will not be able to put anything back together. But He always …
Eric and Micaiah
One of the great scriptural principles in ethics is the one about not kidding yourself. This is particularly important for marriage, for reasons I hope to explain shortly. Here is Paul’s way of putting it: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of …
Membership, Like-mindedness, and Loyalty/State of the Church #3
Introduction: As we build these new city walls in the midst of a ruined and ruinous old order, we will be attacked in ways that seek to divide us. We will be accused of being cultic, in thrall to charismatic “leaders.” But the Scriptures do require us to cultivate like-mindedness, and also require us to …
The Sound the Word of Christ Makes When Poured
One of the things that has characterized our congregational life for several decades now is psalm-singing. We do not hold to what has been called “exclusive psalmody”—where nothing but psalms are sung—but it would be fair to say that we hold to dominant psalmody. We want the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly, …
Rationalism and Superstition
We must always remember the importance of eating. Food is not a consequence of the Fall, and the nourishment of creatures was no afterthought on the part of God. God created us as eating creatures. As we eat, and grow, and mature, and multiply, we find that God is in the process of turning inorganic …
Alternative City Walls/State of the Church #2
Introduction: The need of the hour is for the church to help establish a defined counterculture. This requires much more than defined denominational boundaries, or sectarian carve outs. There needs to be a defined center (worship) and a defined mission field (the world). In order to accomplish this, we need brick and mortar to build …