INTRODUCTION: Having looked at what headship is not, and what it really is according to Scripture, we now need to take a look at what submission is not. In this fallen world, glorious things are slandered and caricatured first, and sometimes the defenders of such things find themselves defending the caricature, and not the reality. …
He Who Says A, Must Say B
Bear with me a moment. I would like to sketch the outlines of an argument showing how a denial of Calvinism will lead (over time) to the canons of political correctness. But before doing that, allow me to define both terms. By Calvinism I mean the doctrine of God’s exhaustive sovereignty. By political correctness, I …
Relational Is Not Necessarily Loving
“Men gather together in small groups in order to learn how to relate to one another on a more intimate level. In other words, they gather together to learn to relate to one another as women relate to each other. ‘Real’ masculinity is described as being sensitive, open, responsive, intimate, caring, and the rest of …
Upside Down and Backwards
“Because one of the male strengths is simple-mindedness, men tend to evaluate all things according to the sort of criterion (fixed in their minds sometime in junior high) best illustrated by arm-wrestling contests or a footrace. Life is simple — stronger and faster is better. And because life is also a contest, everyone is measured …
God Restores All His People
God delights to restore His people, and we are convinced that He is in the process of doing so. At the same time, be aware that the enemy of our souls does not leave such restorations unopposed. We will be attacked, and we will be attacked where we are the weakest. When God restores His …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XXVIII
INTRODUCTION: We come now to the question of “what headship is not.” It is not enough for us to use the biblical words and phrases, we must know what they mean in Scripture. THE TEXTS: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind …
Marriage as Manifest Glory XXVII
INTRODUCTION: The usually cynical Ambrose Bierce defined a widow in this way: “A pathetic figure that the Christian world has agreed to take humorously, although Christ’s tenderness towards widows was one of the most marked features of his character.” James tells us that pure and undefiled religion involves visiting widows (Jas. 1:27), and a moment’s …
The Head of the Table
As the apostle Paul begins the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, let us assume that he is not guilty of a radical lurch as he changes subjects, deciding finally to come back to the subject of the Lord’s Supper in v. 17. The culmination point of Christian worship is the Supper, and every disorder in …
Toward That Recovery We Labor
Brian over at the Banty Rooster wrote me privately, and believing his question to be quite a reasonable one, I am taking the liberty of answering him publicly. Here is Brian: “I appreciate the clarification of your position re: homosexuality. I notice, however, that in reminding readers of what your original article actually said, you …
Faith is Exegetically Indefensible
Introduction: In all the various controversies we have seen recently, what is common to them all? The common theme is confusion with regard to the intersection between Scripture and the world, and the role faith plays in understanding this rightly. Suppose a precocious young boy, after his father has finished saying grace over the evening …