I recently received a letter from a student who was struggling in his faith, and the crux of the struggle was how the love of God, as described in the Bible, could be reconciled with some of the choices of God, as described in the Bible. There are many examples of this problem, so let …
Forgiveness and Trust
One of the most difficult exercises in practical Christian living is learning the distinction between forgiveness and trust, as well as the distinction between forgiveness and qualification for office. Forgiveness is hard enough to do without confusing it with things that are impossible to do. Let me state the general problem first, using different illustrations. …
Tullian, Kevin and the Point of Our Conference
First thing, if you haven’t already, go to the post below and look at the trailer for The Grace Agenda. We’ll wait here. Okay, second, if you haven’t already, check out this link to Justin Taylor that points you to an irenic and helpful discussion between Tullian Tchividjian and Kevin DeYoung on the subject of …
Failure and Success
What are the odds that someone can be very successful, and yet mangage to walk humbly with his God? Well, the odds are pretty thin, say most, but what we neglect to notice is that the odds are not exactly great for those who are unsuccessful either. Among believers, we have a deep suspicion that …
When Gollum Bit His Finger Off
Believers often find themselves up against it. The challenge might be medical, familial, financial, educational, or personal. We tend to think in terms of pressure or stress, and when it gets really bad, trouble. The old Puritans thought in terms of affliction, as well as in terms of God’s antidote to affliction, which is contentment. …
Become Less to Matter More
For reasons I don’t need to go into here, I have been mulling this last week on godly ambition, and the desire to make a difference in the world. For, of course, there is a dangerous counterfeit here. Wanting to change the world is one of the most predictable and worldly things we can do. …
Secret Sin
As we bring up the subject of secret or hidden sin, a few preliminary cautions are in order. We are not concerned with sins that might have been committed by somebody else but weren’t. Nor is this about sins confessed and forgiven. This is not a post put up to stumble the introspective. The sole …
Sins Are Like Grapes
Sins are like grapes; they come in bunches. This explains two things that often mystify parents or teachers, but allow me to explain. Often a child gets into a blue funk, bad attitude, the works. Demeanor surly, nothing helps, you know the drill. This can be seen most clearly in little children, who do not …
The Way of Turmoil
Last Sunday night night one of our Greyfriars preached a fine message at Evensong on the subject of comfort. God comforts us in all our afflictions so that we might be able to extend to others the comfort we ourselves have received (2 Cor. 1:3-4). This was solid food for thought, as good messages are, …
Strange Contentment
INTRODUCTION: Rightly understood, contentment is impossible to understand. A preacher who sets himself to explain it is therefore heading into treacherous waters. He needs to take care to explain only those aspects of it that are laid out in the Word, and then leave the the Holy Spirit to His work in bringing about contentment …