“This desire to belong to an old church is certainly a noble and scriptural one. ‘Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thinke inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt’ (Ps. 74:2). But at the same time, caution is in order. Someone with a pressing …
Life in the Provinces
“If a man is redeemed by Christ, then he is a member of this one Church — a Church founded in God’s decree before time existed, and by the grace of God manifested in history as long as sinful heirs of Adam have lived. Enter the modern rootless evangelical, who, with a bemused detachment, is …
Non-Elect Branches
[Speaking of Romans 11 and John 15] “This does not mean that the elect can lose their salvation. But it does mean that branches can lose their position on the tree. The elect always bear fruit, and their fruit remains. And yet some false professors, with genuine historical connection to the tree, never bear fruit, …
The Root Supports the Branch
“But the Reformers saw that some such distinction [between visible and invisible Church] was necessary. Without it, men fall readily into the trap of thinking that all that is necessary for salvation is to be in good standing with the visible Church. And because that is something they can readily arrange, they think that all …
Not the Best Idea, Really
“Modern evangelicals in our culture have gotten money, power, and influence, and it has been like giving whiskey to a two-year-old” (Mother Kirk, p. 21).
Balsa Wood Soaked in Lighter Fluid
“Many Christians are praying for revival, but we need to careful how we pray. The Church today is a lightweight operation, like a stack of balsa wood, soaked in lighter fluid. The consuming fire of the Holy Spirit would therefore not burn for long and would not leave much. We must pray for a doctrinal …
No Sense Blaming the Meat
“The only way the unbelieving world can be constrained in its external actions, in a way contrary to that unregenerate nature, is when the Church is salty. Christ taught that His followers were the salt of the earth — applied to an ungodly society in the same way salt was applied to perishable meat as …
Conservative Values
“No thoughtful Christian can consider the state of our culture today without considerable grief. The lawless are in power, the innocent suffer, the gullible believe, the taxable pay, the sages are befuddled, and everything gets progressively worse. One political party wants to drive us toward the cliff at seventy miles an hour, and the loyal …
No Problem Passages
“By the grace of the Lord, we must resolve to be faithful to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. From Genesis to Revelation, we must not be embarrassed by any passage of Scripture, and once we have submissively ascertained its meaning through careful and patient grammatical, historical and typological, we must seek …
Culturally Lost
“We have no idea why we are here, where we are supposed to go, and how we are to conduct ourselves on the way. But in the meantime, our government schools solemnly teach third graders how to use condoms. Countless fathers desert their wives and children. Pastors dishonor their calling through their rampant adulteries. Thieving …