Years ago I was challenged by a churchgoer that I have no right to critique another church’s worship unless I have personally attended and witnessed for myself what is happening. I took this challenge and visited the local evangelical church in which . . . Continue reading →
Abounding Grace Radio
Should Christians Practice Lent?
Lent as we know it today did not arise out of this biblical understanding of fasting. Rather, Lent came about as a superstitious misunderstanding both of the purpose of fasting in general and the purpose of Christ’s forty-day fast in the wilderness . . . Continue reading →
AGR On Romans: The Power Of God For Salvation (16)
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
Worship: Beyond Euphoria And The Charismata
In a recent essay Andrew Wilson writes: I consider the absurd antics of some of the paper-waving, foundation-faced prosperity preachers who appear on Christian television. I acknowledge that much new church liturgy fails to acknowledge the realities of sin and suffering, and . . . Continue reading →
Rosaria Butterfield: From Victim To Guest: Sexuality, Intersectionality, and Hospitality
Raised and educated in liberal Roman Catholic settings, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield earned her PhD from The Ohio State University and was a tenured professor of English and Women’s Studies at Syracuse University where she taught until 2002. In her late 20s she adopted . . . Continue reading →
Same-Sex Attraction Is Not A Means Of Grace Or Why We Distinguish Nature And Grace
Jeffrey Stivason has a helpful interaction with an August 2018 essay by Wesley Hill in which Hill seeks to justify the Revoice Conference, held last July (2018), and in which justifies his conclusion that he has an immutable same-sex attraction. Stivason notes that . . . Continue reading →
AGR On Romans: The Power Of God For Salvation (15)
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
Not Everything Called “Christian” Is
There has always been a great temptation to append the adjective Christian to whatever one favors in order to justify it. Recently we have seen the phenomenon of so-called “Gay Christians” in an apparent attempt to synthesize homosexuality and Christianity. This attempt . . . Continue reading →
The Guy On The Screen Is Not Your Pastor
At the Heidelblog we are passionate in our commitment to the local church. We do not want listeners and readers to substitute the HB for the local, visible church. Unless you are in our congregation we are probably not going to be . . . Continue reading →
Is Christianity For Suckers?
Someone once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Who first said it is disputed. It has been attributed to P. T. Barnum, to a banker, and to other possible sources. Whoever said it first, it captures the spirit of skepticism perfectly. . . . Continue reading →
Canons of Dort (23): God Not Only Sovereignly Gives New Life But He Uses Means To Do It
Christians have often been tempted to fall into one of three great errors when it comes to the doctrine of conversion (or regeneration). Historically, the word regeneration has signified two related but distinct ideas: a) Sanctification, i.e., the progressive Spirit-wrought, graciously given . . . Continue reading →
Divine Sovereignty, Evil, Mystery, and “Calvinism”
Recently, a well-meaning “New Calvinist” (more on this nomenclature in part 2) posted some very blunt language on Twitter about the relationship between divine sovereignty and various ways in which people suffer in this world. He wrote that if you experienced X . . . Continue reading →
AGR On Romans: The Power Of God For Salvation (14)
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
Was Agabus Wrong? Or Why Sola Scriptura Is Still Right
In Acts 21 we read a somewhat startling episode involving a New Testament prophet named Agabus: This is the same Agabus of whom we read earlier in Acts: Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of . . . Continue reading →
Canons Of Dort (22): The Application Of Redemption Is A Mystery Wrought Through Means
Christians have long struggled to affirm the truth that God saves freely, sovereignly, unconditionally and the truth that he uses means to bring his elect to new life and true faith. During the Middle Ages particularly, the church came to think that . . . Continue reading →
AGR On Romans: The Power Of God For Salvation (13)
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel Of The Synagogue Vs. The Gospel Of The Son Of God
Years ago I remember hearing a wise elder say to me that if my sermon could be accepted in a Jewish synagogue then it is not a distinctively Christian sermon. I’ve thought a lot about that over the years. What makes Christian . . . Continue reading →
Canons Of Dort (21): The Atonement Is Not Universal But The Offer Of The Gospel Is
At the heart of the debates with the Remonstrants, as Gomarus said, between the Reformed and the Remonstrants was the gospel and its efficacy. Does the gospel announce that Christ has made salvation possible for those who do their part or does . . . Continue reading →
What Legalism Is And Is Not
What is legalism? The charge of legalism is so carelessly flung around today that people have no idea what the term means. It’s become a catch phrase to write off any teaching of God’s moral law. There are three ways this term . . . Continue reading →
Living In An Ephesians 4:17 Moment
The flood of bad news easily overwhelms us these days. Some of us are old enough to remember when we did not know who was doing what to whom in Iceland right at the moment but we live in a world when . . . Continue reading →