A complex question came over the electronic transom this morning. It has at least two parts: (1) Is persistent sin (e.g., sexual sin or desire) our identity, who we are; (2) Does the Lord want us to offer this sin to him? . . . Continue reading →
Longtime readers of this space will know that I am a flying enthusiast. Climbing into a cockpit and flying a plane is something wonderful. I have been in a couple of small planes beginning in Shafter, CA in 1986 and again flying . . . Continue reading →
Almost since the beginning of the Reformation there were two reactions to the recovery of the gospel: legalism, or nomism, and antinomianism. There are associated doctrines and practices but the core of antinomianism is the rejection of the abiding validity of the . . . Continue reading →
The last time we saw Atlanta Pastor Louie Giglio it was January 2013 and he was embroiled in controversy because he had been invited by President Obama to participate in his second inauguration. It had been discovered that Giglio held the biblical . . . Continue reading →
The eighth and tenth commandments, “You shall not steal” (Ex 20:15) and “You shall not covet” (Ex 20:17) are basic to biblical ethics. They are part of the natural law that God revealed to Adam in the garden, known by image bearers . . . Continue reading →
In a recent book, church growth guru George Barna seems to suggest the end or irrelevance of the local congregation.1 He speaks for a significant number of people who find their congregation unsatisfying or who cannot find a church at all. It . . . Continue reading →
In Luke 12:50, as part of a wide-ranging discourse with strong eschatological overtones, our Lord Jesus characterizes his coming death in a striking way. He said, “But I have a baptism with which to be baptized and how I constrained until it . . . Continue reading →
This is a significant question for many evangelical Christians, particularly for those influenced by Dispensationalism. E.g., Charles Ryrie, a self-described “classic” Dispensationalist,1 wrote: …Even though a dispensation ends, certain commands may be re-incorporated into a later era. Nine of the Ten Commandments . . . Continue reading →
For confessing Protestants, there is no question whether believers are under the civil and normative uses of the law. To deny the normative use (the third use) is the definition of antinomianism, a scourge which Martin Luther opposed in the 1520s, against which the Lutherans confess in the Book of Concord (1580), and which the Reformed have always opposed. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) organized the Christian faith under three headings: Guilt (Law), Grace (Gospel), and Gratitude (Sanctification). The third part of the catechism contains an exposition of the moral law of God, the decalogue (Ten Commandments). The Westminster Standards also affirm and explain the moral law and apply it to the Christian life not in order that we might be keep it and thereby be justified and saved but because we have been justified and saved by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone. Continue reading →
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It was my pleasure to fill-in for Chris Gordon on Abounding Grace Radio last week. Tuesday–Friday we broadcast a 4-part series on Romans 7: “The Christian’s Continual Struggle Against Sin.” Here is part 4 of the series. You can also find the . . . Continue reading →
It was my pleasure to fill-in for Chris Gordon on Abounding Grace Radio last week. Tuesday–Friday we broadcast a 4-part series on Romans 7: “The Christian’s Continual Struggle Against Sin.” Here is part 3 of the series. You can also find the series . . . Continue reading →
It was my pleasure to fill-in for Chris Gordon on Abounding Grace Radio last week. Tuesday–Friday we broadcast a 4-part series on Romans 7: “The Christian’s Continual Struggle Against Sin.” Here is part 2 of the series. You can also find the series . . . Continue reading →
It was my pleasure to fill-in for Chris Gordon on Abounding Grace Radio this week. On Monday we broadcast a sermon on Romans 13. In that message I tried to help the congregation read Romans 13 against the social-political background of the . . . Continue reading →
RHEMI. [ 1. Desert.] As John the Baptist, so our Saviour by going into the desert and there living in contemplation even among brute beasts, and subject to the assaults of the Devil for our sins, gives a warrant and example to . . . Continue reading →
Join me all next week on Abounding Grace Radio as I fill in for Chris Gordon. Monday is a message from Romans 13 but beginning on Tuesday we will be discussing Romans 7. Heidelberg Catechism 114 asks, Can those who are converted . . . Continue reading →
