Annihilationism dethrones Christ’s sufficiency to satisfy God’s wrath at the same time that it questions the integrity and goodness of God’s law. If, as annihilationists will eventually have to say, God’s wrath is harsh and unmerciful, then no one needs the blood of Christ to satisfy it. Annihilationists pose man as more merciful than God.  ... Continue Reading

Is such language to be no longer permitted when discussing serious matters with meaningful consequences? As all adults should know, the ability freely to engage in sometimes difficult discussions with one another—especially peers—is part-and-parcel for a society in which civil and religious liberties exist and thrive.   The recent decision of the PCA’s Rio Grande... Continue Reading

Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all (Prov 22:2). Nowhere does the moral demand of justice require economic equality. The very sense of justice that all humans have results from being created in God’s image. His nature is the source of all true understanding of justice. Yet,... Continue Reading

As polyamory gains exposure, other mainline denominations have begun to confront their stance on it. At least three Episcopal priests have renounced their ordination vows due to tensions between their church roles and family structures, and in 2024 the Episcopal Church considered, but did not advance, a resolution intending to study diverse family structures. The... Continue Reading

Being gracious does not mean backing down and shutting up when something needs to be said. At the very least, you’d think God might have considered it wise to have taken down many of the verses in the canon which might cause offence to the delicate ears of future generations? God, it seems, doubles down... Continue Reading

In good times, give thanks, but put your confidence in the God behind the blessing, not the blessing itself. In tough times, stay strong, because even if you can’t see it, God is always helping, always working, and always keeping his promises. From Abraham to Elijah to Paul to you, the thread of his faithfulness... Continue Reading

Christians must never underestimate the power and importance of the one body of Messianic signs. Why so? Because, as we learn from reading the Acts and the Epistles, the Spirit of God is pleased to use these Christ-centered signs—which display the evidential unity of the Bible—to draw God’s people to himself. They stand as a... Continue Reading

Your size does not determine your worth. It does not determine whether God sees you. It does not determine whether He cares for you or will work through you. The church at Colossae was small. And God wrote them a letter that the whole universal church still reads. The metric of success that the world... Continue Reading

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life,... Continue Reading

Orthodoxy prides itself on never changing. The faith claims that it is the continuation of Apostolic Christianity, the very ancient church itself. And you can surely make a claim that at least from the ninth century or so, Eastern, Byzantine Christianity has remained very stable and consistent. Surely the modern period is wearing away at... Continue Reading

There may be people reading this right now who have committed an egregious sin or multiple egregious sins. Many around them are unaware of their participation in darkness because, to this point, they are blind to their wicked actions. Their fear of confessing before the Lord and others is the consequences that will come upon... Continue Reading

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses... Continue Reading

In the words of Martin Luther, we are simul justis et pecator — at the same time justified and sinners. Our sanctification will only be complete when Christ returns to take us home. However, to argue that gross and heinous sin is normative and acceptable in the Christian life makes a lie of the gospel.... Continue Reading

Joy transcends the highs and lows of life. This leads naturally to peace. The word is eirene, which in both the Septuagint and the New Testament is the equivalent of shalom, and peace was an essential component of Old Testament theology. That is why Paul so often says, “grace to you and peace.” Grace is... Continue Reading

If you are a slow reader, don’t be intimidated by others or feel like you are an efficiency failure. The important thing is to read and read good stuff.     Maybe this doesn’t apply to some of you because you are a fast reader. Congratulations! Maybe. But slow reading applies to many of us,... Continue Reading

If you affirm the word of God, it means that you will affirm the justice of God. It means accepting, as painful as it is, that if your loved one rejected Christ as their Savior, there are eternal consequences for that rejection. As we just said above, all who face God having rejected Jesus face... Continue Reading

It is worth noting that some epistles are much tougher to grasp. Galatians, for example, resists simple interpretation. First, there were two areas called Galatia in ancient Rome. Second, we don’t really know who the opponents were that Paul wrote against and what exactly they taught. We get general ideas, but we need to be... Continue Reading

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). He is tender toward the weak, the burdened, the failing, and the struggling. He gathers lambs into his arms and carries them close to his chest (Isaiah 40:11). He doesn’t break the bruised reed or quench... Continue Reading

Instead of seeing that the growth of the word in the hearts of men is because of the faithfulness of God, we desperately desire to see ourselves as the hero of the growth. But I’d encourage a small exercise in gardening. Take a real seed and plant it. Then every day, go out and begin... Continue Reading

God has not left the nations without witness. The human heart, though darkened by sin, still bears traces of a God-consciousness that helps explain why many cultures preserve dim memories, expectations, or categories that can prepare the way for the proclamation of Christ.     Why do people in every age and in every place... Continue Reading