Dangers of unconfronted sin

We are prone to make many justifications for not confronting evident sin in a fellow-Christian. He won’t listen to me anyway. It’s too hard and too embarrassing for me to do something like that. Wouldn’t it be more gracious not to say anything? Isn’t that only the kinds of things radical churches do? It’s not […]

Imitate me

It is a simple, eight-word statement by the apostle Paul, but it sounds bold, brash, and arrogant to our ears: “Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.” (1 Cor 4:16) Yet there is a sound biblical reason Paul offers this command: he was given to them by God as their earthly spiritual father to […]

Principles of building

For the third time in five years, today we are receiving new flooring in our kitchen and hallways. The first time, we laid new wood floors over some old, tired laminate. We were thrilled with the way it turned out and loved it. Then one Saturday night at 9:00 I went to get a drink […]

Who was Asaph?

This morning we will read the last of the Psalms attributed to Asaph (Ps. 83). The superscriptions indicate that he also wrote Psalms 50 and 73-83. So who was this man who wrote a dozen of the collected songs in the Israelite hymn book? From 1 Chron. 16:4-5, we know that he was a leading […]

What do we believe about the Holy Spirit?

I’ve posted this chart previously, but since we’ve read this morning about the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10-16), I thought it might be a helpful reminder to post a basic synthesis of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit:

Since we believe the cross…

Though the cross is foolishness to unbelieving men (1 Cor. 1:18ff), it is the power and wisdom of God for those who believe (1:18, 21ff). Men look at the cross and ridicule it and shame and despise it. “How might anything good come from a cross?” they mockingly question. Yet the believer understands that there […]

The message of the cross

What is the message of the cross? “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” […]

Gospel consequences

What happens when people believe the gospel? Many times I’ve prayed with people who expressed an interest in trusting in Christ and after the prayer, they look up and say something like, “I don’t feel any different.” Perhaps they are expecting a warm and happy feeling like seeing a cuddly puppy or cute baby. That […]

God has many people

When reading Scripture, it is possible to understand and interpret a passage correctly and apply it inappropriately. The result is that while we may be “encouraged,” we are encouraged by a wrong idea or by a right idea in a wrong way. For instance, one might read God’s words to Paul in the vision in […]

God is faithful

God is faithful. We believe that. Or at least we say we believe that. But, most of us still struggle to rest in God’s faithfulness each day. Near the end of both of his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul reminded those readers of God’s faithfulness. We do well to remember those reminders, as well as […]

David, the Shepherd

Spurgeon’s comments about David, from Psalm 78:72 — So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart. David was upright before God, and never swerved in heart from the obedient worship of Jehovah. Whatever faults he had, he was unfeignedly sincere in his allegiance to Israel’s superior king; he shepherded for God with […]

Stand firm

In junior high I wasn’t much of a fighter. I was big, but conflict and fights were of no interest to me. However, junior high is a time when many boys/young men are interested in fighting as a means of demonstrating superiority, strength, and “manhood.” On one occasion, while walking home from school, I was […]

The judgment of God

The judgment of God. It is a doctrine that many use to denounce and reject God. “How could God be both loving and vengeful and a judge?” they ask. In fact, they often will assert that if God is judge and if God carries out wrath, then they are more god-like than God. Yet Godis […]

When you are sinned against

You cannot keep people from sinning against you. You will be treated unjustly. You will be lied to and gossiped about. Ungodly accusations will be spoken against you — and said directly to you. Others will be angry with you — sometimes because they have misunderstood you and sometimes because they understood you. Sometimes people […]

Keep on

The pain of parenting is not greatest the first time a child commits a significant and serious violation of trust. It is when that child persists in his sin for years and decades. The greatest trouble for a cancer patient is not the first chemo treatment. It is the ongoing chemo treatments, followed by radiation, […]