The riches of God’s mercy

Is God unfair to condemn sinners to hell? Many people — even many members of many church denominations — will say, “Yes, that is unjust of God. How could God be less kind than me?…” Yet Paul answers very differently. In Romans 9, interacting with the question of theodicy — God’s righteousness is judging the […]

Preparing for worship

Writer Don Hustad wrote a number of years ago about a circus parade that was moving through the streets of Milan, Italy. Suddenly one of the elephants veered from the line and marched into a church. [In Milan, church doors are large, and in the summer are often left wide open.] This visitor wandered up […]

Shepherds’ Conference registration now open

Registration for the 2013 Shepherds’ Conference is now open. And for a limited time, you can register for $275 — a $25 savings from the full price. Among the keynote speakers this year are John MacArthur, Al Mohler, Steve Lawson, R. C. Sproul, Tom Pennington, and Phil Johnson. Register here.

I heard the earth talk

“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Rom. 8:22-23; NASB) I heard […]

They are “one flesh”

Mark Dever on unity in the covenant of marriage: The context of this unity of husband and wife is the covenant of marriage; we can tell by what we read here [Mark 10] that this is a hugely important covenant. In fact it’s so important…that it takes priority over other family relationships — with either […]

Bearing fruit

Several years ago, a friend gave my wife a plum tree for her birthday. I think I was as excited about the gift as my wife, as I had memories of my grandmother’s plum jam and anticipated spreading that succulent delight on fresh-baked bread. With eagerness I anticipated the first year’s crop. And there was […]

Free ebook on disability from DG

In recent months, Desiring God has published a number of smaller works in ebook formats (PDF, ePub, and Mobi). The latest of these is Disability and the Sovereign Goodness of God by John Piper and Tony Reinke. The book is about 70 pages long and looks to be very helpful. Download the free book, Disability […]

Good news

There’s good news. And then there is the best news. This is the best news about the good news (from Romans 6). How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (v. 2) Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead […]

Jesus loves me

When the German theologian Karl Barth visited the Untied States many years ago, a student at a seminary supposedly asked him, “Dr. Barth, what is the single most important truth you have learned as a theologian?” Barth replied, “The most important thing I have learned is this: ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the […]

A blessed life

Having suffered a knee injury while dancing a few years ago, Connie Munro of Juneau, Alaska underwent surgery. But the problem persisted. In her words, “it just wouldn’t loosen up….I thought I was permanently disabled.” And then she arrived for work at the state Education Department in downtown one morning, got out of her car […]

The Lord Himself is God

Why should a man worship God? Because God — He Himself, and He alone — is God. Consider Spurgeon’s contemplation of Psalm 100:3 on this topic: As Matthew Henry has very properly said, ignorance is not the mother of devotion, though it be the mother of superstition. True knowledge is the mother and the nurse […]

How sinful is sin?

How sinful is sin? We read phrases like, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and nod in assent — “sure, we’ve sinned.” But we generally fail to recognize and affirm the horrid and disastrous nature of those words. That oft quoted verse refers to our acts of sin. […]

The righteousness of God

Martin Luther had a problem. Listen to his words: I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in my way but that one expression, ‘the justice (righteousness) of God,’ because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation […]

Why God is patient

Scripture speaks often about the importance and wisdom of being patient. (Consider Prov. 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; 19:11; 20:22; Col. 3:12; Js. 5:10; 1 Pt. 2:20ff as just a few examples). Scripture also speaks of the patience of God. God waits. One of the common New Testament words for patience is to be long-suffering (see Rom. […]

Overwhelmed by sin?

Are you overwhelmed by sin? Do you struggle repeatedly with the same sin, unable to see any significant progress against it? Has this sin entangled you for years? Is you conscience hounded by guilt? Grace to You has some biblical encouragement for you: First of all, consider that how you deal with the promptings of […]