Not good, not bad

D. A. Carson writes about the life of Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11-12), There is a kind of evil that is not very bad and not very good, not too terribly rebellious yet not hungry for righteousness, a stance that drifts toward idolatry and hastily retreats at the threat of judgment. What it lacks is David’s […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/9/07)

It is the shortest verse in the English Bible (in the Greek text, it has three words, while both 1 Thess. 5:16 and 17 have only two words), yet there is much profoundness in the simple words, “Jesus wept.” They reveal His empathetic compassion towards His friends. And they illustrate His grief and righteous anger […]

Grab bag of links

Here is a list of a number of resources on various topics that I’ve been accumulating over the past couple of weeks: A mother’s Thanksgiving plea for the permanence of marriage. “A Reason to Hate Sin” Simple questions to evaluate the spiritual progress of your children. Too many choices to make… Thankful for books and […]

Quote of the Day – Perspective (Carson)

From volume one of D. A. Carson’s book, The Love of God: Pity the person whose self-identity and hope rest on transient things. Ten billion years into eternity, it will seem a little daft to puff yourself up over the car you now drive, the amount of money or education you have received, the number […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/2/07)

I had been pastoring for just a couple months when the funeral home called and asked me if I was available to do a funeral for a woman who had died and didn’t have a church home. I agreed to do it, met with the family, planned the service with them, and at the appropriate […]

Jesus and Genealogies

This week my Bible reading took me to the book of 1 Chronicles. For many, these are the books that are difficult to read, particularly early in the morning. What is the purpose of these genealogies? is it really worth reading them? Don Carson provides helpful insight: …biblical genealogies accomplish many things besides the obvious […]

Security and assurance

When thinking about the permanence of salvation, two words are commonly used: security and assurance. While they are related terms, they are not the same thing. John MacArthur summarizes the difference well: Many people lack assurance because they do not understand that salvation is an utterly divine, totally sovereign operation. Assurance is built on the […]

Piper: the importance of justification

Yesterday I received a copy of John Piper’s new book, The Future of Justification. Is it important to write a 225-page book on the doctrine of justification? In his acknowledgments, Piper notes why it really is: From the moment we believed until the last day of eternity God is 100 percent for us on this […]

Sunday Leftovers (11/11/07)

It is enough that no one can snatch a believer from the hand of Jesus Christ. It is enough that no one can snatch a believer from the hand of God the Father. It is enough that the Holy Spirit is given as a pledge (guarantee) of our salvation and inheritance. Any one of those […]

Why don’t we evangelize?

In his recent book, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever begins by asking the question, “why don’t we evangelize?” Part of his answer is that we don’t plan to evangelize. And to that he offers 12 steps to take to counteract that mindset: Pray (for opportunities) Plan (to put ourselves in positions to share […]

On the reasons for great sin

Dwight Edwards was the pastor of Grace Bible Church in College Station, TX until he failed morally and resigned several years ago. In the great grace of God, repentance was wrought in his heart, as he recently shared in his testimony (search using his last name to find the audio). What contributed to his failure? […]

What about Halloween?

How should a Christian (or should he) recognize and participate in Halloween? I have often said that when the girls were little, we viewed it as a quest to get as much chocolate as quickly as we could. I have always understood this as an issue where a Christian may exercise Biblical liberty (and must […]

It’s Not Halloween. It’s Reformation Day.

The great event of October 31, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenburg Church. We do well to remember what Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Cranmer, Hooper, Ridley, Latimer, and a host of others fought for. J. C. Ryle’s book, Five English Reformers helps us do just that: Let men say […]

Sunday Leftovers (10/28/07)

In today’s passage, Jesus refers to two familiar figures of speech to explain who He is — I am the door of the sheep (vv, 7, 9) I am the good shepherd (vv. 11, 14) Jesus and the rest of Scripture frequently use such images to help us understand the character of God and His […]

Justification and Imputation

At the Gospel Coalition earlier this year, Phil Ryken gave an excellent defense of the importance of imputed righteousness. Both the text of his message and the audio are available. “I am not accepted on my own merit, but I am fully accepted in Christ and that is the basis of my acceptance before God […]