Christians are people of first principles, and we must be people of first principles especially when the world around us is shaking, crumbling, or has gone mad. What do we mean by first principles? The Apostles’ Creed is a wonderful statement of first principles. We believe in one God, and...

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7).

This is true all of the time, but it is especially true when people are tempted to fear other things. 

A Christian is someone who has come to know the...

Joel 1-3

IntroductionThe prophecy of Joel is about a coming disaster in Israel, the hope of repentance and reformation, and the promise of international justice. We do not know the full nature of the hardship we are facing, but we know that it is from the Lord. It is for our good, it is for His...

“And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this&...

IntroductionBenjamin Franklin famously warned that “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” Later, when the Constitutional Convention had concluded, in 1787, someone asked Franklin: “Well, Doctor,...

Ezra & Nehemiah

IntroductionMany of us recently read through Ezra and Nehemiah in the Bible Reading Challenge, and these books have a lot to say to us about the work of Reformation, which is what we are about. 

The Text: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of...

“Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly” (Ps. 6:8-10). 

Every...

Since we are Christians we want to be thinking and acting in a Christian way as we face the moment we are living in. So here are several biblical principles that need applying in various ways related to the current coronavirus concern. 

First, Christians are not revolutionaries or anarchists....

Two of the most unhelpful words whenever you are in the middle of trying to sort out a disagreement are the words “always” and “never.” It’s often the sign of a subtle (or not so subtle) bitterness or resentment that begins sentences like “You...

As you know, the Bible instructs husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands. This doesn’t mean that husbands are free to disrespect their wives or that wives need not love their husbands; rather, the commands are ordered to each one’s needs. Men are blessed when...

Introduction

Well, in case you missed it, I blasphemed the goddess of female sinlessness last Tuesday. Her great and holy law is: Thou shalt not address female sin or encourage husbands/pastors to do so. I think I’ve been called every name now, and I mean every word your mom taught...

“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

We have been trained to...

At the beginning of the worship service every Sunday, we repeat words that have been used in Christian worship since the first centuries of the Church, the Latin is Sursum Corda, and it means “Lift up your hearts” and the congregation responds, “we lift them up to the Lord.”...

Introduction So I wrote an article arguing that Christians need to stop being bullied by accusations of theocracy and turn the point around and simply insist that everyone believes in theocracy. Theocracy is inescapable. As Bob Dylan put it, you gotta serve somebody. And whoever that Somebody...

Two of the most common buzz words in our modern cultural vocabulary are rights and privilege. Human rights, equal rights, gay rights, male privilege, white privilege, wealth privilege, and so on. But the reason our culture is floundering in these concepts is because it is in rebellion against the...

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty...

IntroductionI recently wrote an article entitled “Inescapable Theocracy” in which I argued that everybody is a theocrat. Everybody serves somebody; everybody serves a god. There’s no value-neutral place in all of the universe. There is no god-free zone in all the earth. And while...

IntroductionThere is no shortage of confusion among Christians about basic biblical economics. The fact that many conservative Christians do not blink when Trump and run of the mill Republicans pass yet another trillion dollar budget and meanwhile, flaming red conservative states are passing...

IntroductionOne of the most important lessons every Christian must have settled in their hearts and minds is the fact of inescapable theocracy. There is no square inch in all of the universe in which God or a god or gods are actually banished. There is no god-free zone in all of human existence....

Mal. 1:1-5

IntroductionThis message is directed at men, and husbands and fathers in particular, but there will be plenty of applications to go around for everyone in the room since the basic message can be summarized as “if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 Jn....

The beginning of Jehu’s reign in 2 Kings 9-10 is a wonderful example for Christians who would be free of their besetting sins. When Jehu was anointed by Elisha’s assistant, he drove his chariot furiously straight to meet Joram the son of Ahab and killed him and Azariah, the visiting...

Nothing stands between you and any good thing except the blessing of God. And God’s blessing is a great and glorious and impenetrable wall. On the one hand this is one of the ways you know that you belong to Jesus: however hard your flesh may try, you find that you cannot break out of that...

Jesus is Lord. He is not trying to become Lord. He is not running for office. He humbled himself and took the lowest place, taking the curse of our sin and death, and therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name. Jesus has been given all dominion, glory,...

IntroductionWant to say again here how thankful I am for the prayers, gifts, and encouragement we received on the recent CrossPolitic G3/East Coast Tour. God was so good and kind. What follows is a quick summary of some of the highlights and a few initial observations. 

We arrived in Atlanta on...

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25).

When we renew covenant here...