Is it ever OK for a Christian to lie? Make no mistake: God is truth, and we are to be like God. Truth-telling is therefore a crucial moral duty for those in the kingdom of God (see esp. John 8:44; Acts 5:1-11; Col. 3:9; Rev. 21:27). The question is this: "Is it ever morally permissible to tell a...

Truth, or integrity in our speech, that sense of moral obligation to God according to which we represent things as they really are, both in word and deed, has gradually eroded in many segments of our society. This shouldn’t come as a total surprise insofar as the first sin in the Garden of...

We look once again today at helpful comments from Scott Christensen, taken from his excellent book, What About Free Will? Reconciling our Choices with God’s Sovereignty (P&R, 2016). Here we take note of an important distinction in Scripture between two senses in which God may be said to...

The psalmist declares that our Lord is great “and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5). We often talk about what we know and how we know, but rarely stop and ask: How does God know? What does God know? So today we turn our attention to ten things we should know...

Foundational to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory is their understanding of the double-effect of sin. Note carefully the following description taken from...

We’ve had occasion of late to consider two pro-slavery statutes that were part of the original Constitution of the Unites States of America. We should rightly rejoice that subsequent Amendments to the Constitution rendered null and void such clauses. One more heinous clause in our...

Can we really believe the words of Jesus in John 14:14 when he declares: “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”?...

We probably shouldn’t compare biblical promises, as they are all precious and assured of coming to pass. But I’m especially drawn to the promise...

Some see the concept of immutability as a threat to the biblical portrait of God who appears in some sense to change. Others are equally concerned that a careless tampering with this attribute of God will reduce him to a fickle, unfaithful, and ultimately unworthy object of our affection and...

The question: “What think ye of the Bible?” reduces to the question: “What think ye of Christ?” Continue reading . . . 

The question: “What think ye of the Bible?” reduces to the question: “What think ye of Christ?” To deny the authority of...

There is a tendency in some evangelical circles to drive a wedge between revelation (the transcendent Word of God) and the Bible (understood as man’s written record of or witness to the Word). It is said that we cannot identify the words of Scripture with divine revelation. Continue reading ....

In an earlier post I explained one of the ways in which our Constitution was flawed. Although surely the greatest document in the history of human political life, the Constitution was not without its shortcomings, one of which was known as the Fugitive Slave Clause. Continue reading . . . 

In...

Because of our focus on the inspiration and inerrancy of God’s written revelation, the Bible (i.e., Special Revelation), we often tend to ignore the other ways in which God has made himself known more generally to all mankind. Theologians call this General Revelation. What is it and why is it...

With our nation in the throes of a venomous race for the presidency, I’ve been drawn to a closer look at our Constitution and some of the issues that set the tone for the first 100 years of this country’s history. Continue reading . . . 

With our nation in the throes of a venomous race for the presidency, I’ve been drawn to a

In the aftermath of so much racial division and hatred in our society, I was drawn once again to a consideration of the Parable of the “Good” Samaritan. I put the word “Good” Samaritan in quotes because, as you probably know, as far as the Jewish people in the first century were concerned there was no thing as a

Few portrayals of our risen Lord are as awe-inspiring and breathtaking as that which we find in Revelation 1. Continue reading . . . 

Few portrayals of our risen Lord are as awe-inspiring and breathtaking as that which we find in Revelation 1. Here is what John saw and how he responded:

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me,

We Protestants often fail to take note of the unique and sometimes profitable contributions of Roman Catholic theologians of the past. So today we look at 10 things we should know about Thomas Aquinas. Continue reading . . . 

We Protestants often fail to take note of the unique and sometimes profitable contributions of Roman Catholic

Today is J. I. Packer’s 90th birthday. Longevity in life and ministry is often taken for granted in our day. We quickly forget that Thomas Aquinas died at the age of 49. Both John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards were 54 when they entered the presence of Jesus. Charles Spurgeon died much too soon at the age of 57. Martin Luther outlived them all,

Someone recently asked me if I believed that the Protestant Reformation is over? That’s a loaded question that would likely elicit an equally loaded answer. It took my mind back to an article I wrote several years ago. The article was a book review of the volume by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom, titled: Is the Reformation Over? An

I recently listened to a lecture by a pastor who was determined to undermine the biblical doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement. As part of his defense, he argued that it is unbiblical to speak of God being reconciled to us. It is we alone, he insisted, who are reconciled to God. In other words, he believes that there is nothing in God that

Many would prefer that we only speak of God’s love and grace. But apart from the reality of divine wrath neither love nor grace makes much sense. We’ll see this as we explore ten things that every Christian should know about the wrath of God. Continue reading . . . 

Many would prefer that we only speak of God’s love and

Please don’t misread or misinterpret the intent of this brief article. I have not yet formulated an opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement. I have no desire to make a political statement. Continue reading . . .

Please don’t misread or misinterpret the intent of this brief article. I have not yet formulated an opinion on the Black

In the previous article we looked at the marvelous ways in which Jesus loves his own. There are five of them in John 13:1-5, and here we turn our attention to the final two. Continue reading . . .

In the previous article we looked at the marvelous ways in which Jesus loves his own. There are five of them in John 13:1-5, and here we turn our

In an earlier article I pointed out the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that Jesus overcame to loving his own. Continue reading . . . 

In an earlier article I pointed out the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that Jesus overcame to loving his own. They are found in John 13:1-5. Here is the passage again.

“Now before the Feast of the

Anyone who thinks that we’ve made substantial progress in resolving the problem of racial disharmony and animosity in our society is simply not paying attention. The violent events that have filled our streets in the past week together with the response from both the white and African-American communities clearly demonstrate that mistrust,