Our Defining Moment

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. – Philippians 2:12,13 [NASB] […]

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The Necessity of Good Works

November 17

There can be no doubt about the necessity of good works properly understood. They cannot be regarded as necessary to merit salvation, nor as a means to retain a hold on salvation, nor even as the only way along which to proceed to eternal glory, for children enter salvation without having done any good works. […]

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My Current Beef

If you’re  a pastor, an evangelist or a “missionary” then please stop preaching the Gospel to the Church of Jesus Christ and go talk to someone who has never heard the Gospel! The more you convince those who know the Gospel that they need to hear it again and again, and only that, the more […]

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Grow By Grace

From Dr. Jay Adams: There are all sorts of ideas floating about today in various circles concerning sanctification. If you are getting confused by them, consider the following: But grow in (by) the grace (help) and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:16). More often than not, in NT (Koine) writing, […]

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George Mueller: Bypassing God’s Law for a New Standard of Holiness

October 05

The same kind of abstraction from the law [as puritan author William Gurnall] is to be found in George Mueller, one of the winsome figures of nineteenth-century piety. A basic motive in Mueller’s perspective was his anti-postmillennialism, (He was a premillennialist.) Mueller bypassed the law for a new standard of holiness, a dependence on faith […]

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What Encourages the Faith of the Saints?

Two things encourage the faith of the saints in every age: First, the witness of the experiences of others: You cracked open the heads of leviathan; You gave him to be food for the people of the wilderness. – Psalm 74:14 Mathew Henry: “The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his […]

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Subtle Dangers Christians Face

Christians, being in this world but not really at home here, are faced with great dangers from the world system and its people. The Apostle Paul has declared that victory over sin and all that it represents is assured by the faithfulness of God (Romans 6:14). But there is a danger of being deceived and […]

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Music and Spiritual Anarchy

“When the standard of music in a church is lowered … then the standard of dress is also lowered. When the standard of dress is lowered … Then the standard of conduct is also lowered. When the standard of conduct is lowered … the sense of value in God’s truth is lowered. When the standard […]

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True Christian Piety

May 26

How blessed are those whose way is blameless [Lit complete; or having integrity], Who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways. You have ordained [ Lit commanded ] Your precepts, […]

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Some New Thing

April 16

For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. – Acts 17:21 We live in an age when there is a great desire for that which is novel and different. The trend seems to be that what is old […]

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Reverence

God, revealing Himself through Scripture, puts a holy fear in my heart. It is a reverence that makes me bow my head, sometimes cry, out of love for His grace shown to me, and yet, still knowing He is all-powerful, all knowing, omni-everything. I love Him, and fear Him. My Lord is both my greatest […]

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By the Spirit

I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is […]

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The Primary Business of the Christian

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”– I Peter 1:14-16 (NASB) Neither church planting, discipleship, apologetics, missionary […]

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Preaching & the Spiritual Growth of Church Members

In my 51 years, of all the types and styles of preaching and teaching I have witnessed, there is none that so promotes and sustains the spiritual growth of local church members than expository preaching. It simply cannot be beat. While God does indeed work in various ways and means to strengthen our lives toward […]

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The Pursuit of Blessedness

September 16

The blessedness which is thus set before us we must aim at, but we must not think to obtain it without earnest effort…  The way of perfect obedience is not learned in a day; there must be precept upon precept, line upon line, and after efforts long enough to be compared with the 176 verses […]

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The Cross Did Not Glorify God–Jesus Did.

  But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. – Galatians 6:14 (NASB) The cross, used by early Rome, was an instrument of death. It was made of wood. It was […]

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20 Statements Characteristic of Antinomianism

A most excellent post from SoundChurch.org: There is only one heresy, and that is Antinomianism. – Rabbi Duncan The following is taken from the article “Antinomianism” as found in The Encyclopedia of Christianity, edited by Edwin H. Palmer. As a part of the longer article, William Young seeks to provide a definition for antinomianism and […]

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The Heresy of Tullian Tchividjian & the New Calvinists

If there was any doubt about the greatest error in the teachings of new Calvinists, this should put it to rest. Here’s a tweet from Tullian Tchividjian today: "Just as I am without one plea" is just as true for sanctification as it is for justification. — Tullian Tchividjian (@PastorTullian) August 28, 2012 Think about […]

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3 Words of Advice for New Deacons

  I had the blessing of growing up as a PK – preacher’s kid. It was a blessing, but also an occasional tough spotlight to live in. The expectations placed on children of preachers is rarely a gray area. At least that was my experience. It seemed my siblings and I were either expected to […]

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From Victory to Victory

What do you need that God has not provided, and will not provide? And what has God provided, that you do not need—even the temptations? “Ignorance of the providence of God is the cause of all impatience.” If we can just keep before our eyes, in our present knowledge, this truth—that God our Father provides […]

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