Practical Theology
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I attended a Christian University along with approximately five-thousand other students, most of whom came from Christian homes. Although I never conducted an official survey, my general impression was that very few of my fellow Christian students had grown up in homes where family worship had been regularly practiced. It was a foreign concept to…
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In Psalm 98:4, God’s people are called to crank up the volume of congregational praise: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;Break forth into joyous song and sing praises! (ESV). I’d like to offer a brief exposition of the key terms employed, followed by some practical observations. Brief Commentary The Psalmist employs…
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Can we justify taking one human life if doing so might save thousands of others? That’s the troubling moral question at the heart of embryonic stem cell research. Scientists hold out the promise of remarkable medical breakthroughs—potential treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes, and other devastating diseases. But what happens when the pursuit of those cures…
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I’m not simply asking why God allowed Christ to be tempted. I’m also asking why God chose to include the account of Christ’s temptation in Scripture. According to John’s Gospel, 20:30, Christ did many significant things in His lifetime that are not recorded in Scripture. Apparently, the Holy Spirit moved the writers of Scripture to…
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The Bible sufficiency teaches us everything we need to know in order to know, love and serve God. But how precisely does the Bible reveal this information to us? According to the Confession, the Scriptures reveal God’s will both directly and also indirectly. Here’s how the Westminster Confession states it: “The whole counsel of God…
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The greatest battle ever waged on earth’s soil took place two thousand years ago in the desert of Palestine. There met the champions of evil and righteousness. Satan, the most intelligent and powerful creature ever made and who’d become the archenemy of God, stood toe-to-toe with the Promised Descendant of Eve, Jesus of Nazareth, the…
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Religious “Legalism” with a capital “L” is heresy. It’s the belief that one’s personal virtue and obedience to religious norms or standards merits God’s favor and/or salvation. This “do-it-yourself” religion is antithetical to the gospel of Christ and the Bible’s grace-based religion. “For by grace you have been saved through faith,” writes the apostle Paul.…
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In an article entitled “Ministers All?” R. Scott Clark rejects “the ‘every member’ model” of church ministry as having “a lot more to do with democratic populism than it does with the biblical view of the church.” Along the same lines, T. David Gordon rejects the notion that pastors should equip saints for works of ministry and…
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We’ve looked at the law and gospel in terms of “the big picture” and determined that they are interrelated and inseparable concepts (see Part 1). But is it ever appropriate to distinguish law from gospel? In other words, do the biblical writers ever contrast law with gospel? The answer is “Yes.” In fact, such a contrast is…
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The biblical teaching on “the law” and “the gospel” is massive. And contrary to what some may think, these concepts are complex. They can’t be reduced to a plaque on the wall with the Ten Commandments or a paper tract with Four Easy Steps on how to become a Christian. Instead, law and gospel each have…