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For as long as there has been truth, there has been division over the truth—over what is consistent with God’s revelation and what is aberrant, over what pleases him and what grieves his heart. Richard Baxter was no stranger to this reality and, aware of his own sinfulness, penned a prayer meant to plead God’s help in times of controversy. Lord God, when controversies occasion division among your people, may I look first to the interest of the common good …
As I survey the contemporary church, one of my gravest concerns is the power and prevalence of mysticism. It appears in pulpits, books, and conversation. It is at the heart of Sarah Young’s bestselling Jesus Calling, it is in all the much-loved books by John Eldredge, it fills the pages of so many books on spiritual disciplines or spiritual formation, it is almost everywhere you look. Language that was once considered the distinguishing language of mysticism is now commonly used …
More than once I have been accused of being a bibliolater, a person who idolizes the Bible, who has excessive reverence for the letter of the Bible. I’m sure many other Christians have been accused of this as well. In my experience, this charge tends to be leveled against those who affirm the infallibility or inerrancy of Scripture; it may also be leveled against those who affirm the sufficiency of Scripture. People who level such a charge are objecting to …
You may have heard that Louie Giglio was invited to pray at the presidential inauguration but then had that invitation retracted when it was discovered that he holds a biblical view of homosexuality. This caused many reactions in the blogosphere. Among the best are Al Mohler’s and Russell Moore’s. Kindle users may be interested in two books that look at spiritual leadership: D.L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership and C.H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership. Why I Changed My Mind About the Millennium …
This blog has introduced a challenge to my life that I hadn’t expected. It demands that at least part of my life–or thought life, at any rate–is lived out in public. This blog, like most others, is a place where I am able to think out loud in public and this affords every reader the opportunity to agree or disagree with me. This is well and good. Part of the joy of blogging is the measured exchange of ideas and …
I am in the unique and enjoyable position of receiving copies of most of the latest and greatest Christian books and I like to provide regular roundups of some of the best and brightest of the bunch. Here are some of the notable books that I’ve received in the past few weeks. Creature of the Word by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger. “The Reformers viewed the gospel as not merely one thing among many in the life of a church but …
This is the tenth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, and election. Revelation refers to the revealing of something that was previously unknown. In the case of theology, revelation refers to the revealing of the knowledge of God’s character and ways. The Bible presents two types of revelation. 1) General revelation refers to the knowledge of God that is revealed in creation. …
Sell All That You Have – R.C. Sproul Jr. answers this question: “Jesus told the rich young fool that he must sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow him. Is this true for all who would follow Jesus?” Is the Sabbath Still Relevant? – Meanwhile, Ray Ortlund asks whether the sabbath is still relevant. “If we did set apart one day each week for rejuvenation in God, we would immediately add to every year over …
A reader of this site recently asked me to explain how I determine whether a book is good and worthy of recommendation or whether it is not. That is a fair question and I was surprised to find that I had not addressed it in the past. I will take on that challenge today. It will be helpful to assume that the book in question is meant to address the Christian life, falling under the broad categories of Christian Living …
After writing about this new genre of I went to heaven books, I received many comments and emails asking me about biblical examples of those who glimpsed heaven–John in the book of Revelation, Paul in 2 Corinthians, Isaiah in his prophecy. I will address this briefly today. There are several themes in today’s “I went to heaven” books: Each of the people experienced heaven after dying a natural death. In every case, the soul had left the body so the person …