Tag: Articles

It is one of the realities of the Christian faith that people love to criticize—the reality that there are a host of different denominations and a multitude of different expressions of Christian worship. We hear it from skeptics: If Christianity is true and if it really changes people, then why can’t you get along? We hear it from Roman Catholics: If the Protestant faith is biblical, then why is it splintered while the Catholic Church remains unified? I do not deny that both skeptics and Catholics ask valid questions. But while believers have become accustomed to responding to this criticism with a sense of shame, I choose to see it in a different light. I choose to see each tradition as highlighting different aspects of God’s purpose for his people. This is what I consider “optimistic denominationalism.” It admits that the church is, indeed, divided along many different lines. But it looks for the good in it. Instead of focusing on the matters that divide us, it focuses on what each tradition chooses to emphasize. The various paedobaptist traditions, for example, emphasize welcoming children into the full life of the worshipping community as did our Old Testament forebears. “Let the children come,” they say, “and come all the way by being baptized and received.” The Baptist traditions, on the other hand, value the beauty of the children of believers being raised in the church, professing faith, and being baptized on the basis of it. Only one of the two traditions ultimately has it right and…See AlsoBook Review – “The Reason for God” by Tim KellerBook Review – Is The Reformation Over? (Part 1)Billy Graham and Ecumenicism

I wonder if you have ever considered that the solution to discontentment almost always seems to be more. If I only had more money I would be content. If I only had more followers, more possessions, more beauty, then at last I would consider myself successful. If only my house was bigger, my influence wider, my sales higher. Then, at last, I would achieve the contentment that has been so elusive.See AlsoA La Carte (10/19)Reading Classics Together – The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (XI)Reading Classics Together – A Reminder

Part of the joy of reading biography is having the opportunity to learn about a person who lived before us. An exceptional biography makes us feel as if we have actually come to know its subject, so that we rejoice in that person’s triumphs, grieve over his failures, and weep at his death.See AlsoJohn MacArthur: Servant of the Word & FlockFaithful Women & Their Extraordinary GodBook Review – Faithful Women and their Extraordinary God

It is for good reason that we have both the concept and the word average. To be average is to be typical, to be—when measured against points of comparison—rather unremarkable. It’s a truism that most of us are, in most ways, average. The average one of us is of average ability, has average looks, will live an average lifespan, and will leave an average mark on the world. That’s just the way averages work.See AlsoA La Carte (January 31)Weekend A La Carte (12/15)A La Carte (02/20)

There are few things in life more shameful than sleeping when you ought to be working, or slacking off when you ought to be diligent. When your calling is to be active, it is inappropriate and even sinful to remain passive. This is especially true when it comes to contexts that are of the highest importance and the greatest urgency.See AlsoFree Stuff FridaysBad Manners Masquerading as MediaUprooting Anger

General revelation serves exactly the purpose God intended for it—it reveals his power and divine nature. But, its message, while important, is insufficient—insufficient by design. Though general revelation tells us about the existence of God, it does not tell us about how to be reconciled to God. See AlsoThe Boundaries of EvangelicalismThe Essential: RevelationQuotes – Biblical Interpretation

Men of great physical strength have sometimes carried outrageously heavy burdens—six hundred pounds, seven hundred pounds, eight hundred. And even then they have said, “I still have not been fully tested. Put on some more weight! Load me up!” With confidence they have gripped the bar and with great straining and groaning they have lifted it clear of the ground. Yet in every case, they have eventually reached a point where they have had to cry out, “Stop! I have hit my limit. I cannot carry any more weight.See AlsoOne Woman in the Right Mightier than Four Hundred Men in the WrongHow To Bear Up Under Your BurdensWhy We Love to Read

It sometimes happens to all of us that our memories reach back to glimpse some sin or some blunder we committed in the past. And as that memory flashes into our minds, we cringe, we blush, we feel the shame of it wash over us again. This rarely happens with the sins we consider minor—the little ones pass quickly from our memories and are forgotten. Rather, it happens to the sins we consider major. These are the ones that plague our souls, that hurt our hearts, that keep us sleepless through the night. These are the ones that make us wonder whether we have truly been forgiven and whether we truly can be forgiven.See AlsoNot In Part But the WholeThe Heart of ForgivenessPleasing People

God has created a beautiful world that is full of wonders, and these wonders serve a purpose—they are meant to evoke awe, which in turn is meant to provoke worship. This was the experience of King David, who said, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). See AlsoGod’s MasterpieceEyes Wide OpenWith Reverence And Awe

Every now and again I jot down a thought that I’d like to ponder but that I don’t intend to tease out into a full article. Over the past few weeks, I have jotted down a series of thoughts on being a dad. I hope there is something here that benefits you or gets you thinking as well.See Also32 Random Thoughts About the Local ChurchDad = TitusRandom Thoughts on Reading

One of my favorite questions for times of small talk is “Why do you do what you do instead of doing something else?” Or sometimes a variation: “Why do you love what you do?” I ask this when I’m in the barber’s chair, on the x-ray table, or trying to articulate words as the dentist rummages around in my mouth—just about anywhere a person has devoted themselves to a particular vocation. My favorite answer so far has been from a dermatologist: “I work dentist hours but make doctor money.” Clever!See AlsoA La Carte (September 18)A La Carte (May 11)A La Carte (June 16)

Sam Storms once said that each human being is under a mandate to become an amateur astronomer. Every Christian is to look to the heavens to see what God has created and to learn the lessons he means for us to learn. And just as we must look up to the skies, we must also look down to the microscopic world, out to all the plants and animals, and even inward to the human body and soul.See AlsoWhy Should The Devil Have All the Good Apps?How Big Is the Universe?The Heavens Declare