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Ryle on Zeal for Orthodoxy
We have too often been content with zeal for orthodoxy, and have neglected the sober realities of daily practical godliness JC Ryle, Holiness, 25 The incompatibility between godliness on the one hand and zeal for true doctrine on the other is axiomatic. This axiom has come about because we know others who — or perhaps…
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Young(ish), Restless, and Anti “Big Eva”
I am a son of the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement. I love my brothers who shepherded me under the influence of Piper, Keller, and even Driscoll in the 2010s. Thankfully, they were also influenced by church history and receiving help from the magisterial reformed including Cramner, Luther, and Calvin. The Lord has blessed me…
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Small Hearted Christianity
There is much talk today about the sin of other christians. Most of all, those in leadership. Those in leadership are to be held to a higher standard. Our Lord’s brother, the Apostle James, writes: Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with…
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The Variable of Physiological Maturity in Church Membership
The many and varied trials which life presents serve as refinement for our doctrine. In other words, God’s Word gives us a satisfactory and coherent account of our experience. In condescending to speak to us, God has not put all mystery and uncertainty to flight. There are many things which we do not know. Nonetheless,…
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The Divine Distinction between Families
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15 Our God makes a distinction between the offspring of Eve and those of the serpent. Observe this distinction has no expiration date. For example, it does…
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The Lord’s Prayer: The First Petition
When our Lord teaches his creatures to pray, the first petition he gives reflects a divine knowledge. He is God. He knows what is important. He sets the priority. When God hears prayer, what does he deem the most wise request? What is first and foremost in the divine mind when it comes to answering…
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Passionate Catechesis in an Age of Theological Apathy
It is the age of Christianese. Vague is in vogue. Theology stripped from doxology. Out with the doctrinal substance of psalms and hymns, in with the upbeat, theologically-starved emotional joy rides. Church history is left for the public high school teachers and college professors to spin. The historic creeds, confessions, and catechisms sealed with the…
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In Praise of Frequent Communion
The choice of how often God’s people are summoned to the table of their Lord reveals much about how one conceives of the meaning of the Supper itself in particular and the Christian life in general. The question of frequency prompts an array of other more foundational questions. For instance, what will most instruct God’s…
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The Sermon: A Kingly Discourse
As the King holds court on His throne of judgement (Psalm 9), He is pleased to proclaim through His heralds his wondrous new mercies every Lord’s Day. (Lamentations 3:22-23) By eternal royal decree, His enemies are pardoned (Isaiah 55:7), and the chains of their slavery are broken forever. (Psalm 107:14) Just arrived from the slums…
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The Sermon: A Divine Fatherly Discourse
Preaching is the chosen means of God to save our souls from the misery and penalty of our sins. (Romans 10:17) It is through “the folly of what we preach”, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:21, that God is shaming the wise of this world and drawing the elect to himself. The God of Israel…
