Here is a Great Series by @melissabkruger on Reading the Bible in a Year
Now that 2015 is coming to a close, everyone is starting to talk about cranking up the yearly Bible reading for 2016.
But, if you are looking for more than just a link to a good Bible reading program, you will want to check out the great 4-part series my wife Melissa did over at TGC on her blog Wit’s End. She provides the bigger picture reasons and motivations for why Bible reading in a year makes sense.
One of her key reasons is that yearly Bible reading allows us to see the big sweep of redemptive history, something piece-meal reading can never do. Put differently, Bible reading in … Continue reading...
A Word of Encouragment to Those in Ministry: God Does Not View Your Labors as “Filthy Rags”
When it comes to our justification–our legal standing before God–our own good works are in no way the grounds of God’s declaration that we are “righteous.” Indeed, that is the very thing that makes the gospel good news. We are saved not by what we have done, but by what Christ has done. We are accepted by God not because of our works, but in spite of them.
But what does God think of our good works after we are saved? Here is where, unfortunately, Christians often receive mixed messages. Somewhere along the way we have begun to believe that our pride is best held in check, and God’s grace … Continue reading...
When You Fail to Distinguish Second and Third Use of the Law–A Response to Tullian Tchividjian
Last week, Jen Wilkin wrote a very helpful article on TGC entitled “Failure is not a Virtue.” The purpose of her article was to push back against those who advocate what she calls “celebratory failurism.” She says, “Celebratory failurism asserts that all our attempts to obey will fail, thereby making us the recipients of greater grace. But God does not exhort us to obey just to teach us that we cannot hope to obey.”
Put differently, Jen was concerned about those who view the law only negatively (as a means of exposing failure), and rarely discuss how Christians are empowered to obey it.
Just recently, Tullian Tchividjian has … Continue reading...
Justification and Sanctification at T4G
Last week I was privileged to participate in a panel discussion at T4G with my fellow RTS professors Chad Van Dixhoorn, Derek Thomas, and Scott Swain. The panel was chaired by RTS’s chancellor, Ligon Duncan.
The topic was the relationship between justification and sanctification and how that relationship is played out (in good and bad ways) in the modern reformed and evangelical church. In particular, the focus was on how many churches (and pastors) today offer what could be called a “justification only” model of ministry. In an effort to protect and preserve the gospel of grace (a worthy goal), some churches significantly limit (if not cease entirely) any discussion … Continue reading...
Why We Need the Book of James in the New Testament Canon
In many ways, the book of James has not had an easy journey into the New Testament canon. We have few references to it in the earliest stages, it was doubted by some church fathers, and, of course, Luther himself referred to it as “an epistle of straw.”
However, we should be immensely grateful that God has preserved this book for us. Despite its detractors, the book of James provides essential theological balance for the key doctrinal debates in the church today. Several key contributions:
1. James reminds us that one can offer extended moral exhortations without being a “moralist.” In an effort to avoid the charge of “moralism,” many … Continue reading...