What are the Differences Between Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies?
To this day, I can still remember watching those “rapture” movies in my middle school youth group. In particular, I remember A Thief in the Night (1972), which scared the pants off of me. It was a bit of a mix between a horror movie and cheesy spy thriller. For the next week I had trouble sleeping, worried that I would wake up and find myself left behind.
As a result, I grew up assuming that the dispensational framework was the only proper way to read the Bible. But when I got to college, some upperclassmen introduced me to Reformed Theology and a covenantal framework for reading Scripture. It was … Continue reading...
The Great Race
“He who honors me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30).
That was the verse that was handed to Scottish runner Eric Liddell moments before he ran the 400 meters in the 1924 Olympics. It was not the event that he had trained for. He was a sprinter and was favored in the 100 meters. But the heats for the 100 were on a Sunday, and he would not run.
Although hailed as a hero now (and made famous by the movie Chariots of Fire), Liddell’s refusal to run on Sunday made him the object of severe ridicule and scorn by both the British people and the British press. The … Continue reading...
An Exciting New Book on Mentoring
The answer is almost always the same. Whenever I ask young believers—Christians who are godly and mature beyond their years—how they grew so rapidly in the faith, I know what they are going to say. An older, wiser believer invested in them.
In short, they were mentored.
As I look back on my own life, I can see this was true for me. Key spurts of Christian growth often coincided with older, wiser Christians in my life who invested in my life—a soccer coach, an upperclassman in college, a young pastor. The friendships with these men played a big role in who I am today.
Such a pattern should … Continue reading...
A Lament
Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
Continue reading...
Why Do (Modern) Christians Rarely Talk about Rewards in Heaven?
When is the last time you heard a sermon that suggested that a motive for our obedience should be the rewards we receive in heaven? I imagine for most of us it has been a long time, maybe even never. Whenever a sermon (or book) provides a motive for obedience, it is almost always thankfulness for what Christ has done. And certainly that is a wonderful and foundational motivation. But is it the only motivation?
Recently I’ve been working on a commentary on the book of Hebrews and was struck by the role rewards have played in the lives of God’s people. We are reminded that Moses was motivated by … Continue reading...