Morality/Ethics

Can I change? Do I need to change? These two questions come at the same issue, sexual identity, from differing angles. Both are hopeless. One lacks hope in God’s promises in His Word. One lacks hope in His commands. Either way, both need to understand better and believe the matter of Sanctification...

My wife and I had the opportunity this summer of visiting Normandy, France. A highlight of our trip was a day spent touring a small section of the D-Day landing beaches as well as the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. It was a moving and somber experience as we reflected on the thousands of young...

One of my pet peeves as a pastor, is the use of Christian jargon. We sometimes use words or phrases, but are unable to define the terms! In other words: We don’t understand what we are saying! The phrase “besetting sin” is a good example. The phrase is from the translation of the Greek word:...

Humans have been fascinated by themselves since the earliest times in the history of our race. From the crude stick figures painted on the walls of caves in prehistoric times through to the sophisticated image of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man , or the mathematical musings around the Fibonacci...

The Christian world is thinking and talking a lot about sanctification; how to grow in godliness and live holy lives. Amen! O that we would do so more and more! But I want to contend that in thinking through a believer’s sanctification we cannot do so rightly without first thinking through our...

It can sometimes be revealing to notice how certain terms or expressions from the Bible take on a different meaning once they find their way into the secular world, or even into other branches of world Christianity. The term "saint" is a good example. In a religious context, it can bring to mind a...

Too often the idea of ‘good works’ has been the Cinderella of Reformed discussion. Wanting (quite rightly) to distance ourselves from any kind of meritorious implications attached to them (which lies at the heart of the Roman Catholic view) we have perhaps over-corrected our stance to our own loss...

Samuel McPheeters and His Commitment to Neutrality It was 1862, two days after Christmas. The American Civil War was still raging, when Samuel Brown McPheeters, Presbyterian pastor of the largest church in St. Louis, Missouri, met with President Lincoln to present his plea. A Southern Preacher in...

Pastors, elders, and godly parents rightly take interest in the education and nurture of their children, and as a result action-minded Christians start schools. Christian schools represent a natural or spontaneous result of faith, and the Lord is pleased with such loving motives and acts...

From Shadow to Substance What is Federal Theology? Sam Renihan joins our hosts to address this very question. Sam is a pastor at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in La Mirada, CA and author of From Shadow to Substance: the Federal Theology of the English Particular Baptists. Is it fair to say that...