Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom… A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. — Proverbs 18: 1, 24 (KJV) I’ve been…
In the 21st century evangelical landscape, there are two opposing errors concerning worship that grow out of the same root problem. One error is the attempt to be hyper-relevant. Those who succumb to this temptation seek a worship “experience” tailored…
Is it possible to “get saved” without getting sanctified? The 1689 Confession, in accordance with the Bible, answers with a resounding “No!” Sanctification is not an optional extra for Christians; it is an essential part of the salvation God gives…
James W. Alexander lived a fascinating life. Like his father, the Rev. Archibald Alexander, James Alexander served as an American Presbyterian pastor and professor. Unlike his father, Alexander also authored a number of hymns and translated others (including “O Sacred…
Every place has a feel, an impression or characteristic sensation. Home has a feel, even if it isn’t always positive. The neighborhood you grew up in has a feel. The noisy main street of your urban center has perhaps a…
In the New Testament, the word often translated as “sanctification” is sometimes translated, “holiness.” The Greek is hagiasmos (ἁγιασμὸς), the noun form of the verb “to sanctify,” “to make holy” (hagiazo, ἁγιάζω). The basic meaning of the verb is to set…
Every church in America is now a church re-plant. This is a hard truth, but healthy churches will own it, while those who ignore it will be walking down the path towards a painful decline. American Christianity has learned numerous…
While civil disobedience may sometimes be acceptable in the socio-political sphere, ecclesial disobedience (especially on the part of church officers) is only justified in the most extreme cases. If defying or ignoring church law makes a sort of sense in…
“You shall not covet…” — Deuteronomy 5:21 “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor” (Ecc 4:4). Really? All toil? All skill? All driven by envy? What would that say…
Gary L. Steward, Justifying Revolution: The American Clergy’s Argument for Political Resistance, 1750-1776(New York, NY; Oxford University Press, 2021), 232 pages, Hardcover. $74 The subject of submission and resistance to political authorities is an evergreen issue. No matter where one…
