The Scope of Commandment Nine
The Lord is lord of all truth. God is always truthful. He never deceives. The Lord’s yes is always yes, and his no is always no. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in the triune God of truth. How…
Tag Ten Commandments
Swimming with Sharks and Equality Vigilantes
Thieves are typically pegged under one of two caricatures. The first is the burglar ruffian who picks your pocket, breaks into your car, or steals your Amazon package. The second is the white-collar fat cat, embezzling from his employees and…
3 Ways a Church Should Consider Spending Less
“You shall not steal” – Deut. 5:19 Back when Immanuel Church Nashville was first planted, Ray Ortlund made a case for spending money so people could have Starbucks brand coffee in the lobby. Setting aside the fact that Starbucks coffee…
Time to Play Offense in the War against Porn
“You shall not commit adultery.” — Ex 20:14 When the internet was in its infancy, in the days of AIM and dial-up modems, there were some voices warning us to patch up the leaks in the dam against unbridled smut.…
Stop Telling People to “Just Get Married”
“You shall not commit adultery.” For a single Christian, marriage is often sold like 21st-century snake oil: “Having trouble with lust? Feel assaulted by a hyper-sexualized world? Do you sometimes struggle to find purpose? Do you ever feel distance between…
Slavery for Our Time
“You shall not murder.” Death. It happens every day, everywhere across the world, and yet there is something about death that sets it apart from other common events in the world. We approach it with a mixture of contradictory feelings,…
I’ve Never Killed Anyone… Right?
“You shall not murder” “Have you lived a good life?” “Well, I’ve never killed anyone.” Christians know that line won’t stand up in God’s courtroom. We quickly pivot away from murder to press the sin issue from other angles. “Have…
Why the “A” Word Isn’t So Dirty
“Honor your father and mother… that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Few things seem more American than rebelling against authority. After…
Should the Church Have Authority over Me?
“Honor your father and mother…that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” If we were to put together ten rules for constructing a…
Why Our World Needs the Sabbath
“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” — Deut. 5:12-14 “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got…