Month: August 2023

The Servant Leader Warns

This post was originally published in February 2019. –ed. We all understand the importance of roadside warnings while driving. Our safety often depends on the signs that line our streets and highways—especially the ones posted to inform us of potential dangers that lie ahead. Yet in the realm of pastoral ministry, there is widespread reluctance to… Continue reading The Servant Leader Warns

A Recipe for Discernment, Part 2

Discernment is not automatically built in to the lives of Christians. The ability to wisely divide truth from error is something that must be pursued and developed as a part of the sanctification process. As we saw last time, the biblical recipe for discernment starts with fervent prayer and earnest desire. Both of those are foundational,… Continue reading A Recipe for Discernment, Part 2

What Jesus Meant by “Water and the Spirit”

There’s nothing we can do to earn our way into God’s kingdom. We need God to do something to us. That truth demolishes every religious system outside of Christianity. And that is the sobering reality Jesus used to initiate His evangelistic encounter with Nicodemus—a man who had devoted his whole life to earning favor with God through his own… Continue reading What Jesus Meant by “Water and the Spirit”

The Coming of Messiah

Christ’s arrival on this planet two thousand years ago wasn’t some divine plan B after God’s failed attempts at redemption in the Old Testament. Rather, everything that took place in the Old Testament pointed to, and culminated in, the coming of Messiah. Sending the Savior had always been God’s plan, from eternity past. “God, after… Continue reading The Coming of Messiah

The Principles of the Parable of the Vineyard

This post was first published December 7, 2018. –ed. What about application? That’s a common question from people who want more what now? and how to at the end of a sermon. Those pointers can certainly help us in our day-to-day lives. But they can also narrow our understanding of the implications of a biblical… Continue reading The Principles of the Parable of the Vineyard

Rethinking the Reformation

The following blog post was originally published on February 25, 2015. —ed. Exactly two years ago, as the Roman Catholic Church was preparing to elect its current pope, the GTY blog published several articles from John MacArthur exposing the heresies of the Catholic Church. With the papal election dominating the news cycle and public conversation, we wanted… Continue reading Rethinking the Reformation

Faith Minus Reason Equals Irrational Unbelief

This post was first published during April 2014. –ed. Many people mistakenly think of faith as inherently noble. A once-popular song extols the virtue of faith, or believing: “I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.” No one really believes that, of course, but that is not the point. The song is a paean… Continue reading Faith Minus Reason Equals Irrational Unbelief

God in the Hands of Giddy Sinners

Many charismatics today claim that the Great Awakening was a forerunner to their own movement, marked by the same emotional outbursts and experiences that dominate their worship. Moreover, as we’ve already seen, they argue that the movement was quenched by an emphasis on theological precision. But such arguments betray a woeful misunderstanding of the Great Awakening—a… Continue reading God in the Hands of Giddy Sinners