Christians must anchor their identity in biblical truth. Who am I? I am a creature created by God, dependent upon God, accountable to God, and reflecting the image of God. These facts give me both value and moral obligations. This is perhaps the most basic and foundational aspect of human identity, and we dare not deny it. Read More ...
We find our identity, primarily, by looking at these external sources. We don’t find our identity primarily by our internal thoughts and feelings about ourselves. We look externally at facts and reality, not internally at our own heart. We consider God’s providence in our lives—where has God put us? How has he equipped us? What opportunities has he given us? What are the physical facts before us? These facts tell us who we are. Read More ...
The world around us is identifying itself in ways that are indecent, immoral, and downright ridiculous. Christians must not affirm or accept these ways of identification. E.g., we do not affirm a man who is pretending to be a woman. We do not play along with a child who identifies as an animal. We do not accept immoral and indecent behavior as normal and natural. We do not accept the idea that a man can have a husband or a woman can have a wife. We refuse to use improper pronouns—a biological woman is a she, and a biological man is a he, no matter what surgeries a person has had, what chemicals they have pumped into their bodies, or how they dress. Read More ...
These are traditional, biblical values, and we must not give them up easily or without a fight. Retaining these traditional values is becoming increasingly difficult in a world that rejects them. Most of the culture today is telling us to reject these values. But we must not reject them; instead, we must adopt them, affirm them, and teach them to the next generation. Read More ...
If your identity is in Christ, then you are obligated to live consistently with that identity. We must allow faith in Christ to identify us and to show us how to live. Read More ...
Music will have an impact, whether good or bad. We need to be careful about music so that it has a positive, godly influence on us. The music we participate in and voluntarily listen to should be good, beautiful, true, and consistent with biblical principles. Read More ...
This whole section is a long contrast and comparison between two ministries, two covenants, and two persons. On the one hand, we have the OC given by God to Moses. That covenant had glory and it was appropriate for a certain place and time. But Jesus initiated the NC with his death and resurrection. The glory of the NC far exceeds the glory of the OC. That’s Paul’s main point in this passage. Read More ...
Just as God commands all men everywhere to repent and believe in Jesus, so all believers are obligated to confess Christ publicly through baptism. To fail to confess your faith through baptism is to disregard Christ’s command that believers must be baptized. Read More ...
The only way that we can truly celebrate motherhood is if we have a robust biblical definition of womanhood. The Bible gives us that definition. Common sense confirms that definition, and we must not relinquish that definition to the unstable, corrupt, and evil people in our society. Read More ...
We should have a deep appreciation for the fact that we approach God under the NC, not under the old. Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” His final sacrifice and his resurrection fulfilled and concluded the operation of the OC. We should understand that, and we should be glad that we function under NC, the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of righteousness, that does not fade away. Read More ...
Christians must anchor their identity in biblical truth. Who am I? I am a creature created by God, dependent upon God, accountable to God, and reflecting the image of God. These facts give me both value and moral obligations. This is perhaps the most basic and foundational aspect of human identity, and we dare not deny it. Read More ...
We find our identity, primarily, by looking at these external sources. We don’t find our identity primarily by our internal thoughts and feelings about ourselves. We look externally at facts and reality, not internally at our own heart. We consider God’s providence in our lives—where has God put us? How has he equipped us? What opportunities has he given us? What are the physical facts before us? These facts tell us who we are. Read More ...
The world around us is identifying itself in ways that are indecent, immoral, and downright ridiculous. Christians must not affirm or accept these ways of identification. E.g., we do not affirm a man who is pretending to be a woman. We do not play along with a child who identifies as an animal. We do not accept immoral and indecent behavior as normal and natural. We do not accept the idea that a man can have a husband or a woman can have a wife. We refuse to use improper pronouns—a biological woman is a she, and a biological man is a he, no matter what surgeries a person has had, what chemicals they have pumped into their bodies, or how they dress. Read More ...
These are traditional, biblical values, and we must not give them up easily or without a fight. Retaining these traditional values is becoming increasingly difficult in a world that rejects them. Most of the culture today is telling us to reject these values. But we must not reject them; instead, we must adopt them, affirm them, and teach them to the next generation. Read More ...
If your identity is in Christ, then you are obligated to live consistently with that identity. We must allow faith in Christ to identify us and to show us how to live. Read More ...
Music will have an impact, whether good or bad. We need to be careful about music so that it has a positive, godly influence on us. The music we participate in and voluntarily listen to should be good, beautiful, true, and consistent with biblical principles. Read More ...
This whole section is a long contrast and comparison between two ministries, two covenants, and two persons. On the one hand, we have the OC given by God to Moses. That covenant had glory and it was appropriate for a certain place and time. But Jesus initiated the NC with his death and resurrection. The glory of the NC far exceeds the glory of the OC. That’s Paul’s main point in this passage. Read More ...
Just as God commands all men everywhere to repent and believe in Jesus, so all believers are obligated to confess Christ publicly through baptism. To fail to confess your faith through baptism is to disregard Christ’s command that believers must be baptized. Read More ...
The only way that we can truly celebrate motherhood is if we have a robust biblical definition of womanhood. The Bible gives us that definition. Common sense confirms that definition, and we must not relinquish that definition to the unstable, corrupt, and evil people in our society. Read More ...
We should have a deep appreciation for the fact that we approach God under the NC, not under the old. Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” His final sacrifice and his resurrection fulfilled and concluded the operation of the OC. We should understand that, and we should be glad that we function under NC, the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of righteousness, that does not fade away. Read More ...