2 Timothy 2:22-26—

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

God’s word warns us that some controversies are foolish and ignorant. They breed quarrels. We …

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Recently, while reading John Bunyan’s Pilgrim's Progress to my family, I ran across an insightful character named “Mr. Fearing”. With him I also found one of the clearest descriptions of the effect of legalism I’d ever run across.

He doubted that his acceptance of Christ had made him worthy to claim all the promises of God. Therefore he was afraid he would not be accepted by God. He doubtless believed in a brand of religious legalism—that we must obey law to obtain sufficient grace to become worthy of acceptance.

How true this is for so many of us. Initially we believe in Christ alone for justification, but because our eyes have been opened to our sin, we are deceived into thinking th…

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Recently I expressed some frustration to my pastor about how I am not "applying the gospel to my children." So this past Sunday he lovingly took me aside to make sure I wasn’t legalistically trying to "apply the gospel" in a slavish, duty-bound way.

It's easy to allow slavish obedience to muddy the gospel, isn't it? We discover something beautiful about Christ and the gospel, but then after some time, instead of it remaining transforming good news that overflows in worship and good works, we turn it into a means of gaining acceptance, once again taking up the yoke of our former master.

But obedience that flows from joy is so different than obedience that flows from duty! The first …

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Recently I picked up William P. Farley’s book, Gospel-Powered Parenting and found exactly what I needed to hear as a young father. I’m not going to write a full review, since Tim Challies already did that, but I hope this post whets your appetite a little.

Since discovering that the gospel is the fuel that drives Christians to loving, joyful obedience, I’ve had my eye out for a book that would help my wife and I apply the gospel to our children as we nurture them in the Lord. We don’t want to train up a group of thespian (fake) Christians, but joy-filled, fruitful, enduring (real) ones. As Farley points out, the devil can produce outwardly “moral” children—our goal as parents ought to be …

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In John 6 a large crowd crosses the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus. But when they find him, instead of welcoming their “seeking” Jesus says to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. (John 6:26, 27)

A little later on in the chapter, he purposely offends them with his “hard sayings” so that many turn away and no longer follow him. But weren't the crowds coming to the right source of blessing? Didn’t they believe that he could and would heal them and give them bread to eat?

…

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Have you ever found yourself in prayer pleading a case before God when you suddenly get a sick feeling that either God is not listening or he’s not willing to hear you? What do you do when that happens? Hopefully you haven’t followed my example.

I have recently become painfully aware of a tendency of mine, when feeling inadequate to approach God, to try to bend his will through tears and contrite statements. Knowing that God will not despise a humble and contrite heart I’ve been seeking to make myself that way so that he would accept me and hear my pleas.

But there is a humbleness that does not flow from the gospel, and I frequently fall completely into its trap. It's the same humility t…

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As a follow up to my post on Tuesday, I wanted to share some resources from old saints that have provided the most help in keeping God a priority for me and my family.

1) Sweet Comfort for Feeble Saints, by C. H. Spurgeon

No sermon I can think of has been more influential in convincing me of the goodness of Christ and my own redemption than this one. If you are constantly in the “Slough of Despond” I highly recommend this.

2) Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The answer to lawlessness is not legalism and the answer to legalism is not lawlessness. Both are idolatry. True faith in Christ, resting in his work, leads to personal obedience. There is n…

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Allow me to speak personally for a moment about a sin that long festered in my life: forsaking the means of grace in my home, sacrificing them on the altar of vocational work.

In my profession, it is customary to work long hours to meet deadlines (often multiple overlapping deadlines). And since the work is not back-breaking labor, it is easy to slowly get entangled in it until I find that I have spent an entire year working such long hours that I have forsaken the first things God has called me to, namely prayer, meditation, scripture memorization and study, instructing my wife and children, knowing their infirmities, and bearing with them in daily struggles.

God has plainly shown us …

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