Tony Reinke (@tonyreinke) is a content strategist at Desiring God, blogger, and the author of Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Karalee, and their three children.
Demas was on Paul’s ministry team — and then Demas abandoned his ministry post out of a love for “this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). “There is a love for the world that makes ministry impossible,” John Piper says in this caution to young, culture-embracing evangelicals:
This clip was taken from Pastor John’s latest sermon: “He Stood by Me and Strengthened Me for the Sake of the Gospel” (2 Timothy 4:9–12).
"The highest holiness for you is to be like Christ," said Charles Spurgeon.
Exactly. If you want a perfect model of human holiness, look to Christ. Kevin DeYoung explains this point in his new book The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness [(Crossway, 2012), pages 38, 46–47].
He begins his point with a return to creation.
Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, after his likeness (Genesis 1:26). But in Adam’s sin, the human race was given over to corruption (Romans 5:12–21). We are still image-bearers (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9), but the image has been distorted (Genesis 6:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29). The goal of sanctification is the re…
Addiction to pornography is not limited to men, but it is a major problem among men, and Christian men, and even among pastors and missionaries. Not long ago, counselor Harry Schaumburg shared with us the prevalence of pornography among men in the ministry. It is a serious sin problem that calls for our prayers and our attention.
We recently traveled to the CCEF in Philadelphia where we asked counselor Ed Welch how he counsels men addicted to pornography. This is what he said:
Ed Welch is a speaker at our upcoming National Conference. Visit the event page to learn more and register.
To find more resources on the sin of pornography, see the CCEF website here.
Recent posts from …
The Christian's battle against fear and anxiety is a blessed struggle — so says biblical counselor and author Ed Welch. But why is this struggle blessed?
We asked him that question during our recent trip to the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) in Philadelphia. He answers in this 2-minute clip:
Ed Welch is a speaker at our upcoming National Conference. Visit the event page to learn more and register.
Here are some recent posts from Welch related to our National Conference:
After revealing his free electing grace toward sinners like us, what does God intend to do with his children now? What is the aim of our election?
This is the question we asked of respected Bible scholar Richard Gaffin, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology (emeritus) at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
He answered by expounding Paul’s words in Romans 8:29–30:
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
In this …
Ed Welch is a biblical counselor and the author of several books including Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest. He serves on the faculty of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) in Philadelphia, where we recently connected. We asked him how fear, anxiety, and worry short-circuit the Christian life, and how we can gauge growth in these struggles. He answered in this brief 2-minute video:
Ed Welch is a speaker at our upcoming National Conference, September 28–30. Register for the conference before this Friday, 11:59 PM (CDT) for the discounted rate of $175. The final price increase begins on September 1.
Recent posts related to our National Conf…
We recently traveled to the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) in Philadelphia in search of some answers to our burning questions about sanctification. While there, we asked counselor and author David Powlison what role the local church plays in our sanctification. He explains in this video clip —
This is a theme we will return to at the upcoming National Conference. Russell Moore will deliver a plenary talk titled, “Acting the Miracle Together: Corporate Dynamics in Christian Sanctification.”
Puritan Thomas Watson says it well. “After the fall, the affections were misplaced on wrong objects; in sanctification, they are turned into a sweet order and harmony, the grief placed on sin, the love on God, the joy on heaven.”*
Regeneration is the awakening and enlivening of the spiritual heart, and sanctification is the ongoing work of recalibrating the affections to cherish what God cherishes. And because we are becoming like what we worship, this is a critical work of grace in our hearts.
Sanctification is more than saying “no” to sin. Sanctification says “yes” to holiness and glad obedience to Jesus. Sanctification says yes to loving God and what he loves. Sanctification is all a…
Greg Beale titled his landmark book We Become What We Worship. His thesis is simple: “What people revere, they resemble, either for ruin or for restoration.” He traces the theme throughout Scripture to show that we are worshippers, and that our worship exposes us and changes us. We either revere the world and are conformed to the sinful patterns of the world, or we revere God and are progressively conformed into his likeness.
Take the book of Romans. Beale points out that the Greek word for representation or image (εἰκόνος) occurs in two places (Romans 1:23, 8:29).
In the first reference, Paul begins with the objects and effects of pagan worship. The pagan worship of an image is an act …
Mondays are notoriously difficult for pastors. If you are not a pastor, pray for your pastor today as you read through this post. If you are a pastor, listen to the words of pastor Jared Wilson as he describes the structure of his Mondays, along with the personal challenges he faces as another week begins. Here’s what he writes:
The fatigue begins for me as soon as the sermon is done. More often than not, I have “left it all out on the field.” But the gathering is not over. There are people to greet, visitors to meet, often times theological questions to answer and short counseling sessions to conduct. Many times there are impromptu meetings or executive decisions to be made.
At Middl…
