“In, but not of”— if you’ve spent much time Christian circles, you’re probably familiar with this slogan. In the world, but not of the world. It captures a truth about Jesus’s followers. There’s a real sense in which we are “in” this world, but not “of” it.

In, but not of. Yes, yes, of course.

But might this punchy phrase be giving the wrong impression about our (co)mission in this world as Christians? The motto could seem to give the drift, We are in this world, alas, but what we really need to do is make sure that we’re not of it.

In this way of configuring things, the starting place is our unfortunate condition of being “in” this world. Sigh. And our mission, it appears, is …

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What shall we call the unborn in the womb?

If the entity is a living thing, is it not a life? If your person began as a single cell, how can that fertilized egg be something other than a human being? Isn't it more accurate to say you were an embryo than that you simply came from one?

So when does a human being have a right to life?

Shall we say size matters? Is the unborn child too small to deserve our protection? Are big people more valuable than little people? Are men more human than woman? Do offensive linemen have more rights than jockeys? Is the life in the womb of no account because you can't hold him in our arms, or put him in your hands, or only see her on a screen?

S…

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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 …

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God’s holiness.

“Oh dear!” you might sigh — and I’d understand, for without the Trinity, holiness does have the smell of mothballs about it, the look of a Victorian matron administering castor oil. And much of what purports to be holiness has just that aura about it: all prickliness and prudery. People even say things like, “Yes, God is loving, but he is also holy” — as if holiness is an unloving thing, the cold side of God that stops God from being too loving.

Balderdash! Poppycock! Or at least, it is if you are talking about the holiness of the Father, Son and Spirit. No, said Jonathan Edwards:

Holiness is a most beautiful, lovely thing. Men are apt to drink in strange notions of …

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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…

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Anders Breivik’s sentence for killing 77 people in Norway on July 22, 2011 is outrageous. He was deemed sane and sentenced to serve 21 years in prison “in a three-cell suite of rooms equipped with exercise equipment, a television and a laptop.” That’s 100 days of posh prison time for each person he murdered, with a legal release possible at age 53. Life is cheap in Norway.

The news agencies explained that such a sentence

is consistent with Norway’s general approach to criminal justice. Like the rest of Europe . . . Norway no longer has the death penalty and considers prison more a means for rehabilitation than retribution.

They explained that “many Europeans” consider America’s crimina…

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“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet… they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10).

My children begin school this week. The summer is passing us by and we’re all groaning a bit. It went so fast.

I turned 47 this summer. 47? I remember my Dad turning 47. How’d I get here so soon? My oldest child turned 16 this summer. My second child turns 14 this week. But they were just toddlers! We were just trying to figure out kindergarten options for them, weren’t we?

Life is a vapor. Even if we live to old age our lives “are soon gone” (Psalm 90:10). But most people either desperately try to grab as much life as they can by pursuing passing things, …

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This weekend's seminar on The Pleasures of God has just ended. If you attended the seminar or joined us on the live-stream, thanks so much for being a part of this event. We hope you can join us on the live-stream tonight at 7:10 (EDT) for John Piper's sermon at Bethlehem Baptist Church (Downtown campus).

Related Resources

Here's a list of resources mentioned by Pastor John during the seminar or related to the content:

• The book, The Pleasures of God
• Full seminar notes (PDF)
• Scougal's book for purchase, Amazon or WTS Books
• Scougal's book free online: here and here
• Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University
• Edwards's Essay on the Trinity
• BCS Press: The Pleasures of God (12 w…

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Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered on the cross in our place and was raised triumphantly from the dead. He ascended to the Father's right hand and is now enthroned, sending his Spirit who by the Word gathers for himself a new people from every tribe and tongue and nation. This new people — the church — are those who by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus are welcomed into fellowship with God and now hope for his coming kingdom.

We know this news changes everything. It has to. But how?

What about everyday life? What about relationships? Or more specifically, what about marriage?

In their book, Love That Lasts, Gary and Betsy Ricucci list out nine ways that the gospel directly…

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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.”