Free from Sin, Slaves of Righteousness, Part 1 …
What is the Meaning of "Under Law" and "Under Grace"?
Jesus Christ and the Law of God …
Education for Exultation
The goal of studying the Bible is primarily to see and know Jesus Christ.
My Anguish: My Kinsmen Are Accursed …
Don’t think that God's sovereignty nullifies the need to pray for a sinner's salvation. Rather, see it as the ground for praying with hope.
What Is the Will of God and How Do We Know It? …
Paul doesn't want us to try ferreting out the secret will of God that he plans to do, but discern the revealed will of God that we ought to do.
Abhor What Is Evil; Hold Fast to What Is Good …
There is such a thing as objective good and evil outside ourselves.
Christ and Cancer …
God's glory is manifest both when he heals and when he gives hope and peace to the person he does not heal.
I Have Kept the Faith …
For me, the end of a year is like the end of my life. And in these last hours, I face the inevitable question: Did I live it well? Will Jesus Christ, the righteous judge, say "Well done, good and faithful servant"?
Let Us Walk by the Spirit …
The great problem in contemporary Christian living is not learning the right things to do but how to do the right things. The problem is not to discover what love looks like but how to love by the Spirit.
Your Job As Ministry …
How you do your job is an essential part of Christian discipleship.
World Hunger and Us …
Witnessing physical hunger should cause the church to wake up to the worldwide ravages of spiritual starvation.
Jesus Is Precious Because His Biblical Portrait Is True, Part 2 …
If you ever meet a man who cares nothing for the praise and approval of men (Mark 12:14), but whose one controlling desire is to glorify God whom he loves with all his heart, believe that man. He is true.
Better Never to Have Known the Way …
The more you know of Christ and his way, the more severe your judgment will be for not trusting and obeying him.
And All the Earth Shall Own Him Lord …
Festival of Mission
In order to be acclaimed Messiah and Lord, the Son of God had to come, defeat the enemy, and lead his people out of bondage in triumph over sin and Satan and death. And that he did on Good Friday and Easter.
In Sync with the Gospel …
When you finally hear and believe the drumbeat of the gospel, the rhythm of your step changes. There is a life in step with the gospel, and there is a life out of step with the gospel.
For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free …
Your enjoyment of freedom is much more important to God than many of the day-to-day decisions that fill us with so much concern.
Conversion to Christ: the Making of a Christian Hedonist …
We live in a superficially Christianized society where thousands of lost people think they do believe in Jesus.
God's Covenant Through Moses …
What was freely given under Moses was purchased by Christ.
The Spirit Will Give Life to Your Mortal Bodies …
Easter Sunday
If the Spirit of God indwells you, God is going to raise you from the dead at Christ's second coming and give new life to your mortal bodies.
Camaraderie in the Fight of Faith …
All Christians must lay hold on eternal life by fighting the good fight of faith.
Preaching Practical Holiness …
Bethel Seminary Chapel
Twin Cities, MN
Job: Wrestling with Suffering …
Why did God prolong Job's suffering? Didn't his initial reaction prove his faith?
You Shall Worship the Lord Your God …
Worshiping God is the number one duty of every human being.
Why We Need a Savior: Captive to an Alien Power, by Nature Children of Wrath …
We were dead to God, enslaved to Satan, and were rightfully under the wrath of God. There was only one hope, and it was not in ourselves.
Why Hope? Grace! …
From beginning to end our salvation—our election, our calling, our faith, our sanctification, and our glorification—is a work of divine grace.
The Fruit of Hope: Boldness …
A great hope produces great boldness.
Make Your Mouth a Means of Grace …
Four kinds of rotten language, and a whole new way to think about words.
The Pleasure of God in His Creation …
God rejoices in his works because his works are an expression of his glory.
Risk and the Cause of God: Today …
It is the will of the Lord that we take risks for the cause of God.
The Greatness of God's Electing Love …
Have you learned the love of God in a way that makes you tremble?
Christian Unity and the Cross …
The cross undermines the deepest basis of disunity and lays a new foundation for unity.
Christ's Purpose in Evangelism …
God wants people who welcome his strategic interruptions and surprises.
Battling the Unbelief of Covetousness …
All covetousness is unbelief. Learn how to use the sword of the Spirit to fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life!
The Dangers of Following Jesus …
Maundy Thursday Communion Meditation
Jesus had love to suffer for us that we might have faith to suffer with him.
Husbands Who Love Like Christ and the Wives Who Submit to Them …
Sin didn't create headship and submission; it ruined them, distorted them, and made them ugly and destructive.
Manhood, Womanhood, and the Freedom to Minister …
Manhood and womanhood are most fulfilled when servant-hearted men lead God's church in ministry.
Jesus Is the Ruler of Kings on Earth …
Jesus Christ is alive and reigning over all the kings of the earth, and all the events of the world.
Triumphant Light …
The light shines in the darkness—Jesus shines, the gospel shines, the church shines—and the darkness will not overcome it.
When Will Prophecy Cease? …
The spiritual gift of prophecy has not passed away, but is meant for the good of the church until Jesus comes.
The Authority and Nature of the Gift of Prophecy …
Prophecy is prompted and sustained by the Spirit and yet does not carry intrinsic, divine authority.
I Will Pour Out My Spirit …
We live between the beginning of the kingdom of God and the consummation of the kingdom. What is that like?
Did You Kill the Lord of Glory? …
Do you join God in his affirmation of Jesus, or do you stand against God in the life of Jesus?
The Price and the Preciousness of Spiritual Power …
The preciousness of spiritual power is that it is finally in God's control, not ours.
You Have Filled Jerusalem with Your Teaching …
We are not big. But we are part of something big.
Who Are the Elders? …
Then and Now
Congregational authority and strong leadership under that authority are not incompatible. They are biblical, and they are vital.
Overflowing Grace for All Who Believe …
The Conversion of the Chief of Sinners
God's design in converting Paul is to give you hope for yourself and for the people you want to see converted.
What God Has Cleansed Do Not Call Common …
Missions Week
Cornelius would not have been saved if no one had taken him the gospel. And no one will be saved today without the gospel.
God: Refuge for His People, Exalted Among the Nations …
Meditations on Signifiance and Success
One of the reasons we invest our lives in some insignificant ways is that we never become still enough to let the great realities hit us.
God Vindicated His Righteousness in the Death of Christ …
God put sent Christ to die in order to demonstrate his righteousness.
God Justified the Ungodly …
Being justified means being forgiven, being reckoned righteous, being loved by God, and being secured by God forever.
His Body: The Fullness of Him Who Fills All in All …
God means to fill the universe with the glory of his Son by putting the church on display as the embodiment of his Son.
Israel and Us Reconciled in One Body …
Jesus is the point in redemptive history where the true Israel becomes the church of Christ and the church emerges as the true Israel.
Ask Whatever You Wish …
God designed prayer to give his disciples the joy of bearing fruit while God himself gets the glory.
Being Pro-Life Christians Under a Pro-Choice President …
Sanctity of Life Sunday
How shall we obey God's command to honor the king—or the president, or the governor—when they promote dishonorable deeds?
The Noble Army of the Martyrs Praise Thee …
There is a number of martyrs appointed by God which must be fulfilled before the consummation comes.
We Had Boldness in Our God …
Boldness is necessary if we don't want our lives to be lived in vain.
True Christianity: Inexpressible Joy in the Invisible Christ …
You love Jesus and trust him and rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. This is true Christianity.
Girding the Mind to Guard Your Hope …
Avoid what numbs your mind to God and stay sober for the sake of hope.
But Christ Has Been Raised, You Are Not Still In Your Sins …
Easter Sunday
If we are saved by Christ's death, what does his resurrection add?
Strengthened to Suffer: Christ, Noah, and Baptism …
The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Let's follow him.
Fasting for the Safety of the Little Ones …
Sanctity of Life Sunday
Perhaps the Christian church has not used all the spiritual resources available to us in the effort to overcome darkness.
Love One Another with Tender Affection …
God intends for us not merely to do to others as we would have them do to us, but he wants us to feel toward other believers a certain way.
Vision for the Harvest: 2000 by 2000 …
Unpacking the Master Planning Team Document
When we give ourselves to the work of personal evangelism and world missions, God pours more life into our souls.
Getting Right with God and Each Other …
Human reconciliation is much harder than financial donation.
For Whom Did Jesus Taste Death? …
Christ tasted death for everyone who has faith. Because the faith of everyone who believes was purchased by the death of Christ.
Let Us Press On to Maturity …
The writer of Hebrews calls you to grow and press on to maturity. And you will—if God permits.
Purified to Serve the Living God …
How can people destroyed by their sin draw near to a perfect God?
Obey Your Joyful Leaders, Part 1 …
Spiritual leaders are to keep watch of the word, of Christ, of themselves, and of their people.
The Lofty Claim, the Last Command, the Loving Comfort …
Missions Week
The Effect of Hypocrisy, Part 2 …
Dishonoring God
Thanksgiving Toward the Past, Faith Toward the Future …
A Parable: The Anvil
When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match …
What can you do if what you feel like doing isn't what you should do.
In Him Are Hid All the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge …
One reason to admire and trust Jesus above all other persons is that he knows more than anyone else.
Talitha, the Person Who Is Adopted …
Thoughts about Racial Harmony and Sanctity of Life
It Is Never Right to Be Angry with God …
It's never right to be angry with God. And it's never right to hide your anger from him, if you feel it.
Terrorism, Justice, and Loving Our Enemies …
Is it possible to pray for justice and yet love our enemy at the same time?
Is It Conceit or Compassion? …
Christ is the Messiah. So is it arrogant or loving to proclaim him to Jews?
The Greatest Event in History …
Two Paradoxes in the Death of Christ
Christ's death on the cross was emotionally and theologically complex, to the greater glory of God.
Use Means, but Don’t Trust in Means; Trust in God …
God wants us to use means to get his work done, but he wants us to trust in him, not in these means.
How the Archbishop Got It Wrong: Humane Confidence vs. Destructive Doubt …
We must respond to suffering with both compassion and confidence in God.
Thoughts on the Sufficiency of Scripture …
What It Does and Doesn't Mean
To affirm truth with extra-biblical language is more biblical than using biblical language to defend falsehood.
A Compelling Reason for Rigorous Training of the Mind …
Thoughts on the Significance of Reading
The Bible often requires us to read thoroughly, not skim lightly. How should this affect the way we train our minds?
Missions, Orality, and the Bible …
Thoughts on Pre-, Less-, and Post-literate Cultures
Foreknown & Destined In The Son …
A poetic reflection on the glories of God in the doctrine of predestination.
The Gadarene …
(This audio comes from December 18, 2005)
What does Piper mean when he says he's a seven-point Calvinist? …
Historically, there are only five points of Calvinism, so what are the extra two?
