Katie asked: “I heard a preacher (Paul Washer) put forth an idea that I’d never heard of before concerning the wrath of God and Jesus on the cross. He said that while Jesus was on the cross, the Father poured out His cup of wrath onto Him, and that’s how He paid for our sins. […]

There are two very different ways of looking at Church history. For some, it is a history of an institution that has remained faithful from the days of the apostles to today. For others, it is a history of the corruption of the apostolic churches, followed by a gradual and uneven recovery of truth by […]

I eat out more than I should. Fried chicken is my favorite. Hot dogs are a close second. I’ll eat French fries, but I prefer onion rings or fried pickles. I like the food but have low expectations for the service. At this point, there is a 50/50 chance of receiving a wrong order. There […]

My son noticed that the new Shazam movie was available, but he also knew to ask, “Are we allowed to see it? Is there…anything in it that’s…not OK?” He’s heard me say many times that there are shows, movies, and whole channels we will not watch as a family because they teach stupid, blasphemous, or […]

“The five-year plan is dead,” Kate Northrup writes. “With the pandemic and other uncertainties, many individuals are questioning what this means for career, and for those who plan years into the future, it can make them feel like they’re floundering. ‘How should you think about the future?’” Even secular society is feeling the uncertainty of […]

Are you so tired of living that you look forward to dying? According to this recent article, that’s how many senior citizens feel. Even though they are “not seriously ill,” they still feel “a yearning to end their lives.” Why? Here’s one example: Molly was 88 years old and in good health. She had outlived […]

What did James mean when he said that faith without works is dead? “This does not mean that true faith is dead until works bring it to life, as some seem to construe it. James is here writing of showing charity to the needy, and very truly declares that to believe without acting would be […]

What does it mean to trust someone? Would you agree that putting your faith in someone reflects your confidence in their ability to do the job? If you take your son to a pediatrician because he’s been suffering from terrible headaches, doesn’t that mean you think the doctor can do what you cannot do for […]

How do you show grace to your kids? How do you let it permeate all aspects of your family life and parenting? It’s one thing to preach grace in an obvious pastoral context. But how do you parent “in line with the truth of the gospel” (cf. Gal 2:14)? Daphne and Zane recently had a […]

Tucker Carlson recently said, “I should say at the outset, I’m an Episcopalian, so don’t take any theological advice from me because I don’t have any. I grew up in the shallowest faith tradition that’s ever been invented. It’s not even a Christian religion at this point, I say with shame.” That’s a sad evaluation […]

It was late afternoon on the Lower Mountain Fork River in Oklahoma. The three friends had driven up from Dallas to escape the city's stresses, refresh their souls in the mountains, and fish for trout. Like water itself, fishing is very reflective—philosophical. When you cast your line into the water, you never know. Casting a […]

“One can see from Thomas More, then, how easy it is for men of great capacity and judgment to misunderstand things written or spoken, on one side of an argument or the other” (Richard Hooker, A Learned Discourse on Justification, p. 68). I agree with Richard Hooker (1554–1600) that it is easy for even intelligent […]

For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ (1 Cor 3:1). Have you ever heard of a “fleshly Christian” or of a “carnal Christian”? Do you know what that is? Generally speaking, to be carnal means […]

I never expected that George from Seinfeld would teach me something important about Free Grace ministry. More on that in a moment. The Free Grace movement faces a challenge: our young men often feel held back from ministry because of the lack of institutional support. If you look around, there are far more opportunities for […]

A Christian friend confessed that he struggled with attending church even since becoming a dad. “Going to church hasn’t been an option for us,” he said. “The idea of getting my kids dressed up and out the door, only to spend three hours telling them to be quiet through gritted teeth, and have them inevitably […]

The Christians in Thessalonica had already had several funerals. The death of a loved one would be disorienting enough, but the Apostle Paul had told them that Jesus would be coming back for them soon. Only He hadn’t. Not yet. And in the meantime, loved ones died. Thessalonians were unclear about what would happen to […]

What do I look for in a spiritual theologian? By “spiritual theology,” I mean a theology of how to live the Christian life. The problem is that so many of the “classic” spiritual teachers were steeped in works salvation, so their spiritual theology is an extension of a false gospel. You can still learn from […]

It is heartbreaking to see how much confusion has been created by evangelizing using a “sinner’s prayer.” Here’s a common sense observation: when you tell people that you can be saved by saying a special prayer, they’ll think that’s what saves them. Just ask Fr. Mark Perkins, an Anglican rector. His testimony, “Why I Am […]

Robert Farrar Capon’s wife was watching a Sunday morning TV preacher when he expressed his disapproval. “The Gospel is vastly, alarmingly, mind-numbingly simpler than the moralistic, judgment-loaded religion they’re selling,” he said. “But their stuff is at least selling,” she replied, “which is more than you can say for yours.” She’s not wrong! Works salvation […]

Have you ever heard of Lady Jane Grey (1537–1554)? She reigned as queen of England for a mere nine days, from July 10th until July 19th 1553, after which she was deposed, locked up in the tower of London, and executed. She was Queen at sixteen and beheaded at seventeen. As dramatic a story as […]