Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5, ESV Verses 3-5 … Read More
Ten Things I Like About Being Presbyterian
Heaven have mercy on us all—Presbyterians and pagans alike—for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. –Herman Melville, Moby Dick We have cool movies associated with us like A River Runs Through It. Directed by Robert Redford, this movie is based on the 1976 semi-autobiographical novel by Norman Maclean. Our idiosyncrasies, stereotypes and foibles bring a … Read More
The Problems with Justification by Faith Alone
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1, ESV) “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24, ESV) I thought about titling this piece “How Wesley Helped Reformed Folks Get the Gospel Right” or “Orthodox Church Corrects Protestants for De-emphasizing … Read More
How to Please God
There is no greater arrogance than not to desire to be justified by faith in Christ.[1] -Luther In keeping with celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, I wanted to do two posts on how we are justified before God. In other words, how do we make peace with God? How do we please Him? All Christians care deeply about … Read More
Why the Reformation Still Matters
I’m a Protestant who believes Luther made an awful lot of mistakes, but got the big thing right—the gospel.- Mark Noll This summer I traveled to Sacramento to attend the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). A highlight of my week was getting to hear EPC member and American historian Mark Noll. In honor of the 500th anniversary of the … Read More