As Biblical Counselors, we counsel the Word in the midst of current tensions and violence in a world that desperately needs Christ. The past several weeks have been hard. Very hard. And sadly, there could be harder weeks to come. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling a mix of sadness, exhaustion, fear, and confusion. There […]
Sorted by: Kevin DeYoung
Now that the Supreme Court has issued its sweeping ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, we can expect an avalanche of commentary, analysis, and punditry. I’m not a law professor, a politician, a talk show host, or a public intellectual (whatever that is). I’m a pastor. I study and teach the Bible for a living. Which means, among all the things I may not be an expert on, I may be able to say something meaningful from the Scriptures. So as we pour over legal opinions and internet commentary, let us not forget what the Bible says.
Whenever counseling Christians looking for assurance of salvation, I take them to 1 John. This brief epistle is full of help for determining whether we are in the faith or not. In particular, there are three signs in 1 John given to us so we can answer the question “Do I have confidence or condemnation?”
It is difficult to exaggerate how seriously the Bible treats the sin of sexual immorality. Sexual sin is never considered adiaphora, a matter of indifference, an agree-to-disagree issue like food laws or holy days (Rom. 14:1-15:7). To the contrary, sexual immorality is precisely the sort of sin that characterizes those who will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
There is nothing gray about whether a follower of Christ should see 50 Shades of Grey. This is a black and white issue. Don’t go. Don’t watch it. Don’t read it. Don’t rent it.
If you are going to read just one out of print book with a terrible cover this year read C. John Sommerville’s devastating little book How the News Makes Us Dumb (IVP 1999). I read the book soon after it came out. It was wonderfully iconoclastic then–and that was before the ascendancy of the internet and social media. The news examples are hopelessly out of date (they were already in 1999), but the media criticism is as relevant as ever.
In Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. They were known as Christ-people. This is not the only term used in the New Testament.
Tis the season to be jolly. And tis the season for Christians to be mad in the midst of so much mirth. I get the critiques. I understand that Christmas is about Christ and not about Santa.
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-width: 0px; color: rgb(64, 70, 75); font-family: Georgia, 'Trebuchet MS', serif; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> We talk a lot about relationships in the church. There are scores of marriage seminars, retreats, and conferences. There are video series and books for newlyweds and engaged couples. Most every church offers marital counseling and most every pastor preaches somewhat regularly on marriage. And the same is true for parenting. There are dozens of books on raising children. There are Sunday school</p>
Let me begin with an understatement: I am not renowned for my dexterity with tools. It was only last year I got a real toolbox