Sanctification

  • The Church and Psalm 81 by W. Robert Godfrey

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2013

    What does the church most need today? In answering this important but rather general question, Psalm 81 is uniquely important and helpful. This psalm obviously contains beautiful promises and clear directions to help the people of God. But careful study …Read More

  • The Greatest Commandment by Mark Jones

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2013

    When one of the religious scribes asked Jesus which commandment is most important, He answered: “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all …Read More

  • Bind These Words by Miles Van Pelt

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2013

    The final words of the Shema contain Moses’ command to the Israelites to bind the words of God as signs on the hands and between the eyes (Deut. 6:8). He also commands them to write these words on the …Read More

  • On Your Heart by Curt Heffelfinger

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2013

    An ad campaign for a credit card pounds away at consumers with the relentless tagline, “What’s in your wallet?” A far more important question arises for those embracing the Shema with its Great Commandment of Deuteronomy 6:5. The …Read More

  • Dealing with Lust by Joseph Pipa Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2013

    They are as close as our skin, the troika of lusts described by the Apostle John: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:16). These inordinate and forbidden …Read More

  • A Charitable Reaction by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2013

    Has anyone ever said something unkind to you or about you? I think we all have had that experience. Becoming victims of slander or malicious gossip can be difficult to bear. However, God calls us to exhibit a very specific …Read More

  • Listening to God’s Word by Eric Watkins

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2013

    Lying somewhere in the home of each person reading this article is a Bible. Maybe more than one. The fact that nearly every Christian in the West has his own Bible is a rather recent privilege. For roughly the first …Read More

  • The Pursuit of Holiness: An Interview with Jerry Bridges by Jerry Bridges

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2012

    Tabletalk: What do you see as the greatest need in the church today? Jerry Bridges: There are so many needs in the church today that it is difficult to single out one as the greatest. However, if I had to …Read More

  • Holy People Are Happy People by John Starke

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2011

    So much could be said of the consequences of sin and impurity for the Christian. And we should speak of them — the Bible certainly does. David, in Psalm 32, described the misery of unrepentant sin as his bones wasting away …Read More

  • Keep the Presence of God by John Piper

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2011

    On vacation, I kept a copy of Jonathan Edwards’ sermons on my bedside table as a way of going to sleep with a God-centered mind. One of those sermons was called “Keeping the Presence of God.” It was preached on …Read More

  • God’s Hammer by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2011

    Sometimes, indeed often, we build and maintain our paradigms for our own comfort. Our worldviews are usually less the result of careful, dispassionate, sober-minded analysis and more the result of self-serving, special pleading, rationalization of our sin. We believe not …Read More

  • In Defense of Words by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2011

    What is a pastor? I was asked this question not too long ago by a teenage girl who apparently didn’t know the meaning of the word pastor and was curious to learn. I must admit that I was somewhat …Read More

  • Sanctified by the Blood by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2011

    The story is told of Augustine, the fourthcentury theologian and Bishop of Hippo in north Africa, who, after he confessed faith in Jesus Christ, ran into a former mistress on the street. Immediately upon recognizing her, Augustine quickly reversed and …Read More

  • The Secret of Sanctification by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2011

    One of the most beneficial things I learned from my professors during my seminary days was that ministers must continually preach the message of the cross to the people of God for their growth in grace. One professor in particular …Read More

  • Why “Let Go and Let God” Is a Bad Idea by Andrew Naselli

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2011

    What is “let-go-and-let-God” theology? It’s called Keswick theology, and it’s one of the most significant strands of second-blessing theology. It assumes that Christians experience two “blessings.” The first is getting “saved,” and the second is getting serious. The …Read More