-
Whose Opinion Really Matters?
I have confessed my addiction to news programming in this space before, and at the risk of sounding repetitious, I am going to do so again. When I was asked to write this article that reflects broadly on the themes …Read More
-
The Necessity of Reconciliation
Why do relationships have to be so complicated? Why do good friends get “wrapped around the axle” with each other? Why do family members become so alienated they may not speak to one another for years? It is because we …Read More
-
Law and Gospel
As has already been pointed out in this issue, “Reformed” theology just is “covenant” theology. However, that doesn’t necessarily settle the question as to what kind of covenant theology is being espoused. By far the question that has been …Read More
-
The One, Great War
In the last sixty years, the United States government has waged war in Korea, in Viet Nam, in Libya, in Panama, in Grenada, in the former Yugoslavia, in Somalia, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in Iraq again. These are the …Read More
-
Favor in God’s Eyes
“Nondum considerasti, quanti ponderis sit peccatum!” wrote Anselm in his famous work on the incarnation, Cur Deus Homo. Translated, it means: “You have not considered how weighty sin is!” Low views of sin breed tepid views of the Gospel — views …Read More
-
Telling the Truth
When I was about four or five years old, my mother found the letter “F” scribbled in crayon on the hallway wall of our home. Since my brother would have been about three and my sister barely a year old …Read More
-
Set Apart to Die and to Live
“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer was about thirty years old when he penned these words in his classic work The Cost of Discipleship. Eight years later he was executed for his crimes …Read More
-
The Sinkhole Syndrome
You know the story. A man has been a believer in Christ for decades. To all outward appearances he’s a man of Christian faithfulness and integrity. He has maintained a reputation as a fine example of public and private …Read More
-
Thinking Biblically About Worry
Worry — it really is everywhere. Perhaps it is the one experience that all of us have in common. Consider the people above. They have two things in common. They are all professing believers and they all struggle with worry. What …Read More
-
Not Protesting Evil
Dear Eligos, We tempters have a job that is both easy and difficult. Thanks to our fearless leader’s victory in the garden some time ago, human beings are ridiculously, even comically, susceptible to sinning. And yet, sin itself is …Read More
-
Our Liberating God
Why would anyone love the law of God? Why would we love that which constantly tells us what miserable wretches we are, daily points out all our shortcomings, relentlessly reminds us of all our death-deserving sins, and keeps knocking us …Read More
-
Reflecting Sin: The Pedagogical Use of the Law
“Ouch!” That first look in the mirror every morning doesn’t get any easier, does it? In fact, I’d rather do without looking in mirrors at all. And I might get away with it — for a few days. Because …Read More
-
Lighting the Way: The Didactic Use of the Law
In Reformed theology, the law has been seen as the guide for believers in the conduct of their lives. John Calvin described this as its principal use. In this sense, we are talking about the Decalogue — the Ten Commandments — and …Read More
-
Human Trafficking in God’s World
Genesis 3 records the terrible day when humanity fell into sin and shalom was violated. This was a moment of cosmic treason, when Adam and Eve violated their relationship with God by rebelling against His command and fell into the …Read More
-
It’s All About Me
“Pride is the worst viper in the heart… . It lies lowest of all in the foundation of the whole building of sin. Of all lusts, it is the most secret, deceitful, and unsearchable in its ways of working. It is …Read More