Christian Living / Controversies in the Church

  • Images in the Sanctuary?

    Exodus 26:1

    Regardless of one’s position on images in the worship sanctuary, let us all remember that this is an issue over which many good and godly Reformed believers have differed for generations. Consequently, we owe each side respect, and we ...Read More

  • Images in Worship

    Exodus 20:4–6

    We have so far briefly discussed the beauty for which the priestly garments were made. These clothes reveal that we should be concerned with how we look and act when we worship the Lord. Of course, God does not require ...Read More

  • Investing God’s Gift

    Matthew 25:14–30

    John Calvin says, “There will be no excuse of the indolence of those who both conceal the gifts of God, and waste their time in idleness.” Far too many professing Christians are content to sit around and not use their ...Read More

  • Jesus Our Cornerstone

    Luke 20:9-18

    Even believers are not immune to the temptation that calls us to treat the commands of God as ends in themselves. But God’s law is not in itself the end; rather, it always points us to Christ and is ...Read More

  • Jesus Our Peace

    Ephesians 2:14

    God’s law defines what is pleasing to Him, so we must always seek to understand it and follow it in the power of the Spirit. Yet while the law tells us what is right and wrong and what we ...Read More

  • Justification by Faith Alone

    Galatians 2:14–16

    Martin Luther’s commentary on today’s passage includes this nugget of wisdom: “God is honored in His Son. Whoever then believes that the Son is our mediator and Savior, he honors the Father, and him again does God honor ...Read More

  • Keeping the Sabbath

    Exodus 16:22–36

    Take the time to read all the verses below and then to read Mark 2:23–3:6; Luke 13:10–17; John 5:1–18. From these passages what does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy? How ...Read More

  • Law and Gospel

    Matthew 5:17–20

    Answer 86 of the Heidelberg Catechism emphasizes that we do good works because the God who justifies us also gives us His Spirit to conform us more and more to the image of Jesus Christ. Our Lord saves us from ...Read More

  • Law and Gospel

    Romans 3:21-31

    Our relativistic age does not like to hear that there is an eternal, unchangeable law that convicts all people. But the central message of the gospel is that we have broken this law and need to be reconciled to God ...Read More

  • Legal Force

    Genesis 1:28

    All human governments are corrupt to one degree or another because they are all made up of corrupt human beings. Yet this does not mean we are permitted to be anarchists or to have nothing to do with the government ...Read More

  • Literature

    Philippians 4:8

    We do not have to read pornographic material in order to find literary filth. How many novels, romantic or otherwise, contain scenes of an explicit nature? How many Christians believe they can read such things innocuously? How many of us ...Read More

  • Make No Graven Image

    Exodus 20:4–6

    Consider how you have broken this command. How do you fashion images of God? Have you constructed any belief system about God that is contrary to the truth as He has revealed it in His word? Have you tried to ...Read More

  • Maligning Paul’s Character

    Galatians 1:10

    The context of Galatians 1:10 refutes any notion that Paul was a people-pleaser. Would a man concerned to win the acclaim of all people call down curses upon some of them (vv. 8–9)? Paul’s becoming “all things ...Read More

  • Not Under the Law

    Galatians 5:16–17

    John Calvin comments, “If we would obey the Spirit, we must labor, and fight, and apply our utmost energy; and we must begin with self-denial.” Walking by the Holy Spirit is the denial of the self and one’s fleshly ...Read More

  • One God, One People

    Galatians 3:19–20

    Our unity as the people of God testifies to the unity of our Lord. To see Christians living and working together in harmony is a powerful witness that all believers possess the same Holy Spirit and share a common purpose ...Read More