The War Inside by Tom Ascol

FROM TABLETALK | April 2009

The Christian life is a war, and the fiercest battles are those that rage within the heart of every believer. The new birth radically and permanently changes a person’s sinful nature, but it does not immediately liberate that nature …Read More

Lighting the Way: The Didactic Use of the Law by Robert Letham

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

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

Restraining Sin: The Civil Use of the Law by David VanDrunen

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

Of the three uses of the law, the so-called “civil” use may strike us as the least interesting theologically. It involves no inward transformation of the heart or Spirit-wrought righteousness that is pleasing in God’s sight. By this use …Read More

Favor in God’s Eyes by Derek Thomas

FROM TABLETALK | March 2006

“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

Apostasy by Larry McCall

FROM TABLETALK | October 2010

Come winter, the ice forms almost imperceptibly on the lake near our home. After the first few cold nights, a bit of skim ice may be noticed by the observant passerby. Gradually, ever so gradually, the ice thickens as the …Read More

Our Renewed Image by Chris Donato

FROM TABLETALK | May 2005

We have just read John Calvin’s words, “the death of Christ is efficacious … for the mortification of the flesh.” What, in practical terms, might this look like in everyday life? Maybe the primary question is, how does the death …Read More

Our Liberating God by Burk Parsons

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

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

Conformed to His Image by Greg Bailey

FROM TABLETALK | June 2005

The conversation turned to the subject of God the Father, and Philip found the courage to express the hope he had nursed as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. “Lord,” he said, “show us the Father, and it is enough …Read More

It’s All About Me by Chris Larson

FROM TABLETALK | October 2010

“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

Our Blessed Struggle by Guy Richard

FROM TABLETALK | December 2009

  I find it interesting that, of all the names God could have chosen for His people, He chose “Israel.” And while different opinions exist as to what the name Israel actually means, it seems that the context in which the …Read More

The One, Great War by R.C. Sproul Jr.

FROM TABLETALK | July 2006

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

Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the LORD? (Part 1) by L. Michael Morales

Once a soul has come to understand something of the unutterable majesty of the holiness of God, the question asked in Psalm 15 and 24 suddenly weighs upon the heart: “Who shall ascend the mountain of the LORD?” That is …Read More

Death Does Not Have the Last Word by R.C. Sproul

FROM TABLETALK | October 2011

The guns of secular naturalism, when aimed at the Christian faith, resemble not so much shotguns as carefully aimed rifles. The chief target of the naturalist is the biblical doctrine of creation. If the doctrine of creation falls, all of …Read More

Kill Your Sin by Tom Ascol

FROM TABLETALK | February 2008

On May 1, 2003, Aron Ralston, a twenty-seven year old backpacker, did something unthinkable in order to save his life. After being pinned for five days by an eight-hundred pound boulder in a remote Utah canyon, he took his dull …Read More

Chief of Sinners by Terry Johnson

FROM TABLETALK | May 2009

How might we describe the psychology of Christian experience? Is it characterized by joy, peace, and contentment? Or is it characterized by lament, struggle, and holy discontent? Should I feel good about myself or bad about myself? Should I forget …Read More