Ligonier Ministries

How can Christians grieve over their sin without denying God’s grace?

It’s very important to preach the gospel to yourself every day, to remind yourself every morning: “‘Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.’ There is absolutely nothing I can do to improve my status of …Read More
How does being made in the image of God motivate us to live a holy life?

That is the motivation. The motivation for us to live a holy life is that Christ is in us and we are in Christ. There’s no higher motivation than that. If we’re motivated by anything other than the honor of …Read More
Does God love the wicked the same way He loves the elect?

When the Bible says, “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), it doesn’t say that He loved everybody in the world equally. This text is pointing to the world, the generic cosmos. God loved this fallen world enough to send …Read More
What does it mean to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)?

The Reformed stress on the sovereignty of God, the action of God, and the initiation by God in salvation might lead someone to conclude that we are utterly passive in the Christian life. It might lead someone to conclude that …Read More
Since we’re justified by faith alone, how should we understand Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23–24?

Luke 9:23–24 is an important part of our understanding of what true saving faith is. There is self-denial in true saving faith. You are submitting to the lordship of Christ at the point of conversion. That is, you are no …Read More
What does it mean for God to “give people up” to their sin (Rom. 1:24)?

A good way of thinking about this is that when people rebel against God, especially in the way Romans 1 describes it, they view themselves as being freed from the judgment of God: “We are able to do these things …Read More
How do you “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12–13)?

That’s an important verse. Working out your salvation with fear and trembling begins by taking God seriously. It begins with having a high view of God, especially the holiness of God. When people saw the holiness of God in the …Read More
What do you think of decisional regeneration?

LAWSON: I think the idea of decisional regeneration has produced many false converts. I have lived through churches like that, I have been an associate pastor through churches like that, and I have inherited churches like that. I don’t know …Read More
Did anyone believe in justification by faith alone before the Reformation?

One of the classic works on this question was written by a man by the name of James Buchanan. It was simply titled Justification, which addressed the chief issue of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. One of the …Read More
How is Christianity’s message of salvation different from other religions?

NICHOLS: So many religions are works-oriented, so they really stress what is on you as the adherent and that you have to measure up to a standard in order for God to accept you. Sometimes we say that we come …Read More
Is it true that the blood of Jesus takes away sickness?

In the ultimate sense, it is true that in the new heavens and new earth there will be no coronavirus. It is a product of the fall. I think that the fourth servant song of Isaiah 53 refers to the …Read More
What does it mean that the Trinity is three in person but one in essence?

FERGUSON: By one essence, we mean that God is one being. The word essence comes from the Latin verb esse, “to be,” so what we mean is that He is one being. When we speak about Him as being three …Read More
Is there hope for a child who turns away from Christ as a college student?

THOMAS: Yes, of course Scripture provides hope for anyone who turns away from Christ. There is always the possibility of repentance—even deathbed repentance. The dying thief, pastorally, is an important example that even on one’s deathbed one can turn and …Read More
What are the signs, or marks, of the true church?

I could appeal to what the Reformers said, which would’ve been the preaching of the Word and the right administration of the sacraments. An easy way to identify a true church is often, first, by what happens in the pulpit. …Read More
How do I know I am truly a Christian when I constantly struggle with sin?

One thing I would recommend is to read 1 John. In many ways, 1 John was written exactly for this question of assurance. There are a number of things we are told in 1 John, and one principle is very …Read More