Ligonier Ministries

Why is it impossible for Christians to lose their salvation?

It’s impossible to lose your salvation because you didn’t do anything to gain it. I’ll reverse that a little bit: if you could lose your salvation you would. If my salvation depended on me, I would lose it. I don’t …Read More

Does the doctrine of total depravity teach that we have lost the image of God?

Total depravity teaches that the fallenness of our condition affects the radix, the core of our being. It’s a radical thing. There is no part of our humanity that has not been profoundly affected by the fall and by sin. …Read More

What does “sola Scriptura” mean?

Sola Scriptura is one of the five principal solas of the Reformation. The Reformation was, in many respects, a recovery of the authority of Scripture over all of doctrine and all of life. The final answer to any question is, …Read More

Are we living in the end times described in the book of Revelation?

Yes and no. Lest you think I’ve fallen into neo-orthodoxy and paradoxical theology, let me explain. In one sense, everything that takes place after the ascension of Christ takes place in the end times. The end times started in the …Read More

Should we tell unbelievers that God loves them?

Well, it’s true. God loves the world, and we have that message, but that’s not the whole message. If you say what the old Campus Crusade said, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” that’s not …Read More

How can we defend the doctrine of sola Scriptura using Scripture?

So often it’s been said that if you argue from the Bible to the infallibility of Scripture, or the inerrancy of the Bible, or the inspiration of Scripture, then you’re caught in the bonds of a vicious circle. We know …Read More

Who was Charles Finney?

Charles Grandison Finney was the figure of the Second Great Awakening. He started off Presbyterian, but he was an odd Presbyterian because he did not like the Westminster Standards. He ended up moving away from Presbyterianism. In Rochester, New York, …Read More

What does it mean that “by His wounds we are healed”?

Whether healing is in the atonement is clear in terms of Isaiah 53: it is. But when that healing takes place is a matter of great debate. There are many people who claim this passage to mean that because the …Read More

Am I called to be a pastor?

First of all, Paul says that if a man desires that office, he desires a noble work (1 Tim. 3:1). But the test in 1 Timothy 3 is necessary: Is he qualified? The church lays those qualifications down and affirms, …Read More

Should our worship services be designed for Christians or non-Christians?

The church is designed as the body of Christ. The sanctuary on Sunday morning is specifically a place for the people of God to come together for corporate worship, for the study of the Apostolic Word, and to make use …Read More

What do you think the church will look like in the next 10 to 20 years?

That’s hard to predict because trends used to come every twenty years, then every ten years, then every year, and now every week. It’s hard to keep up with the trends. The faces of churches are changing as fast as …Read More

How do I respond when an atheist asks, “Who is the Father of Jesus?”

In answering that question, I would point that person to gospel language in the New Testament. I think the most theologically accurate way to respond is to point to God the Father. In the opening chapter of the gospel of …Read More

How can Christians unite during COVID-19 to serve our neighbors?

MACARTHUR: This is when we need to show the joy in the Holy Spirit that Paul talks about in Romans 14. This is when we need to show the peace that surpasses all understanding in our hearts because we know …Read More

Does COVID-19 provide us with unique opportunities to declare the gospel?

Yes, there’s absolutely no question about that. I was thinking back on the times when I’ve had to deal with some kind of a global or national problem, going back to a massive earthquake that we had called the Northridge …Read More

How should Christians respond to the COVID-19 crisis?

I think we should be the most balanced, the most stable, the most sane, the most reasonable, and the most rational. Even beyond that, of course, we have a living hope. We know where we’re headed. Eternity is settled for …Read More