Burk Parsons

Dr. Burk Parsons is senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chief publishing officer for Ligonier Ministries, editor of Tabletalk magazine, and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow. He is author of Why Do We Have Creeds?, editor of Assured by God and John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology, and cotranslator and coeditor of A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin. He is on Twitter at @BurkParsons.

  • Is it important to know the moment of our regeneration? Question and Answer

    God knows the moment of our regeneration. Regeneration, of course, is the making alive or the quickening of our souls from death to life when we are made to be born again by the Spirit. There are some instances in Scripture where it seems that we know when someone was regenerated, but we still don’t know the exact moment when that person was regenerated. The theologian Louis Berkhof is very helpful in talking about this in his Systematic Theology. That’s a good place to read on this subject. So, no, we don’t know the moment of our regeneration, and in … View Resource

  • Is it biblical to say “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin?” Question and Answer

    John 1:12

    Yes, it is biblical in the sense that we are sinners, that we have sinned, that we do sin, and that God loves us and hates our sin. The way this question is framed is the way it has often been used both in evangelism tactics and in order to paint a picture of God, who God is, and God’s love that is ultimately not biblical. So, as many hear that phrase, “God loves the sinner but hates the sin,” the reason that’s not entirely appropriate is because it’s not just the sin that God sends to hell. God sends … View Resource

  • Is addiction a sign that someone is not a Christian? Question and Answer

    Hebrews 12:1

    There is language in Hebrews 12 where the author of Hebrews talks about “that sin which so easily besets us,” or “that sin which so easily entangles us” (Heb. 12:1). Historically, people would come and say, “What is your besetting sin?” While we certainly can have one or a few besetting sins, that passage is getting at the reality that sin itself—not just one sin, but all sin—is entangling. It besets us. The image is like that of weeds coming up from the ground and entangling themselves around our ankles. If you’re a runner, imagine weeds coming up and grabbing … View Resource

  • What percentage of our income should Christians give to the church? Question and Answer

    2 Corinthians 9:7

    The Bible very plainly gives us the tithe as ten percent. I think that’s a good starting point in how we give, and the New Testament never repeals it. Paul tells us that the Lord loves a cheerful giver and that we’re not to give begrudgingly (2 Cor. 9:7). But Paul is not arguing against people who are saying that we’re not called to give. I think it was assumed that Christians were still tithing and giving. Otherwise, it would’ve been a pretty significant thing, and we would’ve seen something in the New Testament say, “You no longer have to … View Resource

  • How can I avoid becoming prideful? Question and Answer

    I recently wrote an article for Credo Magazine online and talked a little bit about my own experience in coming to understand the doctrine of salvation in Scripture. I talked about what a difficult thing it was for me, after two and a half years of study, to really come to grips with it. For me, it humbled me. It crushed me. It was a crucible period in my life, and it made me dig more into Scripture. From my vantage point, and from the perspective of friends at that time, I never really went through what many went through—that … View Resource

  • What is the Great Commission, and what can we gain from Ligonier’s teaching series on this subject? Question and Answer

    Matthew 28:18-20

    PARSONS: In our study of Romans at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, I took some time to look at the mission of God in Scripture. The mission of God is something I could spend the rest of my life studying because I can’t read a page of Scripture without seeing it. There is so much there when you look at the Great Commission and how it ties together so much of what we see from Genesis, from God’s promise to Abraham, and so on. Of course, I deal with some of that in the series on the Great Commission. I dealt … View Resource

  • How do creeds and confessions help us? Question and Answer

    Those who understand the place of creeds and confessions understand how helpful they are to the church. My concern is for those who don’t know the creeds and the historic Reformed confessions and thus don’t refer to them or use them on a regular basis. Often, if they’re not using them, are not aware of them, or haven’t studied them, typically they are basing their faith on a very short confessional statement that either their church or some organization has made up. All churches have to have some sort of basic confessional statement to some degree. But if they don’t … View Resource

  • Can I know that I am saved? Question and Answer

    Matthew 7:21-23

    The question of assurance is one of the biggest questions for many Christians. I dealt with that with an older saint this past Sunday evening. After the sermon, we spent some time together talking. We had a wonderful conversation really struggling with that question. This question that many Christians ask was a question I asked for many years of my life, and I couldn’t find a good resource on it. I couldn’t find something helpful that dealt with the theology of assurance. So, I put together a little book with some friends, to which Dr. Sproul wrote the forward, called … View Resource

  • Why are people so resistant to Reformed theology? Question and Answer

    Having come to Christ not too many years before coming to understand the doctrines of salvation in Scripture, the doctrine of God that I had been taught was that God did things a certain way and not another way. Having to fight against those presuppositions about God that are not biblical is one of the reasons. We have to undo a lot of bad theology before we can really understand the right biblical theology. I think that many Christians still struggle with the doctrines of grace in part because they’re struggling with them academically and exegetically. They’re struggling to understand … View Resource

  • How can we encourage our leaders in the church? Question and Answer

    1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

    Firstly, it’s good for the church to encourage their elders. Elders need encouragement. The Bible, in fact, commands God’s people to encourage their elders, to respect them, and to show them honor (1 Thess. 5:12–13; 1 Tim. 5:17). But people don’t realize how much we really do need encouragement. When I speak of elders, I’m speaking not only of ordained pastors but all ordained elders in the church. I would also say that goes for deacons as well. We need encouragement. Too often people think that those of us who are elders, particularly those of us who are preachers, are … View Resource

  • Will we live on earth after the resurrection? Question and Answer

    Will we live on earth after the resurrection? Yes, but it will be a new heaven and new earth. Just to keep the perspective in mind, I’ve said over the years that this world is not our home, but it will be. Of course, it won’t be the same world. It won’t really be as we know it. We don’t know quite what it’s going to be like, except that it’s going to be absolutely beyond words. I think to try to even describe it begins to ruin it. It’ll be beyond words. And I love looking at creation. I … View Resource

  • How do I know if I’m being called to be a pastor? Question and Answer

    It’s not simply a matter of gifting. It’s not simply a matter of an internal feeling of that call. And it’s not simply a matter of having the right education. A lot of times people feel called, and maybe that’s attested to by the demonstration and use of their gifts in the local church. Then they go to Bible college, or seminary, or both, and they say: “Well, now I’ve done it. I’ve spent all these years in Bible college and seminary. I’ve done all that I need to do—I’ve done an internship, I’ve come under care of a church, … View Resource

  • How do I cultivate a renewed mind? Question and Answer

    Romans 12:2

    We have to pray for it. We don’t believe in the Holy Spirit to the degree that we ought to. We don’t trust Him to the degree that we ought to, which means we’re not really trusting God to do what He promised He would do. We don’t ask God for the things He told us to ask Him for, and we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). We have to ask the Lord to renew our minds, and He does that by the Spirit of God. He does that from us studying His Word—and notice I said … View Resource

  • What is an “ordinary means of grace” ministry? Question and Answer

    FERGUSON: An ordinary means of grace ministry is the thrill, from the point of view of those who share in that ministry, of the exposition of Scripture in different ways and at different levels and watching the Word of God work. I’ve become more and more convinced that the default among us evangelicals is that we do the work and the Word helps us. And perhaps that’s an indication that in our churches we see far too infrequently what it’s like when the Word of God, preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, itself does the work and changes … View Resource

  • What is the goal of reformation? Question and Answer

    Psalm 115:1

    FERGUSON: Both in Calvin and in the Westminster Confession and its subordinate standards the answer to the first question, “What is our chief end?” must be the same as to the question, “What is the goal of Reformation?” The answer is, “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” To be able to do both of these things simultaneously is what I think at the end of the day is going to make an impact on our contemporary world that is so interested in enjoyment. It’s very rare to hear non-Christians say, “See how these Christians enjoy the glory of … View Resource