?? I’ve been preaching through 2 Corinthians at our church and recently delivered a message on 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 titled “How To Correct False Teaching.” There is an excerpt printed below. To hear the rest of the message, you can download it here or press play to listen above. Last week, the Biden administration released two documents making policy recommendations concerning the care of children who are experiencing feelings of gender confusion. Perhaps you can guess what the recommendations are. They recommend putting minor children on puberty blockers to keep their bodies from maturing and becoming fully developed. They allow infusion of opposite sex hormones in minor children. They even…
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What is conscience, and what happens if I ignore it?
I think I received a copy of the book Conscience back when if first came out in 2016, but I didn’t read it then. That was a mistake. I just finished the audiobook version last week and believe it is one of the most practical, theologically-rich, biblically-saturated books I have ever read. The table of contents reveals what the book covers and its practical nature: What Is Conscience? How Do We Define Conscience from the New Testament? What Should You Do When Your Conscience Condemns You? How Should You Calibrate Your Conscience? How Should You Relate to Fellow Christians When Your Consciences Disagree? How Should You Relate to People in…
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Resurrection Hymn
O Jesus, Savior of my life, My hope, my joy, my sacrifice, I’ve searched and found no other one Who loves me more than you have done. So I denounce my lingering sin Whose power You have broke within My ever weak and faithless frame. Its vigor’s crushed in Jesus name. For your death did at once proclaim, The Godhead’s glory and my shame. And you did seize my cup of guilt And drank all that the chalice spilled. No condemnation now I dread Because you went for me instead To bear the curse and wrath and rage, To pay the debt I would have paid. Yet your work finished…
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The Innermost Meaning of the Cross
“But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” -Isaiah 53:10 “God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness.” -Romans 3:25 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us– for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” -Galatians 3:13 “It is those who cannot come to terms with any concept of the wrath of God…
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Debating Manhood and Womanhood with Ron Pierce
I recently joined Rob Pierce on Sean McDowell’s podcast to have a discussion about manhood and womanhood. Ron is a well-known egalitarian and the editor of the landmark egalitarian work Discovering Biblical Equality, which is now out in a third edition. I’m the President of the Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, which is an organization that promotes the complementarian position. And we’ve both written a great deal on this issue. Sean says that our discussion isn’t really a “debate” but a “robust discussion.” But it’s still kind of a debate, I think. 😉 In any case, Ron and I go at it for about an hour. In a format like…
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Don’t Deconstruct
I posted a few sentences on social media a day or two ago that seem to have kicked the proverbial hornet’s nest. Here’s what I wrote: If you think deconstruction is just another name for reformation or revival, you don’t know what deconstruction is. Reformation dispenses with the bad but holds on to the good. Deconstruction tries to destroy both the good and the bad. Don’t deconstruct. Since writing this, there have been a string of fairly harsh denunciations. Just read the the “quote tweets” of what I wrote, and you’ll see what I mean. The basic objection I’ve read is this. “Denny, you don’t understand what deconstruction is. Deconstruction…
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Advocating and Not Merely Adhering
Last week, Dr. Jason Allen delivered an extraordinary lecture on leadership on the campus of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (see video here). In that lecture, he called Southern Baptist leaders to be advocates of their doctrinal commitments rather than mere adherents. He applied that first and foremost to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, but also to other “clarifying” standards that some SBC institutions use (like the Chicago, Danvers, and Nashville statements). This week, Mike Bird criticized Dr. Allen’s lecture on social media. I think that criticism merits a response. I do not speak for Dr. Allen but only for myself. Having said that, I’m confident that Dr. Allen…
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Should We All Be Deconstructing?
Kirsten Sanders has an interesting definition of deconstruction in an article for Christianity Today. She writes, Deconstruction, by which I mean the struggle to correct or deepen naive belief, is a significant part of learning theology. Christians should engage in the task to move beyond simplistic conceptions to belief in a God who is vaster than they can comprehend. As near as I can tell, this definition of deconstruction is what Christians usually refer to as sanctification. It’s that normal experience of growth whereby the Holy Spirit enables believers to forget what lies behind and to strain toward what lies ahead (Phil. 3:13). It involves repentance from error and growth…
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Bringing Holiness to Completion
Earlier this evening, I preached on Sanctification to the students of Boyce College. The text is 2 Corinthians 7:1: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” There is still sin in the world, and there is still sin in us. It’s power has been broken through Christ so that we are no longer slaves to it, but its remnants are still there. We are to contend against it until glory. That’s what it means to cleanse yourselves. For the rest of the message, see below.
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Complementarianism as a Second Order Doctrine
Last week, there was some discussion on social media about complementarianism as a second order doctrine. The issue was brought into focus by a recorded comment that Thabiti Anyabwile delivered about women pastors. He later clarified that he still believes in a qualified male-only eldership. Nevertheless, I think his video statement—if the off-the-cuff remarks accurately reflect his position—would still be problematic because he seemed to imply that having a female pastor would not be sufficient reason to leave a church. That’s much different than reading a book by an egalitarian or acknowledging they are Christians. If your pastor is a female and you are a complementarian, then you necessarily believe…
