We come to that part of James’s epistle over which a considerable amount of ink has been spilt. In fact, during the Reformation, there was so much of a boggle over his teaching here that Martin Luther wanted to remove James’s epistle from the scriptural canon. James asks his readers a question: Wasn’t Abraham justified […]
To review briefly, James means by that pregnant phrase “the perfect law of liberty” the law of the Spirit and of life as opposed to the law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit and of life is the law, the only law, that grants liberty. To the extent that this kind of […]
I remember my mother telling me when I was a child, “God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason.” I’ve always been a talker, and more than once I’d had to take heed from the proverb that says where there are many words, sin isn’t far behind (Prov. 10:19). Multiplying words doesn’t […]
“No One Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” God does, and he not only knows it but is guiding you through it. Our son, when he was a young teenager, participated in a local church’s Bible-quizzing program. It took him all around the country, beginning first as a quizzer, but then later as a judge at […]
Last time, I tried to show that Reformed evangelism is simply biblical evangelism: It emanates from the church, is not necessarily a “pastoronly” job—since the Scriptures identify evangelism as a spiritual gift that’s correlative with but that can also be distinct from the pastor-teacher role—and its power is not in the evangelist, his methods, gimmicks, […]
Evangelism—it’s important. In fact, it’s to be part of the warp and woof of any healthy church. As Reformed Christians, we’re right to ask if there’s a distinctly Reformed way to evangelize. The answer is yes, although that doesn’t make it more complicated or burdensome, but less so. What makes Reformed evangelism uniquely Reformed is […]
Their World, by Abigail Van der Velde. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2017. 268 pages. $10.00 (and various prices online). Lately, it seems impossible for me to escape: whether I open my business LinkedIn page, pick up a newspaper, or stick around long enough to watch a television commercial, there’s now always a celebration of women in […]
“Do not swear,” James tells his readers (Jas. 5:12, English Standard Version). He doesn’t mean here using words that have to do with the most private behavior of human beings—the apostle Paul covers that—but with taking spurious oaths. Today, we may hear someone say, “I swear on my mother’s grave.” That comes short of swearing […]
I last considered how James exhorts his audience to be patient (Jas. 5:7). What he tells them applies to us, particularly when we’re under pressure, as these early Christians were. That’s the time not to panic, grow angry or aggrieved, or worry, but to turn to the Lord, read and meditate on his Word, pray, […]
Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction By Craig G. Bartholomew. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, $40.00, 365 pages. Reviewed by: Mr. Gerry Wisz For most reading Christians, whether Reformed or not, Abraham Kuyper and his influence are the stuff of bygone days, when it was still possible to gain a public hearing as […]