Marital Love Must be Sexual
In the last of a four part series on the Puritans’ theology of marriage, Joel Beeke makes a solid case from scripture (and the Puritans) as to why marital love absolutely must be sexual. While the Puritans would never be seen as reducing marriage to sex, they emphasized that sexual intimacy is the “due benevolence” that married people owe to their spouses, and in this way they demonstrate God’s design for marriage as the fullest, most intimate form of love on earth.
An Intro to the Institutes
More and more lately I’ve become convinced that I need to get into Calvin’s Institutes. Karl Barth once said: “I could gladly and profitably set myself down and spend all the rest of my life just with Calvin.” I know a few guys who are reading through the Institutes, (and sharing via blogs) over 2017. There’s more than enough value for every Christian to engage in all that Calvin has laid out. Set aside the trepidation, and see for yourself.
The Goal of Church Discipline: Repentance unto Restoration
I’m enjoying this series from the guys at The Cripplegate. I continue to think about the notion of doing “house church” and those who choose to break away from the institutional church; this is one of the biblical reasons why I’m not sure that idea lines up with the church that Jesus is building.
Just as there is a great need for law and order to keep the peace in a civil society, so also is there a need for such law and order in the church. A civil society that has no laws, or that has no system of order to enforce those laws—no system to punish and rehabilitate offenders—is doomed to chaos. So severe is the nature of human depravity that a society of depraved human beings unrestrained by law and order is just unthinkable.
And the same is true of the church.
Manna: Resources for Life & Ministry
The school of Ministry, Theology, and Culture at Tabor Adelaide have produced issue #1 of their magazine for the church. There’s some great stuff here.
Sometimes college lecturers are accused of “living in an ivory tower”, “being too theoretical”, and “not concerned with the life of the church.” This stereotype doesn’t apply at Tabor; we are part of the church, and we want to see it grow in faithfulness to Jesus.
Abortion and Race
Thabiti Anyabwile gives a few short minutes on the parallels between abortion and slavery, and why both are completely unacceptable.
