Relying on Religious Experience?

Do you sometimes place too much Christian confidence and assurance in your religious experiences? It does happen, to be sure. The Christian has a good day of prayer, Scripture memorization, and sweet fellowship with a Christian friend over a meal. On those days, it feels like the Lord is near. But on many other days, …

Reflections on the Ministry of Francis Schaeffer (Reynolds)

Over the years, I've read and appreciated Francis Schaeffer's books, including How Should We Then Live, The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, He Is Here and He Is Not Silent, and Whatever Happened to the Human Race? In fact, I've cited those books with appreciation on this blog (e.g. here, here, and here …

Have I Done Enough For God? (Luther)

Near the end of one of his greatest works, The Bondage of The Will, Martin Luther explained his position on "free will" in personal terms. I highlighted this in my copy way back in September 2001. I still think it's a wonderful passage and I hope you enjoy it as well: For my own part, …

Sin, the Fall, and God’s Will (Bavinck, Aquinas, and Augustine)

When Herman Bavinck wrote about the origin of sin in volume three of his Reformed Dogmatics, he spent several pages discussing the possibility of sin as God's will. This, of course is a huge discussion: how do we reconcile the entrance and reality of sin in this world with God's sovereign will and providence? Bavinck …

A Summary of Sin (Letham)

One helpful aspect of Robert Letham's Systematic Theology is that every chapter starts with a summary of the doctrine he's discussing. For example, I was studying his chapter on "Humanity in Sin" (the doctrine of sin) this morning, and I found his introductory summary to be helpful. Perhaps you will find it helpful as well …