We Need Both Rules and Relationship with God
To obey the law is to look like Jesus Christ. While legalism builds self-righteousness, lawfulness builds righteousness.
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Why Do I Struggle to Read the Bible Consistently?
Sometimes we think of Bible reading as a duty, rather than a grand invitation to encounter the living God by opening the pages of Scripture, reading it, seeing him, and understanding more of who he is and how we should follow him.
How Israel’s Exile Is Fulfilled in Jesus’s Exile and Return
It can come as a shock when we first hear that Israel’s exile never truly ended in the Old Testament. I know I was shocked the first time I considered the idea.
Three Steps to Studying the Bible
The goal in studying the Bible is to find out what the Bible meant, what it means, and how it applies to us.
The Promise Jesus Offers to Those Who Leave Everything Behind
Jesus is always honest, even blunt, about the cost of discipleship. He never buries suffering in the small print. He wants us to know that following him will be hard.
An Open Letter to Victims of Abuse
Justin S. Holcomb, Lindsey A. Holcomb
Disgrace is the opposite of grace. Grace is love that seeks you out even if you have nothing to give in return.
Adoption and Spiritual Warfare
There seems to be an orphan-making urge among us, whether we see it in the slave culture of centuries past or the divorce culture of today. But where does it come from?
The whole Bible is from heaven, and the whole thing is profitable (2 Tim. 3:16). But different parts of the Bible serve us in different ways.
For explaining the cross, the New Testament uses many images, many categories, many modes of thought blended together.
The biblical proverbs as a whole have a Godward goal: the fear of the Lord. As preachers, our job is to focus on that fear.
Justice Denied Is Love Denied
You have heard it said that justice delayed is justice denied. But I tell you that justice denied is love denied.
Male and Female He Created Them
Everything else in creation reflects something of God’s glory in a general sense, but humanity alone is described as being created in God’s image.
Cultivating Habits of Grace with David Mathis
For many of us, the "spiritual disciplines" are little more than a list of things we aren't doing but feel like we should be doing.
9 Common Excuses for Not Memorizing Scripture (And How to Overcome Them)
The human heart is deceitful and twisted in so many ways (Jer. 17:9). We can make amazing excuses for not doing things that the Lord has commanded that would richly benefit us.
“Docetism,” was a heresy which could not accept the direct union of God and man.
Introducing the ESV Concise Study Bible
This robust Bible offers fresh content for new believers and seasoned saints alike, helping readers explore the essential meaning of the Bible.
Of all the books in the Bible, Colossians may rightly be considered the most Christ-centered.
Why Believing That God Is Sovereign Makes All the Difference
God's sovereignty applies to our everyday lives because it assures us that he working in every circumstance.
Understanding the Book of Revelation Isn’t Your Biggest Challenge
The most challenging part of Revelation's very clear message is a call to bold allegiance to Jesus Christ, and a call to refuse to compromise with the world.
Help! It Feels Like God Is Far Away in My Suffering
Lament is the biblical language for people who feel like God is distant.
4 Strategies to Help You Wait Better
I’m sure you’d like to move from anxiety to faith-filled, hopeful waiting. How do we make this practical? Let me give you a fourfold strategy from Psalm 25.
The Surprising Truth about Legalism
The root of legalism is almost as old as Eden, which explains why it is a primary, if not the ultimate, pastoral problem.
Hard-Won Doctrines That We Take for Granted Today
We need to remember that we are indeed standing on the shoulders of those who’ve come before us. We need to be grateful for their labors and praise God.
Can I Pray to the Holy Spirit?
It’s a great question and the theological guideline is that we can pray to anyone who is God. So you’ve got choices.
What Freedom from Sin Looks Like in This Life
It’s natural to feel frustrated that you’re still staring down the same habits of sin in your life.
The Most Important Thing Parents Can Do This Summer
Being faithful to the ABC’s of Christian living can have such a profound evangelistic impact upon your children.
6 Practical Steps to Help Grow Your Confidence in God’s Word
Sometimes we have our doubts about the stories we read in the word of God, about its moral convictions and the promises it makes.
10 Things You Should Know about Jesus’s Final Days on Earth
Jesus clearly explains the message of the Scriptures “concerning himself” in Luke 24; he also provides a model for faithful Bible reading.
Why Ordinary Faithfulness Is Enough
Feeding your faithfulness is an unremarkable practice in real-time. It’s unglamorous by the world’s standards, yet it is precious as it contributes to a life of holding fast to Christ.
The Most Important Lessons John Piper Learned from His Dad
Where did I learn that delight in God is our highest duty? Before I encountered Jonathan Edwards and C. S. Lewis and Daniel Fuller, there was my father, Bill Piper.