God designed you with the capacity to pause and ponder. He means for you not just to hear him, but to reflect on what he says.
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5046 results found
You Were Made to Love Your Neighbor
Just because the Bible says that not all men are our brothers, it does not follow that we are not to love all men as our neighbors.
You Were Designed for Spirituality
Justin L. McLendon, Christopher W. Morgan
Humans are created good and blessed beyond measure, being made in God’s image, with an unhindered relationship with God, and with freedom.
Jesus said that it is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). What comes out of your heart displays what’s in it and what has captured it.
Irenaeus was born somewhere around AD 130 and grew up in Smyrna in Asia Minor, where the then bishop, Polycarp, became his mentor and passed on his memories of the apostle John and others.
Your Words Will Change the World Today
Do you ever consciously and deliberately set your words to work, sending them off into the world and into someone else’s life to do them good?
Your Salvation Doesn’t Depend on Your Feelings
If our salvation depended upon our feelings, we should be lost one day and saved another, for they are as fickle as the weather.
Your Prayer Life Might Be Better Than You Think
Scripture’s prayers, especially the psalms, are prayers we can and should take on our lips. We can pray through Scripture. It’s part of learning how to pray.
Your Physical Presence Is an Irreplaceable Gift
We need to realize that being embodied means that we are designed to relate to one another physically.
We must train ourselves to slow down and recognize the greatest need we have is met in Christ’s coming.
Genesis 1–3 defines marriage and shows us that marriage began in the Garden of Eden, in a perfect world.
Your marriage, like mine, is imperfect. But your imperfect marriage is amazing, more than you might think.
Your Kids Need You to Talk to Them
The Spirit makes godly conversations possible, and he expects you to give yourself to them because the people around you—your children—need them.
#yourewrong - Our Problem with Self-Righteousness (Reactivity Episode 3)
Paul Tripp talks about the self-centeredness and self-righteousness that work together to deceive us into believing we’re always right and about the humility that cures this selfishness and radically changes us.
You’re Romantic Whether You Know It or Not
Some marks of the Romantic movement seem quite alien to us today. Others, by contrast, seem thoroughly natural to us, to the extent that we do not even notice them.
The fact that you have a cesspool of sin down in your heart doesn’t mean you should camp down there because that’s precisely what God is trying to lead you out of.
You're Not God, So Get Some Rest Today
The work will never be finished this side of heaven, but it's a reminder for us to trust God for the work. We can stop what we're doing and trust him to establish the work of our hands.
You’re Needed, No Matter What Life-Season You’re In
Without trying to be somebody you're not, think about how you can be hospitable to those around you in your current season of life.
You’re Insignificant for God’s Glory
We are weak. We are common, plain, fragile, breakable, dishonorable. But our weakness does not diminish the power of the gospel.
Your Best Parenting Is Done by Prayer
Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jessica Thompson
All Christian parents are missionaries. We are all on a mission from the Lord to announce the love of the Father to our children and to encourage them, as much as we can, to believe it.
Your Access Point into the Doctrine of Scripture Is Jesus
Why do Christians take the Bible so seriously? Despite some variety in how they might frame their doctrine of Scripture, Christians have, right from the beginning, been “people of the book.”
You Need Christ to Put Your Sin to Death
Christian salvation is fundamentally a matter of grace, rescue, help, deliverance—it is God invading our miserable little lives and triumphing gloriously and persistently over all the sin and self he finds.
You Need a Well-Oiled Gospel Memory
It is important to have a well-oiled, activated gospel memory. It’s important to require yourself never to forget.
You Need a Theology of Uncomfortable Grace
Mourning acknowledges that the world is not the way God meant it to be. Mourning cries out for God’s redeeming, restoring hand.
You Need a Qualified Pastor—Not Just a Charismatic One
Charisma is helpful, important even, for pastors. But I want to focus on other attributes that are even more important for the pastor: character, capability, conviction, and compassion.
You Must Study the Bible with a Purpose
Every good endeavor should be done with purpose. Without a clear sense of purpose, our efforts to do a good thing well can flounder.
You Might Be an Idolator If...
Where is the line between a healthy enjoyment and an idol?
You Might Be An Idolater If...
We need the Spirit to give us power over our idolatrous desires.
You Live in a God-Entranced World
The world is not a machine that God made to run on its own. It is a painting, or a sculpture, or a drama.
You Have Everything You Need for Life and Godliness
Knowing that God has promised to complete the work he began in us, we are well equipped to practice perseverance.
You Have Been Raised Up with Christ
Paul's letter to the Ephesian church details how being embraced by the love of Christ truly changes everything.
You Don't Need a Degree to Read (and Understand) the Bible
Sometimes we make studying the Bible more complicated than it has to be. In reality, it's actually just a matter of asking the right questions that point us in the right direction as we seek to relate to God through his Word.
You Don’t Get the Church You Want, but the One You Need
Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
You have many reasons not to go to church. That’s why we see this moment in history as an opportunity to rediscover church.
In the age of TikTok, how does a naked, bloodied, and bruised body hanging on a wooden cross outside Jerusalem have any connection with my life?
You Can Trust God's Design for Sex
The essence of obedience is not simply doing the right stuff. Rather, the essence of obedience is the heart, and what must live in the heart of the obedient person is a willing submission to God’s authority.
Tim Chester explains how his book, You Can Change, unfolds.
You Can Change: A 5-Day Devotional Reading Plan
Over the course of five days, be encouraged by God’s commitment to his own in this devotional adaptation from John Piper’s book, Providence.
The problem with all of our desires to change is that they’re not ambitious enough.
You Become Like What You “Like”
Social media has become the new PR firm of the brand Self, and we check our feeds compulsively and find it nearly impossible to turn away from looking at—and loving—our “second self.”
You Are Set Free from Self-Improvement
Many of us believe that Christian discipleship is synonymous with self-improvement. But true Christian discipleship is a call to die, not to improve.
It is our achievements that make us; our lack of achievement leaves us wondering who we really are.
Just as much as we Christians take seriously the call to disciple how we think, so we should also take seriously the call to disciple how we imagine.
You Are More Than Your Twitter Bio
What does the way you introduce yourself say about how you see yourself, about where you find the source of your identity?
You Are in Constant Communication with the Lord
If you are a true believer in Jesus, you are in constant communication with your Lord in some way—either vocally or in your heart.
You Are Complete When God Is Yours
Dwell in the light of your Lord, and let your soul be always delighted by his love.
You Are Being Changed for the Good of the Church
When we join Jesus, we join his family and his mission. When Jesus Christ is Lord, he integrates disciples into a missional church family.
You and Your Toddler Teach One Another Theology
There is no distinction between the sacred and the secular; everything belongs to the Lord and is under his reign.
If this life constitutes the entirety of your existence, then you absolutely must maximize your enjoyment. You must never miss an opportunity for fun and pleasure.
Yoda and Our Search for Wisdom
The reason we have a hard time talking about wisdom is that we have a very misguided notion of what it is.
God speaks in light of who he is and what he has done, and we respond back to God.
The root of idolatry is pride.
Work Matters: More But Not Less Than a Carpenter
It is all too easy for us to overlook the fact that Jesus knew what it meant to get up and go to work every day.
Work in the New Heavens and New Earth
This side of the sin at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, our work is ruined by all manner of afflictions moral, physical, emotional, and mental.
“Word Versus Deed”: An Interview with Duane Litfin
Justin Taylor and Duane Litfin, president emeritus of Wheaton College, discuss Litfin’s new book Word versus Deed.
Words That Mark a Gracious Woman
Cheryl Marshall, Caroline Newheiser
The words of a gracious friend are self-controlled, wise, and hopeful, and those who hear her speak are the better for it.
For Christians, the start of a new year arrives with reminders afresh of the glorious promises that God has made to his people through the Bible.
We can’t really understand Puritanism at all—that movement so concerned with genuinely loving God in their communities, churches, and families,—without understanding the part played by Puritan women.
Women in Society: The Challenge and the Call
Women are extremely valuable to society, not because of their own merits but because of the qualities God has given them to use on his behalf.
Women in Crisis and the Gift of God’s Word
Please join us in prayer for the many partners of Crossway who are serving on the frontlines of ministry.
Think about it: a woman’s sphere of influence today is far more diverse and extensive than ever before.
Woman: You Will Become What You Behold
If we spend our time gazing only on lesser things, we will become like them, measuring our years in terms of human glory.
Without the Trinity the Doctrine of the Atonement Goes off the Rails
The atonement is the apex of the triune mission of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working together to reconcile sinners and renew creation.
Wise Women Know How to Think, Feel, and Want (Part 3)
Our desires—the things we want—tend to govern our lives and our choices. For that reason, it is important that our desires get formed in a biblical mold.
Wise Women Know How to Think, Feel, and Want (Part 2)
Just consider the roller-coaster ride of emotions we can experience in the course of a single week (or, for some of us, a single day): anger, love, frustration, joy, sorrow, annoyance, irritation, fear, anxiety, peace, satisfaction, exultation, discouragement, happiness, fulfillment, dissatisfaction, anticipation.
Wise Women Know How to Think, Feel, and Want (Part 1)
God created us as thinking and feeling creatures, and therefore both are part of being made in his image, therefore both thoughts and feelings are vital components of true faith.
Wisdom for Dealing with End of Life Issues from a Hospice Nurse's Perspective (Part 2)
Part two of an interview with Deborah Howard on her book, Sunsets: Reflections for Life’s Final Journey.
Wisdom for Dealing with End of Life Issues from a Hospice Nurse's Perspective
Crossway interviews Deborah Howard on Sunsets: Reflections for Life’s Final Journey.
Win the Next Generation with Love
The evangelical church has spent far too much time trying to figure out cultural engagement and far too little time just trying to love. If we listen and are curious about people, we will be plenty engaged.
Win the Crossway ESV Bible Atlas Enhanced E-Book
As any student of Scripture quickly learns, the Bible was not written in a vacuum.
Win John Piper's "The Swans Are Not Silent" Series
Win this 7-volume series about God's enduring faithfulness and the ongoing efficacy of the gospel in the lives of Christians throughout history.
Win Free Access to the ESV Study Bible + iOS App
Don’t Have the ESV Study Bible + iOS App? Last week we announced new updates to our ESV Bible and ESV Study Bible + mobile apps for iOS. Now fully compatible with the iPhone 6 …
Win A Free Copy of the New ESV Following Jesus Bible
Full of outstanding content to help children ages 8-12 to understand and enjoy God's Word and transition from a beginner's Bible.
Win 8 Books by Paul David Tripp
The ministry of Paul David Tripp exists to encourage Christ followers back to the gospel of grace for help in every season of life's challenges.
Will Your Phone Dominate Your Life in 2018?
As another new year begins, let's examine our habits, including our relationships to social media and our phones.
Will You Be Faithful Even if It Costs You?
When it looks like we’re facing defeat or failure, we’re often tempted to take things into our own hands.
Will You Be a Lifelong Learner?
For Christians, the stakes are even higher for cultivating holy curiosity and the mindset of a lifelong learner.
Will Unbelievers Be Annihilated or Suffer Eternally? (Revelation 14)
The reality of a believer's faith will reveal itself in observable and concrete ways—those who endure follow God in obedience.
Will the Unsaved Suffer Eternal Judgment? (2 Thessalonians 1)
Salvation comes by grace through faith to believers, who consequently display their faith as they continue to trust in Jesus, heedless of suffering and persecution in this life.
Will the Next Tech Upgrade Satisfy the Longings of Your Heart?
The spiritual dilemma of the tech age is deep because our modern economy is built on the false promise that new innovations are the key to satisfying the heart’s longings.
The perfect happiness of heaven will make your greatest joys from this life feel like misery compared to the complete euphoria of heaven with Christ.
Will God’s Wrath Come upon the Sexually Immoral? (Ephesians 5)
Not everyone who commits these sins is excluded from God’s heavenly kingdom. Yet, those who persistently give themselves over to them demonstrate that they are indeed excluded from eternal life.
Why Youth Pastors Must Be Gifted to Teach God's Word
Historically, churches have had a false paradigm for what youth ministry should look like. It's far more than getting kids in the door and keeping them out of trouble.
Why Youth Ministry Can’t Function Like Little League
The job of a youth pastor involves equipping the whole church to invest in the whole lives of young people.
Why You Should Teach Your Kids about the Reformation
The Reformers so clearly point us back to Christ, and point us to Scripture.
Why You Should Study God's Incommunicable Attributes
God’s incommunicable attributes are important for us to understand because they’re the ones that tell us how God is not like us.
Why You Should Stop Pretending You'll Live Forever
Living in light of our death reorients us to our limitations as creatures and helps us see God’s good gifts right in front of us—enabling us to live wisely, freely, and generously.
Why You Should Seek God When You Feel Lonely
When we fellowship with the Lord, we will find a new security, a new peace, and a new confidence in the Lord and in just getting through life.
Why You Should Read This Obscure Old Book about Pastoral Ministry
Every pastor faces that tension of cultivating a rich inner-life, focusing on the spiritual aspect of calling, without neglecting the mundane responsibilities of ministry.
Why You Should Read John Owen Next Year
What Owen offers is not quick relief, but long-term, deep growth in grace that can make strong, healthy trees where there was once a fragile sapling.
Why You Should Read Augustine's Confessions
I believe that Augustine's masterpiece is a largely unread book because people approach it with the wrong expectations, quickly become frustrated, and leave the book unfinished.
Why You Should Read A Sweet and Bitter Providence
John Piper lists seven reasons why we should join him in listening to the message of Ruth.
Why You Shouldn’t Read Isaiah Like You Read Romans
All believers should seek to learn how to read and understand the biblical prophets on their own. They are a different kind of literature from Romans, as much so as comics differ from the front page of a newspaper.
Why You Shouldn’t Neglect the First 39 Books of Your Bible
Trying to understand the New Testament without the Old Testament is like trying to understand the last four chapters of a book without reading the first eight.
Why You Shouldn't Ignore Your Conscience
Your conscience can function like a moral version of your nervous system.
Why You Should Make Time to Read the Bible . . . Even When You’re Busy
We make time for many things. But none is so important as the life-giving Word of God.
Why You Should Join an Imperfect Church
We need the body of Christ to grow and to know what it means to be a mature Christian.
I’m passionate that every Christian display the gospel in their lives, which is why I’m passionate about church membership.
Why You Should Go to Bed Early Tonight
Sleep is a gift from God. It’s one of his most wonderful gifts to us—when we receive it as he intended us to receive it.
Why You Should Enroll in Wisdom University
The primary reason people drop out of Wisdom University is peer pressure—the influence of others in the same social group or age group.
Why You Should Disciple Your Child during the Teen Years
We are so used to training up our children when they’re very young, but it's just as important when they hit the pivotal growth point of the early teen years.
Why You Should Be Thankful for Your Knowledge of Sin
Of all the blessings in my life, one is without a doubt the most wonderful blessing of all. Of all the things I most needed, but could never provide for myself, this was my deepest need.
Why Your Youth Ministry Should Serve the Poor
What does it look like to seek the welfare of our cities? How do you train your high school and junior high students to do this? Why is this important?
Why Your Youth Group Needs Generational Integration
Offering students opportunities in the church makes them feel as if they are contributing—here and now.
The theological doctrine of calling is a rich, rich doctrine all of us should wrestle with and embrace.
Why Your Sermons Should Address Believers and Unbelievers
Preachers should aim to capture the attention and inspire the affection of both unbelievers and believers.
Why Your Physical Body Matters
For the Christian, his or her body has been made a sacred location of God’s redemptive presence in the world.
Why Your Parents' Limitations Aren’t Limiting
Limits force you to come to grips with both your humanity and your sin nature by showing you that you are not God, but you sure want to be.
What is my vocation? How do I find one? Or, as the self-help books put it, how do I find the vocation that is right for me?
Why Your Identity Is Not the Same as Your Role
It is the temptation to find your identity in your role.
Why Your Emotions Are a Good Thing
Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Mahaney Whitacre
God didn’t redeem us, body and soul, only for us to leave emotions out of the Christian life.
Why Your Church Is Not Exempt from the Work of Church Planting
It is important that every local church find some way to focus their ministry efforts on church planting.
Why Your Child’s Misbehavior Shouldn’t Be Your Next Social Media Post
There’s nothing new about parents talking about their child’s misbehavior, but there are some underlying pitfalls that you should consider, especially as the internet magnifies them.
Why You Need Faith to See God’s Glory
The supreme spectacle of the cross brings a cosmic collision with the spectacles of this world. And we’re in the middle.
Why You Need a Sabbath from Your Tech
The human body is remarkable in similarities to an efficient machine, but we are physical beings with finite limitations and eternal souls.
Why You Must Leverage Your Self-Despair
There is a strange though consistent message throughout the Bible. We are told time and again that the way forward will feel like we’re going backward.
Why You May Want to Take a Silent Retreat after Christmas
You may not know how badly you needed silence and solitude until you get to know them.
Why You'll Never Grieve Well without Hope
To grieve well is to have a growing sense of confidence and rest that God's promises of resurrection, centered in the resurrected Jesus, are really true.
Why You’ll Never Be Ready for All of Life’s Troubles
God may give me way more than I can handle—and I think that’s normal.
Why You’ll Never Be Free Until You Start Obeying God
Biblical freedom doesn't mean doing what we want to do, but what we ought to do.
Why You'll Never Be Content without God
Since God is able to be completely content in himself, we are able to find contentment in him as well. We will never find true contentment with God.
Why You Don't Need to Live Confused, Accused, and Defeated
The truth of the gospel frees us from the power of guilt and condemnation.
Why You Don’t Need to Be a Super Saint to Be a Spiritual Mother
Spiritual mothering may involve mentoring and coaching, but it is broader.
Why You Can Trust Your English Bible
We can be confident that our translations of the historical documents are accurate and correct and that we know what the authors of those documents originally wrote.
Why You Can't Have Science without Philosophy
What in the world philosophy has to do with science? The answer to that is very important for Christians to understand.
Why You Can’t Have Justification without Sanctification
Justification should not be abstracted from the person of Christ.
Why You Can’t Be a Christian without the Church
A Christian is someone who, by virtue of his reconciliation with God, has been reconciled to God’s people.
Why Work in the Home Matters to God
The first thing we need to understand regarding why stay at home work matters to God is that God created us for work.
From the very beginning of Scripture we see that the one true God is not a couch potato God, nor did he create a couch potato world.
Why Wisdom Is More than an Intellectual Pursuit
To do theology we need to do with an attitude of reverence to the God who has made himself known in his Word.
Why We Sometimes Prefer to Keep God at a Distance
The Lord pursues and offers forgiveness of sins to those who want their own way, who want to have their own kingdom.
Why We Should Not Fear Satan and Demons
John MacArthur, Richard Mayhue
How can one know which concepts about Satan and demons are biblically accurate and which are not?
Why Were Gold, Incense, and Myrrh Appropriate Gifts for Jesus?
James Montgomery Boice focuses and reflects on the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus.
Why We’re Giving Away the ESV Global Study Bible (to Everyone)
We want to equip the global church with theologically rich, gospel-centered content aimed at helping God's people better understand and apply the Bible.
Why Were Ananias and Sapphira Killed? (Acts 5)
The account of Ananias and Sapphira causes understandable trouble for readers who believe their punishment to be harsh, but we should read it in the context of the description of the believing community.
Why We Neglect Reading our Bible
Stephen Nichols explains various culprits that get in between us and Scripture.
Why We Need to Gather as a Church
Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
The push toward the virtual church, we fear, is a push to individualize Christianity. It trains Christians to think of their faith in autonomous terms.
Why We Need to Be More Than Nice
God's not calling you to be a nice person only—he's calling you to be a Gospel-proclaiming person.
Spiritual warfare made the Puritans what they were. They accepted conflict as their calling, seeing themselves as their Lord’s soldier-pilgrims.
Why We Need the Psalms of Lament
The Psalms help us express our pain to God, knowing that he hears our cries.
The devil is a very real, very powerful opponent, far too powerful for us to take on in our own strength.
Why We Need Systematic Theology
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
Why do we need systematic theology? How we answer the question depends a lot on what we think theology is.
Why We Need Reformation Anglicanism
The two greatest issues facing Christianity in the West are (1) the Bible’s growing lack of authority in the Church, and (2) the lack of transformed lives among those who attend.
Why We Need a Paradigm Shift about Money
We need a brand-new way of thinking about money, a way that is rooted in the gospel story and its narrative of the lavish grace of God.
Why We Must Understand the Covenants to Understand the Bible
There are six major covenants in the Bible. Understanding these covenants is crucial for understanding the Bible's message as a whole.
Why We Feel So Tired and Confused by What We See Online
The internet makes no distinction between what is relevant to us or what is not relevant to us, what is part of the life that we’re supposed to live or what doesn’t really matter.
Why We Don't Have to Hide Our Pain from God
Like a child going to a parent, we don't have to clean up our spiritual act to pour out our hearts to God.
Why We Desperately Need the Message of Revelation
In the midst of evil, in a world in which the Christian faith is under attack, we need hope and assurance that evil will not have the last word.
Why We Desperately Need the Body of Christ
Why do I need the daily intervention of the body of Christ? The answer is as simple as it is humbling.
Why We Dare Not Seek God without Christ
The true and living God is too much for us to bear, to handle, to conceive, to adore, to know, to trust, to understand, and to worship. The Incomprehensible One is simply too much for us in every conceivable way.
Why We Can’t Lament without Listening
When it comes to loaded subjects like racism or ethnic tension, too often believers fall into the familiar ditches of denial or despair.
Why We Can Be Hopeful about the Pro-Life Movement
There are reasons we can be hopeful about the pro-life movement. Hear why Russell Moore thinks so.
Why Was Satan Allowed to Torment Job? (Job 1)
What is curious is that God is impressed not by Satan’s extraordinary abilities but rather by Job’s character.
Why Was Jesus’s Teaching So Astonishing?
What was so unusual and so attention-grabbing about Jesus’s teaching? Part of it was that once people began to challenge him and ask him questions, Jesus proved to be a masterful chess player.
Why Was a Man Killed for Touching the Ark of the Covenant? (2 Samuel 6)
God provides solemn reminders of the need to avoid impious infractions of the requirement to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28–29).
Why Use Written Prayers? A Personal Reflection
I understand and respect the hesitations that some believers have regarding the use of written prayers—either privately or publicly. I have close friends who fall on both sides of this discussion.
Why Unborn Children Have the Right to Governmental Protection
We have laws against murder because people agree that murder is wrong, and so there are moral standards that underlie many, if not all, of our current laws.
We all read things every day and are warned not to believe everything. Why can we believe everything in the Bible?
Tracts are meant to be informal or conversational—easily comprehended and relational in style.
Tracts are creative, short-form gospel presentations, convenient to use and economical to produce and distribute.
Why Titus 2 Is a Great Commission Passage
Few would argue against the fact that the Scriptures clearly require every Christian to both be a disciple and make disciples.
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Alexander E. Stewart
Jesus’s unusual supernatural conception, issuing in the virgin birth, served as a fulfillment of Scripture.
Why the Study of Ethics Matters for Everyday Christians
Why should we study ethics from a biblical perspective? Why should we collect and summarize the Bible’s teaching in a systematic way?
Why the Secularization Hypothesis Is Fundamentally Flawed
As the world became more modern, more scientific, and more educated, sociologists thought the world was also becoming less religious, but is it true?
Why There’s No Such Thing as an Atheist
If what Paul says in Romans 1 is true, there is ultimately no such thing as an atheist.
Why There Is No Systematic Theology without the Bible
The Bible creates the framework for all theological understanding.
Why There Is No Righteousness Like Christian Righteousness
But this most excellent righteousness—that of faith, God imputes to us through Christ.
Why the Reformation Isn't Over
We need to be constantly searching in God's word to see how further reformation needs to work itself out in our lives.
Why the Physical Earth Matters to God
When we fail to value creation, we fail to honor the God who made and sustains it.
Why the Mission of the Church Is Spiritual and Not Political
The church is a spiritual institution, and its core of agreement builds upon truths that transcend the more ephemeral matters that concern politics.
Why the Message of Salvation Is Evidence of the Truth of Christianity
Isn't it obvious that most Christians adopt their beliefs on the basis of emotion or tradition or culture, rather than on the basis of reason and evidence? This is an interesting objection. How could we respond?
Why the Local Church Needs Good Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is a vital help for pastors to faithfully declare the glorious truth that Jesus is the main point of the whole Bible.
Why the Gospel Requires Undivided Attention
The gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of the book of Hebrews, calls upon the world to give earnest heed to what it has to say.
Why the Doctrine of the Trinity Is Crucial for the Christian Life
Matthew Barrett, Michael A. G. Haykin
The Trinity is a doctrine that is to be not only believed but also experienced by the believer.
Why the Church Needs Teens and Teens Need the Church
Because they are a part of the body of Christ, teens should be included in the active community of the church.
Why the Church Is Vitally Important for Every Christian
Mention the church to a group of Christians and you are likely to get a mixed response.
Why the Church Is More Important than Any Other Christian Organization
The church is the only human institution that goes into eternity. We won’t be building the Gospel Coalition in eternity. We won’t be building seminaries in eternity.
Why the Church Can Rest in Christ’s Victory
We’re a part of what the Lord is doing in the world when we’re pastoring a church or even a member of a church. We know that he will accomplish his good end.
Why the Christmas Story Isn't Finished
Christmas is a promise and invitation of a celebration to come.
Why the Christian Faith Is Fundamentally . . . Uncomfortable
The very nature of Christian faith is uncomfortable—especially in today's world.
Why the Call to Preach Is Unique
Expository exultation is a unique kind of communication. It is different, radically different, from anything in the world.
Why the Book of Psalms Is for You
The Psalms were written for ordinary Christians leading ordinary lives—lives marked by depression, discouragement, despair, frustration, or maybe even numbness toward God or anger toward others.
Why the Apologist Must Also Play Offense
Apologetics does not just entail defense. It also involves offense, the positive task of constructing a case for Christianity.
Why the 10 Commandments Are Still Relevant
The law in the New Testament is to show us that in the life of the believer, the law is in fact a means of grace because it shows us what pleases God.
Why Teens Must Read the Bible for Themselves
Teenagers who are wondering if the Bible is relevant to their lives are often starting off on the wrong footing with Scripture.
Why Study the Books of Ruth & Esther?
Ruth and Esther give us insight to the crucial role of women in the big story of redemption.
Why Study the Books of Lamentations, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah?
These books are rich with God’s truth about our sin and need of redemption as well as his love for us in the savior Jesus Christ.
Why Study the Books of Jonah, Micah, and Nahum?
Each book of the Bible has something unique, something distinct, to teach us about God, about ourselves, and about the meaning of life.
Why Study the Books of Joel, Amos, and Obadiah?
Why study these short Old Testament prophetic books? Because the Lord gives us hope through his Word.
Why Study the Books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi?
God sent the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to speak powerful words of challenge and comfort to his world-weary people, words which are just as relevant and powerful for Christians today.
Why Study the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah?
There’s nothing like a really good story. That’s the first reason I often give for studying the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Why Study the Books of Colossians and Philemon?
Why study Paul’s letters to the Colossians and Philemon? Let me provide three reasons.
Why Study the Books of 1–3 John
The more divisive, the more stressful, the more anxious, and the more lonely our society grows, the more compelling the need becomes for a clear exhortation to love.
Why Study the Books of 1–2 Timothy and Titus?
1–2 Timothy and Titus are among the most personal and practical books in the New Testament. These letters are often called the "Pastoral Epistles,” but they’re relevant for all Christians, not just pastors.
Why Study the Books of 1–2 Thessalonians?
The same encouragement, hope, and exhortation that the Thessalonians of 2,000 years ago needed, we need today.
Why Study the Books of 1–2 Peter?
Into a historical moment when many Christians feel disoriented, 1–2 Peter helps us recenter our hope on Christ.
Why Study the Books of 1–2 Kings?
This is a theologically rich book that makes a unique contribution to our understanding of our sin and frailty, God’s character and provision, and the plan of redemption being worked out in history.
Why Study the Books of 1-2 Chronicles?
Chronicles is a reboot. It is not just the same old material; it has a new tone, a new message, new truth about God to communicate.
Why Study the Book of Song of Solomon?
Although it is rarely taught, preached, or studied, the Song of Solomon is God's gift to the church.
Jared C. Wilson gives three big reasons you ought to give Romans careful study.
Why Study the Book of Revelation?
The book of Revelation shows us how to live victoriously in the midst of both torment and temptation.
Douglas Sean O'Donnell suggests three reasons to study the Psalms.
Why Study the Book of Proverbs?
We don’t want to miss the heart of Proverbs—what God is saying to his people through this unique portion of Scripture.
Why Study the Book of Philippians?
Behind the text of Philippians stands a riveting story shared by Paul and the Philippian Christians—what we might call the “fellowship of the cross.”
Why Study the Book of Numbers?
It is one of the great ironies of Scripture that the generation that saw God’s works most vividly became the epitome of those who refuse to believe him.
Why Study the Book of Matthew?
Matthew’s account provides a unique window through which to see the glory of Christ.
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.
When we study this book, will not our hearts burn within us with love for him? And will not this love overflow for the salvation of the world?
Why Study the Book of Leviticus?
If you have trouble mustering up the excitement to read through Leviticus, you are not alone.
The narratives contained in the book of Judges were written to “bear witness” or “testify” to the person and work of Jesus and the great salvation that he has achieved for his people.
In the book of Jude, our heavenly Father threatens the church to keep her from being dragged away from his love.
The best answers to that question will come when we understand why God gave us this book.
The Gospel of John is an account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—teaching us about his life and mission and about our salvation.
Perhaps the most important reason for reading the book, however, is that Job’s tragedy—an experience of searing pain and loss which did not make sense within any framework Job had—is all too common.
Why Study the Book of Jeremiah?
We should study Jeremiah because we want to know Christ better and see God deepen our endurance in the gospel.
James is an intensely practical book, filled with exhortations to Christians about the way they should live their lives now that they have been given new life in Jesus.
Isaiah is quite lengthy, but there is great joy to be gained from diligently engaging with it.
Why Study the Book of Hebrews?
Hebrews shows us that the Bible is not a collection of unrelated stories, but is rather one unified story.
Why Study the Book of Genesis?
Genealogies form the backbone of the book of Genesis.
Why Study the Book of Galatians?
The constant pressure is toward practical atheism, toward falling asleep to the glory of our God. Galatians is given to wake us up.
Why Study the Book of Ezekiel?
Ezekiel wants us to know that God is where he always is; he is with his people.
We don’t truly understand who we are as the church of Jesus Christ unless we know our own story.
Why Study the Book of Ephesians?
Ephesians invites us to consider what God has made us to be, do, and have in Christ for a display of the gospel to the world.
Why Study the Book of Ecclesiastes?
Ecclesiastes is consistent with the rest of Scripture in its explanation that true wisdom is to fear God even when we cannot see all that God is doing.
Why Study the Book of Deuteronomy?
If we have yet to grasp what’s so great about Deuteronomy, it may be that we have misconceived it.
The main purpose of Daniel is to reveal to us who God is—his character, his purposes, his way of working in the world for the good of his people.
The book of Acts does not primarily provide us with human patterns to emulate or avoid. Instead, it repeatedly calls us to reflect upon the work of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, establishing the church by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why Study the Book of 2 Corinthians?
The Christian life is impossible to live without 2 Corinthians.
Why Study the Book of 1 Corinthians?
How is Christian unity revealed? Put another way, what is the flesh and blood of union with other believers? Paul roots his theology of unity in love.
Why Stay-at-Home Moms Don't Need to Be Embarrassed
God values all work that's done in his name and in service of others, so you don't need to be embarrassed about your at-home work.
Why Spontaneous Prayer and Planned Prayer Are Both Important
Praying about something right in the moment reminds us of our dependence, but planned prayer has its place, too.
Why Sin Wasn’t Humanity’s First Problem
It’s not good to be alone. Why? Because God made us for friendship.
Why Should We Disciple Younger Women?
Disciple-making is helping others to see Christ for what he is
Why Should We Care About Holiness?
Kevin DeYoung shares his heart and vision behind the new book, The Hole in Our Holiness.
John Piper lists why we should affirm others.
Why Should Christians Care about Church History?
For the Christian community, history is the stage on which the drama of redemption is being displayed—at the beginning is the Fall, at the end is the Last Judgment. In between, the most crucial event of all.
Sexual ethics, and a high standard of sexual integrity, are so vital. It is vital because it isn't just a petty taboo.
Serial offers us insights into our culture’s longings, revealing God’s truth in the world around us.
Why Seek the Truth? The Achilles’ Heel of Free Thought
Atheists and agnostics insist we pursue the truth about reality—even if the idea of a meaningless universe frightens and depresses us. We ought to face facts and accept reality as it is, not as we want it to be.
Why Sanctification Is Not Passive
Sanctification is absolutely essential to the life of faith—so much so that Scripture frequently treats holiness as the identifying mark of a true believer.
Why Romans Is the Greatest Letter Ever Written
Paul’s letter to the Romans is relatively short (it takes about sixty minutes to read aloud), and it is profound. It explains and exults in and applies the greatest news we could hear.
Why Restoration from Victimization Is Possible
God's Word is neither shy about topics of sexual victimization nor simplistic when it comes to solutions. Restoration is possible!
If a classic possesses the qualities that people ascribe to them, we know that we want them in our lives.
Thoughtful reading is becoming a lost art. Artful reading is dying. Many people believe it’s drawing a final breath on its deathbed.
Wondering if you should read the book? Here are some recent videos, reviews, and quotes about this new book from Justin Buzzard.
Why Pursuing Sanctification Is More Than Just Remembering Justification
There are many truths in Scripture that speak to the process of sanctification.
Why Preaching Is the Number One Way a Pastor Leads
Preaching has to be the first way we lead as pastors, in one sense, because it’s inherent within our position, within our role.
Why Planned Parenthood and the Kingdom of Christ Are at Odds
every believer is called to recognize Jesus in the face of his little brothers and sisters.
Why Philosophy Matters for Christians
Philosophy matters for Christians because many of the debates are about the "big questions" of human existence.
Why People and Place Matter in the Kingdom of God
Why is it imperative to define the kingdom as “power, people, and place”?
Why Pastors Should Catechize Their Congregations
Catechism benefits adults and children alike by giving them a deeper understanding of theology and the ability to communicate those beliefs well.
Why Pastors Should Be Good Readers
When pastors do the right kind of reading, it can heighten sensitivities to the literary forms of the Bible.
You need to be willing to stand on the shoulders of those that have come before.
Why Pastors Must Show Their Kids How to Love the Church
Perhaps the most important thing we can do to demonstrate our love for the church is to crucify any trace of careerism.
Why Pastors Must Be More than Professionals
The knowledge of God that the fear of the Lord brings is not a sterile knowledge. Those who fear God come to know him in such a way that they actually become holy, faithful, loving, and merciful, like him.
Why Pastors Have a Unique Responsibility to Counsel
You must counsel. It’s not optional. You can’t say no as if it were simply a career choice, a matter of personal preference, or an absence of gifting.
Why Pastors (and All of Us) Should Read the Puritans
Reading the Puritans can contribute to our growth, holiness, and conviction of the need to stay close to the Lord.
Why Partial Obedience Is Disobedience
Do you find joy in obeying your Lord? Do you treasure his commands? Do you recognize the protective wisdom of the boundaries he has set for you?
Why Parenting Is One of the Most Significant Callings
Nothing is more important in your life than being one of God’s tools to form a human soul.
Why Our Limits Are a Good Thing
Every boundary that he places in our lives—every limit that he gives us—is for our flourishing.
Why Our Feelings ≠ Knowing God’s Will
Feelings are not meant to be our guide. That's the role of God's Word in our lives.
Why Our Expectations for Teens in the Church Are Way Too Low
Historically, one of the failures of youth ministry is that kids have not been seen as potential contributors in the church, and that is a disservice to them and to the church as a whole.
Why Ordinary People Matter to God
One of the things that I love about the stories in the Bible is how many ordinary people you meet.
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.
Why Mourning Can Be Good for Us
Mourning sin—past, present, and future—is the first step in seeking and celebrating the hope of divine grace.
Why Motherhood Is Only for the Faint of Heart
It is often stated that “motherhood is not for the faint of heart!” But in reality, that’s not entirely true—because motherhood is only for the faint of heart.
Quiet is a means of God’s grace. Why does it make us so uncomfortable?
Why Moralistic Therapeutic Deism Is a Dead End
It's very easy to shelve God and decide we don't really need him, that we just need to believe in ourselves and to invent who we are and what we want to do.
Why Modern Christians Should Stay Hitched to Church History
Theological retrieval is a way to draw attention to things that you were assuming that you didn’t even know that you assumed.
Why Modern Christians Should Obey the 10 Commandments
Jesus didn’t set the Ten Commandments aside. He fulfilled them.
Why Mentoring Is Better than Asking Alexa
In our digital age, it’s helpful to remember the importance of real-life relationships and the benefits of older believers in the faith who can offer us wisdom, presence, and pursuit.
Why Men Should Memorize the Psalms Together
There is something sweet that goes beyond just repeating the words of Scripture to each other but actually living in the good of God’s Word together.
Why Men Need to Be Transparent with Each Other
One of the best ways men can encourage each other with the gospel is simply with honesty and transparency.
Why Martin Luther's Preaching Was So Offensive
As soon as the Reformation began in 1517, Martin Luther became the most famous man in Europe.
Why Living for God Depends on Good Theology
We live for Christ because Christ lived and died for us. But we are not able to maintain a Christ-focused life apart from being “Spirit energized.”
Why Listening to a Podcast Is Not a Substitute for Going to Church
Going to a church has many benefits. If you are physically able to attend a church, you should make it a priority.
Why Land Is More than Real Estate
After the resurrection of Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit, who fills not just Israel, but the whole earth with his glory.
Why John Piper Wrote His Newest Book
How do you know the Bible is true? Why do you trust it? Are you really willing to bet your whole life on it?
Why John Piper Wrote "A Sweet and Bitter Providence"
John Piper says he wrote A Sweet and Bitter Providence because there is a way to suffer that honors Christ and glorifies God.
Why John Owen and Richard Baxter Didn’t Like Each Other
When we see other people, we do so through a filter that operates on the basis of the only evidence we have: what we see them do and hear them say. It’s easy to get that wrong.
Why Jesus Warns Us to Be Alert for His Second Coming
The appearing of Christ becomes a sudden trap not because it could happen any moment, but because the spiritually unseeing will be blind to Christ’s coming.
Jesus didn't just experience a taste of humanity, he experienced the fullness of what it means to be physically human.
Why Jesus Cannot Be One Truth among Many
Jesus claims rule over all of heaven and earth. He presents himself not as one possible path to God, but as God himself.
The reason God became man was to die. As God pure and simple, he could not die for sinners. But as man he could. His aim was to die.
Why Jam-Packed Schedules Can Be Dangerous
It’s safe to say that on a typical day for most of us, our responsibilities, requirements, and ambitions add up to more than we can handle, whether we admit this or not.
Why I Wrote a New Book about Pastoral Ministry
A new book for pastors grounded on the conviction that all Christian ministry must be gospel-centered.
Why I Wrote a Book about the Marrow Controversy
What is Jesus really like, truly like—deep down, through and through?
Why I Wrote a Book about Helping the Hurting
While my physical pain and emotional stress is difficult, it doesn't just affect me—it affects all of the people around me.
Why I Wrote a Book about God's Incommunicable Attributes
Most of us have some familiarity with the attributes of God, but we probably haven't spent a lot of time contemplating those things.
Why It's Wrong to Take God's Name in Vain
One of the remarkable things about God is that no one ever named him.
Why It’s Surprisingly Easy to Reward Disobedience
Reward the behaviors you want and don’t reward the behaviors you don’t want.
Why It’s OK that God Loves Himself Most
Where God’s love is fundamentally different than a fallen human being’s love is that it is holy. It is utterly set on himself and his own glory.
Why It’s Easier to Show Regular (Not Sporadic) Hospitality
It’s much easier for me to practice daily hospitality than it would be monthly because I don’t have to do something different.
Why It's Destructive to Deny God's Sovereignty in Suffering
To deny God's control over suffering actually severs the root of our comfort when facing tragedy.
Why It's Dangerous to Misrepresent the Gospel
It is rare to find an individual who can give a well-rounded and comprehensive declaration of the gospel message.
Why It’s Both Possible and Impossible to Know God
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
It is possible to know God because God has made himself known. Our knowledge of God is real but never exhaustive.
Why It Matters What We Do with Our Bodies
We might think it doesn’t matter what we do with our bodies, but the Bible repeatedly and powerfully shows us this is not the case.
Why It Matters That Jesus Was and Still Is Human
The impression often seems to be that the Son of God came down from heaven in incarnate form, spent three decades or so as a human, and then returned to heaven to revert back to his preincarnate state.
Why It Matters That Jesus Is Better Than Everything
Introducing people to Jesus involves showing them how Jesus meets their needs better than anything else.
Why It Matters that God Is Our Father
God is our Father at the level of creation and at the level of redemption.
Why It Matters How We Treat Unborn Children
How serious is it in God’s sight to intentionally cause the death of an unborn child?
Why It Is Unloving to Preach #YouDoYou
If the ship is going down, it’s not arrogant to tell people the truth and point them to the lifeboat. It’s deeply unloving not to.
Why It Is Good to Be Poor in Spirit
Our culture is obsessed with wealth and riches. Why, then, does Jesus call the poor "blessed?"
Why Is the Virgin Birth So Important?
The entry and exit miracles carry the same message. First, they confirm that Jesus, though not less than man, was more than man. His earthly life, though fully human, was also divine.
Why Is the Setting of Genesis 3 So Important to the Storyline of the Bible?
We are all born outside of Eden. In the garden, we are entering a world that is before the fall, and then we're watching an unfolding event.
Why Is the Pentateuch Referred to as the Book of Moses?
If Moses is behind the Pentateuch, that lends a certain massive authority to it. It's a singular book and Moses is ultimately the author, so we should listen to it.
Why Is the Book of Romans Considered the Greatest Letter Ever Written?
Studying Romans carefully is worth every minute you invest that way. It’s a relatively short letter, it takes about sixty minutes to read aloud, and it’s profound.
Why Is the Book of Acts So Focused on Peter and Paul?
The deeper motive for Luke’s focus on Peter and Paul is not on them simply as prominent, historic individuals in earliest church history, but on them as apostles and the nature of their apostolic commission.
Why Is Temptation So Hard to Withstand?
Why do we need a shield to live the Christian life? The Bible is clear: because we have an enemy, who is poised ready to attack us.
Why Is Teen Anxiety on the Rise?
What factors contribute to the rise of anxiety in teenagers today?
Why Is Love Called the Greatest of These? (1 Corinthians 13)
Love is not a spiritual gift. It is essential for using spiritual gifts, and it is more important than spiritual gifts.
Why Is It So Hard to Discern the Work of the Holy Spirit in My Life?
You come to awareness and confession and belief in Christ and then gradually become aware that if you are successfully believing in Jesus, it’s because the Spirit is at work within you.
Doctrine is a body of teaching. Christian doctrine is the teaching found in the Bible—about who God is, who we are, and why the world exists.
Why Is Creation So Important for Understanding the Bible?
Creation is an important and recurring theme throughout Scripture, because the God who creates is also the God who redeems.
Why I No Longer Support the Death Penalty
In law school, I was a full-throated supporter of the death penalty, but I have come to the view that, as currently practiced in the United States, the death penalty is unjust as the Bible defines justice.
What’s to love about George Whitefield?
Why I Care about Women's Issues
In an increasingly pro-women society, you can’t even watch the Super Bowl anymore without seeing media campaigns elevating the dignity and worth of women.
Why I Believe in the Doctrine of Justification
The Bible makes clear that our right standing before God comes not by works, effort, merit, or achievement, but by faith in Christ alone.
Why I Believe God Is Sovereign over Suffering
Scripture is not silent when it comes to the question of God's sovereignty in our suffering.
Why Hospitality Is for All Christians
Radically ordinary hospitality—those who live it see strangers as neighbors and neighbors as family of God.
It happens sooner or later in every relationship: someone will let you down.
Why Higher Education Needs to Know Its History
The richness of the Christian tradition can provide guidance for the complex challenges facing Christian higher education at this time.
Why Healing Requires More Than Self Help
We seek healing as if we have the power (and right) to obtain it, whereas it is our very weakness and lack of valid claim to such a cure which are defining characteristics of our illness.
“Why Have You Forsaken Me?” Understanding Jesus’s Cry on the Cross
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The crucifixion is a good case study in showing how a careful Trinitarian framework can help work through thorny issues related to the Trinity and salvation.
Why Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry Is Important
When we’re so concerned with keeping the youth entertained or promoting a moral lifestyle, we can easily forget the message of first importance.
Why Good Works Are Crucial for the Christian Life
What is required of us to live in this world as citizens worthy of all the wonders and relationships belonging to the next?
Why Good Theology Matters in Prayer
Knowing who God is and what he’s like as revealed in Scripture is very important as we approach God in prayer.
Why “Going Our Own Way” Is a Burden, Not a Freedom
We often hear the encouragement to go our own way or blaze our own trail. In a lot of ways, that sounds like freedom. But without Christ, it’s actually bondage.
Why God’s Promises Are Important for Kids Too
The struggles and complexities of life teach us through the years that we must rely on our heavenly Father. How are God’s promises also for our little ones?
God saves people for a purpose. Salvation in Christ begins a life spent growing into being like him and serving him faithfully.
Why Godly Discipline Is about Learning to Fail Better
We're sinners and are not striving for perfection, but aiming to please God.
Why did God come into this world?
Human beings—as image-bearers of the God who made the world—are responsible to take care of the world and to use their time, talent, and treasure in everything they do for the Lord.
Why Gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh?
God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything. The gifts of the magi are not given by way of assistance or need meeting.
More than any other physical feature, we associate the face with a person. Faces matter to people, and so it’s not surprising that faces matter in the Bible.
Why Expository Preaching Is Important
When you do expository preaching you get a sermon's symmetry and structure from the biblical text.
Why Every Serious Atheist Should Be a Moral Nihilist
Every consistent atheist ought to be a moral nihilist.
Why Every Parent Should Embrace Their Inability
It is vital that you believe and admit that you have no power whatsoever to change your child.
Why Every Generation Must Contend for Justification Sola Fide
Justification sola fide is the heart of the gospel and the broad Protestant consensus achieved on this article of faith is one of the greatest theological developments since the Chalcedon.
Every elder is a pastor. The New Testament uses three terms that are all distinct, but they all describe the same office.
Why Elisabeth Elliot Changed Her Beliefs about Finding God’s Will
Elliot had left Ecuador with a changing understanding of God’s will. Circumstances had forced her to look long and hard at her beliefs about God’s guidance.
Why Do We Sometimes Feel Empty?
Perhaps you have come to see your emptiness as your biggest problem. That’s not how God sees it.
Why Do We Need to Keep Praying “Forgive Us Our Debts”?
If you want to be happy in the church (or simply not give up on the church), you need to learn forgiveness. You need to grant it, and you need to receive it.
Why Do We Need So Many Books on the Gospel?
This post by Dane C. Ortlund was originally published on May 25, 2011. We're reposting it as we celebrate Crossway's 75th anniversary.
Why Do We Need a Liturgy for Our Daily Worship?
It's not whether or not you're going to have a liturgy for your daily quiet time, it's just which kind of liturgy you're going to have.
Why Do We Get Baptized One Time but Take Communion Many Times?
Many Christians today have a weak understanding of the sacraments and what they accomplish in the lives of believers.
Why Do We Feel Lonely at Church?
In this video, Jeremy Linneman takes time to explain why the mounting problem of loneliness matters and offers suggestions for how we might build spiritual communities for ourselves.
Many passages in Scripture speak to the missionary task, but at the foundation we need to remember that we do missions because Jesus commissioned his people to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Although we cannot bequeath God to our children, we can help them know him and understand him in ways that prepare them to believe in his name.
Why Do Pastors Need the Gospel?
We need to know the message so we can live it, speak it, communicate it.
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.
Why Doing Theology Right Matters—for All Christians
The case can be made that every Christian is a theologian because every Christian has a theology, whether well thought out or not.
Why Does the Gospel of Mark End without Mention of Jesus’s Resurrection?
Mark provides only eight verses to narrate the events after Jesus’s crucifixion, including the women’s angelic encounter at the tomb and the angel’s announcement with no actual resurrection appearances.
Why Does the Book of Acts End So Abruptly?
The abrupt but victorious ending compels readers to ask about their own role in this narrative. Acts offers a word of encouragement. Yet, encouragement for what?
Why Does the Bible Talk So Much about Land?
God will dwell with his people in the land that he promised.
Why Does the Bible Say So Much about Widows?
There are about eighty direct references to widows in the Scriptures. Why?
Why Does the Apostle’s Creed Say That Jesus Descended into Hell?
Death has been called “the new obscenity,” the nasty thing which no polite person nowadays will talk about in public. But death, even when unmentionable, remains inescapable.
Why Does Paul Tell the Church to Deliver Someone to Satan? (1 Corinthians 5)
God’s church must be unleavened or pure. Tolerating unrepentant sexual immorality ruins the whole church’s purity.
Why Doesn't God Do More to Convince Us of His Existence?
If the Christian God exists and loves us, and if our eternal destiny hangs in the balance, why isn’t the evidence for his existence absolutely undeniable?
Why Does Jesus Call Himself the “Door”?
Jesus is saying that, as the door, as we enter into eternal life with him and through him, we will be saved. He is access to salvation.
Food played an important role in the life of Jesus and continues to be an ingredient in our enjoyment of God's goodness.
Developing doctrine in the church is one more in a series of improvisations.
Why Doctrine and Devotion Must Never Be Separated
The Bible calls men today to lead in their churches and in their homes through both doctrine and devotion.
The ministry of the deacons is an extension of the ministry of the elders to care for the flock of God.
Why Do Christians Make Such a Big Deal about Sex?
The fundamental reason why Christians believe that sex belongs only in the permanent bond of male-female marriage is because of the metaphor of Jesus’s love for his church.
Children are not naturally obedient. The problem lies in the opposite direction. The little fellows are sinners—and sin hardens.
Why Did Ruth Enter Boaz’s Tent in the Middle of the Night? (Ruth 3)
Naomi’s plan initiates this scene’s events. After Boaz has eaten and gone to bed, Ruth is to enter his tent, lift the blanket at his feet and lie down, and wait for him to wake. Why does she do this?
Why Did Paul Publicly Rebuke Peter? (Galatians 2)
This passage clearly teaches that this subtle but very common problem in the church is a serious distortion of the gospel and needs the corrective rebuke of the apostle Paul.
Why Did Jesus Tell People Not to Bury Their Father or Say Goodbye to Their Family? (Luke 9)
Disciples have a more important calling and responsibility: heralding the good news of the kingdom.
Why Did Jesus Say, “On This Rock I Will Build My Church”? (Matthew 16)
When Peter forbids the cross, he is a stumbling stone. When he proclaims Jesus as the Christ, he is a rock.
Why Did Jesus Curse a Fig Tree? (Matthew 21)
The cursing of the fig tree is symbolic. The prophets use the fig as a symbol of Israel in its fruitlessness.
Why Did God Send Bears to Attack a Group of Boys? (2 Kings 2)
Is this a shocking incident? Yes it is. But this incident is also one that fits perfectly with the flow of 2 Kings 1–2, in which we see very clearly how God not only works in the darkness but will not be silenced.
Why Did God’s Beautiful Plan of Redemption Involve Something So Ugly?
When we consider carefully what Jesus was doing on that old, rugged cross, we can understand why it was so ugly. To atone for our transgressions, Jesus had to shoulder our guilty sins.
Why Did God Command Hosea to Marry a Prostitute? (Hosea 1 & 3)
What is God teaching us about his faithfulness in the story of Hosea and Gomer?
Why Devotional Bible Reading Is Good Bible Reading
The purpose of reading the Bible devotionally is to commune with God and grow closer to him.
Why Determination Isn’t Enough
Determined commitment propels our path, but reaching the destination is possible only because God gets us there.
Why Death Is the Final Stage of Salvation
Death often brings reality to light. When individuals are thrown onto their last resources, they show where their true hopes lay.
Why Dating Doesn’t End with Marriage
Justin Buzzard helps men remember and re-learn the all-important (and often forgotten) skill of dating their wives.
Why C. S. Lewis Was Wrong about Psalm 23
It may surprise you to hear that Lewis was unable to reconcile the beauty of verses 1–4 of Psalm 23 with what he regarded as a spirit of hatred in verse 5, a spirit “almost comic in its naivety.”
Why C. S. Lewis Wasn't a Pacifist
C. S. Lewis was horrified by England’s declaration of war on Germany [in 1939], but he had no doubt of its rightness.
Why Contentment Stems from a Thankful Heart
If the contentment goes and the giving of thanks goes, we are not loving God as we should, and proper desire has become coveting against God.
Why Computers Can Never Replace the Human Brain
If we are not just machines, but spiritual beings as well, even the cleverest computer could never replicate the priceless and wondrous imago dei borne by every human.
Why Claim Total Depravity When People Do Good All the Time?
If you study the doctrine of total depravity on its own, you may be led to think that an unbeliever cannot do any good in society— and yet, that is incongruent with our own experience of unbelievers.
Why Church Planting Can’t Be Church Franchising
I have seen empires come and go, but never have I seen anything so radical and pervasive as the gospel of the kingdom.
Why Churches Languish under Cowardly Pastors
If there is anyone in the world who ought to have courage, it must be pastors.
Why Christ’s Relationship to the Law Matters
Christ fulfills the law by obeying it perfectly during his earthly ministry. This is an important detail that's sometimes left out of gospel presentations.
Why Christians Should Study Ethics
Questions of right and wrong aren't always straightforward for people today.
Why Christians Should Read Shakespeare
Leland Ryken explains why more Christians should read or view Shakespeare than currently do.
Why Christians Should Encourage Consistent Atheism
times when I actually encourage unbelievers to continue in their error, in fact to do so more.
Why Christians Must Remain Dissatisfied
The Christian is not merely a man who knows now that he’s been forgiven, and that’s the end of it all. Not at all. That’s merely the introduction.
Why Christians Depend on Revelation from God
Christianity is a religion that rests on revelation: nobody would know the truth about God, or be able to relate to him in a personal way, had not God first acted to make himself known.
Why Christian Mission Must Focus on Evangelism
The gospel of Jesus Christ, by its very nature, refuses to be bottled up. It must be shared.
Why Catholic Philosopher Robert George Matters to Protestants
With a career spanning over thirty years and who presently holds the title of McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Robert P. George is one of the world’s most prominent and respected public intellectuals.
Why Bible Study Should Always Lead to Worship (Women of the Word Episode 10)
Jen Wilkin draws all of the ideas covered so far together to remind everyone what the true end of Bible study should be.
Why Bible Study Should Always Lead to Worship
Anytime we spend time gazing at who God is as he’s described in the Scriptures, we cannot help but be drawn into worship.
When defining the term “missional community,” I often take time to clarify what it’s not.
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.
Why Being Discontent Can Actually Be a Good Thing
While my never-ending desire to explore the unfamiliar can lead to sinful discontent, there’s a holy discontent it reflects too.
Why Beauty Is a Problem without God
I think in a way, for somebody who has not yet surrendered to Jesus Christ, beauty is a problem because beauty is so evident in this world, and it awakens a desire for eternal things.
Why Are We So Reluctant to Die?
Is there a rest remaining for the people of God? Why then are we so reluctant to die and to depart from here so that we may possess our rest?
Why Are We Baptized in Jesus’s Name?
For Jesus’s name carries Jesus’s claim, and undergoing baptism is, for those who have reached years of discretion, a sign that the claim is being accepted.
Why Are There So Many Versions of the Bible?
Go into any Christian bookstore, and you can find an entire shelf—sometimes an entire section!—of different Bible translations.
Why Are There Four Gospels? How Are They Unique?
In Discovering Jesus: Why Four Gospels to Portray One Person? T.D. Alexander explains how each Gospel offers different themes and perspectives on the account of our Savior.
Why Are the Books of the Bible in the Order They’re In?
The positioning of each book relative to other books in the canonical collection has hermeneutical significance for the reader who seeks meaning in the text.
Culture is more than just what we believe and what we do; it is also our whole framework for comprehending the world, for making sense, or trying to make sense, out of life.
Why Are Christians Told Not to Love the World? (1 John 2)
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Why Archaeology Can’t Prove the Bible (and Doesn’t Need To)
David W. Chapman, John D. Currid
In this video with Drs. David Chapman and John Currid, editors of the ESV Archaeology Study Bible hear why archaeology isn't needed to prove the Bible true.
Why a Pastor Needs to Learn His Context
To faithfully pastor those who are culturally different from you, the first thing you should do is learn as much as you can about your context.
Why An ESV Women's Devotional Bible?
A note from Erika Allen, managing editor of the ESV Women's Devotional Bible.
Why are so many people so unhappy in so many different circumstances?
Why All Christians Should Expect Trouble
The longer you live in this fallen world, the more kinds of trouble you face.
Why All Christians Should Care about Systematic Theology
Peter J. Gentry, Stephen J. Wellum
Biblical theology provides the basis for understanding how texts in one part of the Bible relate to all other texts.
Why All Christians Should Care about Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is crucial for the health of the church because the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.”
Why All Christians Can (and Should) Share the Gospel
Opportunities abound for sharing our faith. Things are happening all around us that cause people to ask religious questions.
Why Admitting Limitations Is Life-Giving
There is freedom in admitting that we are not Christ—we are not perfect. But Jesus loves us anyway and only asks that we follow him.
Why a Devotional Bible Specifically for Men?
The author of the epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that “it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace” (13:9).
Why 2 Peter and Jude Matter to You Today
In the midst of a world that often seems out of control, knowing our ultimate destiny is a source of great comfort and motivation to press on in the face of serious challenges and opposition to the gospel.
Who Were the Nations in Nebuchadnezzar’s Prophetic Dream? (Daniel 2)
A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.
Who Were the Magi, and Why Did They Worship Jesus? (Matthew 2)
Popular Christian images of the magi clash with Matthew’s account. The magi were counselors, not kings, and while they bore three gifts, their number (unstated) was large enough to cause a stir in Jerusalem.
Who Was Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones—often known as “the Doctor” from his medical degree—was one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century.
Who’s in Charge at Church? 3 Ways the Answer Is You
The whole congregation has the responsibility for its health, its preaching, and its membership. All the members together are responsible.
Who Needs Dogma when Stigma Will Do?
Sliding into liberalism is when you no longer take the time or make the effort to define your terms.
According to Jesus, the people who are ashamed of him are those who refuse to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. They’ve considered Jesus unworthy of their devotion and obedience.
Who Killed the Prayer Meeting?
Behind our busyness and wealth is a philosophy called secularism, which doesn’t just deny God’s existence but denies the existence of any spiritual world.
Who Is the Man of Lawlessness? (2 Thessalonians 2)
The man of lawlessness seeks to make himself the central person of worship, beyond any other religious objects or personages in his day.
Gregg R. Allison, Stephen J. Wellum
In God’s providence, it was to a teaching career that God graciously called John to use his gifts and abilities to serve the larger evangelical church.
A Historical Person Maybe you have never really thought about who Jesus is, or whether his claims have any implications for your life. After all, we’re talking about a man who was born in the …
Regardless of what you personally think about him, surely we can agree that Jesus is a towering figure in the history of the world.
A really intriguing thing, which goes against the notion of expressive individualism, is the fact that we live in shared stories.
Who Caused the Divorce of Science and Faith?
The dispute between the church and Galileo sowed the seed for the apparent divorce between science and faith.
Who Are the 144,000? (Revelation 7)
Who will escape the wrath of God at the final judgment? Only those who belong to God, those who are sealed by him, who are numbered by him.
Which Sins Are Feeding Your Sin of Lust?
In ministry to someone who struggles with sexual darkness, you may get the breakthrough in another screening room, in an area that neither of you had noticed or considered to be related.
Which Large Print ESV Bible Is Right for You?
Whether you're a pastor looking for a large print Bible for preaching or you're simply wanting a larger, readable type size for personal reading and study, Crossway offers several editions to suit your needs.
Which ESV Bible Is Right for You?
To help you find the Bible that’s right for you or someone you love, we’ve compiled a list of some of our most popular editions, organized by category.
Which Approach to Bible Study Should I Use?
The longest-lasting—and most accurate and faithful to the Word and character of God—is to approach the Bible trying to understand what God is saying to us about himself.
Where to Learn to Become a Healthy Pastor
Formal theological training is important, but even more important than seminary would be simply to plant your life in a local church.
We need to remember that the Bible is God's direct speech to us. His word is the source of wisdom. It is God himself speaking to us.
Where There's Hope, There's Life
We humans are hoping creatures; we live very largely on and in our anticipations, things we know are coming and we look forward to.
Where the Bible Teaches We Are Saved by Christ Alone
The five solas are inspired by and rooted in Scripture, which states that we are saved by grace and faith in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
Where Is the Promise of the Gospel Found in the Pentateuch?
There are going to be two lineages, two seeds: one of the woman and one of the serpent. Ultimately, the seed of the serpent is going to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman.
Where Is God in My Loneliness?
Loneliness serves a purpose: it points us toward community and toward our heavenly Father.
Where Do We First See the Hope of the Resurrection in the Bible?
When you read what New Testament authors say, Jesus’s resurrection has fulfilled an earlier hope. And we can see that the resurrection is an ancient notion.
Where Do Christians Get the Doctrine of Total Depravity?
Doctrines arise out of holding together a whole number of biblical texts and then synthesizing internally related doctrines as they’ve been understood through church history.
Where Did Youth Ministry Go Wrong? Identifying a Way Forward
It's concerning that our ideals about how to do family discipleship have sometimes distracted us from our more primary responsibility to teach kids the gospel. Here are a couple of the ways we get distracted.
Where Christ Isn’t Being Treasured, He’s Being Used
Christ as a treasure is not a slice of Christ. It is every dimension of Christ—all of Christ—making up the totality of his infinite value.
Where Are All the Single Pastors?
Sam Allberry explains four common reasons why churches may hesitate to hire single pastors.
When You Think of Jesus, Do You Think “Genius”?
Was Jesus a rather ordinary teacher with brilliant students who selflessly credited him with their great ideas? Or was Jesus a very smart teacher with smart disciples, and therefore the credit should be shared?
When You Don't Even Realize How Discouraged You Are
The truth is, most of us don’t like the look of discouragement. It feels embarrassing. But when we avoid areas of our own insufficiency, we also avoid finding the help we so desperately need.
When Trouble Comes: Phil Ryken’s Personal Testimony
A year or two ago, Phil Ryken went through a season of deep spiritual discouragement; some would probably call it depression.
When Things Don't Go According to Our Plan
So often we cling with all our might to what we have in this world. But God has something even better prepared for his children.
When the Tyranny of the Urgent Invades Missions
We're living at a time in global missions today where the gospel and faithful ministry are threatened because we often sacrifice the important for the immediate, the best for the most pressing.
When the Supreme Somebody Became Nobody
It’s what the Lord Jesus took to himself that humbled him, not what he laid aside. It was in taking to himself humanity that he became nothing.
When the Sun Rose, the Son Rose
In some ways the exodus is a death and resurrection story, but in many other ways the death and resurrection of Jesus is an exodus story.
When the Podcast Preacher Isn't Enough
We need more than a podcast to truly grow in our walk of faith.
When the Gospel Transforms Your Christmas Expectations
Stephen Altrogge reflects on how he can be content at Christmastime.
When the Church Got Slavery Wrong
It’s one of the great tragic notes in all of church history that when African slavery came into view and such prominence, the church did not take a clear stand against it.
When Studying the Bible, Don’t Follow Your Heart
We speak often in the church about how Christianity is a religion of the heart. It is right to speak of Christianity in this way, but not exclusively in this way.
What someone shouldn’t immediately offer to the couple struggling with infertility is a set of solutions to the problem.
When Our Pursuit of Freedom Results in Slavery
Redemption: An Interview with Mike Wilkerson Mike Wilkerson (author of Redemption) sees that many addictions stem from past abuse. The scars of abuse turn to addictions as a means of coping with the pain. Though …
When Our Ambitions Are Delayed...
How we live when ambitions are delayed significantly shapes who we become. God uses the wait to teach us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.
When Ministry Becomes a Mistress (by Dave Kraft)
Ministry idolatry is becoming increasingly widespread, reaching epidemic proportions.
When Marriage and Motherhood Become Idols
When we moralize marriage and motherhood, we inadvertently create a hierarchy in the church with the moms on top (the more children the godlier) and the singles without children on the bottom.
For Packer, affirming biblical authority is meant not merely to provoke a debate but to give ethical direction to life.
I wonder what that song was like for Jesus. I wonder because of the other details the Gospel writers also included about that evening—and there are many.
When It's Time to Get in the Van and No One's Ready
God always intends his words with his children to restore relationship with himself. And when that’s been your experience, you long to pass it on to others.
When ‘I Don’t Know’ Is a Good Answer and When It’s Not
It’s vital that everyday Christians are speaking into nuanced cultural issues from a biblical perspective.
As we savor the good news of the sin-bearing servant of the Lord, we learn to enthuse. The gospel of a surprising salvation can only make us laugh, sing, and cheer.
When Good Gifts (Like Marriage) Distract Us from God
The problem with so many of us today is that we have close to no anxiety about spiritual realities and endless anxiety about the things of this world.
When God's Timing Is Not Our Own
Often our schedule and God's seem out of sync. He often acts earlier than we had expected, or later than we had hoped.
When God’s Provision Isn’t What We Expected
After Jesus’s first show of miraculous power in the Gospel of Mark (his healing of a man with an unclean spirit), the amazed people turn to each other and say, “What is this?”
When Genuine Obedience Becomes Impossible, Hell Becomes Impossible as Well
There’s no way to understand the pastoral epistles unless you realize Paul has a category for Christians who are living a faithful, obedient life, and a category for those who are unrepentant, in whom there’s no progress.
When Fear Prevents You from Being a Good Neighbor
One of the greatest detriments to being the neighbors Christ has called us to be is fear. And somehow, instead of identifying our fear as sinful we often call it by another name: wisdom.
It is the devil’s work to promote a fear of God that makes people afraid of God such that they want to flee from God.
When Doubt Seeps In, Look to Thomas
Sometimes it is hard for us to believe in life after death. The true Bible story that shows this perhaps most clearly is the story of “Doubting Thomas,” as he is usually called.
When Did You Realize You Were an Imperfect Pastor?
Recognition of pastoral imperfections and flaws comes with experience and reflection on past ministry.
When Did I Get a Right to Life?
Some say that just because we exist as human beings at the embryonic/fetal stage doesn’t mean we have the same rights, including a right to life, at every stage of life. How should we respond to this?
When Christ Turns Persecutors into Persecuted (for His Glory)
Jesus is alive, is at work, and he’s bringing men and women to himself.
When Christians Misunderstand Christians
Sam Storms draws on Paul's interaction with the church in 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4 to provide some wisdom that we can apply as we seek to grow in godly communication.
What Your To-Do List Can’t Accomplish
When your eyes are fixed on the horizon of eternity, it affects your vision for motherhood.
What Your Marriage Desperately Needs
Here is what you have to understand: forgiveness is a vertical commitment that is followed by a horizontal transaction.
What Your Complaining Says about God
One of the things that’s important for us to do for our own sanctification is to ask the question, “Why am I grumbling and complaining about this?”
What Your Church Needs More than Productivity
Prayer shows our dependence on God. It honors him as the source of all blessing, and it reminds us that converting individuals and growing churches are his works, not ours.
What You Need to Understand about Evangelism before You Do Evangelism
What comes to mind when you hear the word evangelist? What about evangelism? Before I became a Christian, those words sounded creepy and pushy to me.
What Would Be Lost If We Didn’t Have the Last 2 Chapters of the Bible?
Revelation is not simply another book in the Bible. It's the final book of the Bible, and it's such a fitting end not only to the book of Revelation, but to the Bible as a whole.
What Women Wish Men Knew about Beauty
Men who take the time to understand the pressures women face will be able to help them resist the lies from our culture and pursue a biblical vision of beauty.
What We Would Be Missing If We Didn't Have the Book of Acts
The book of Acts offers something unique in the Christian canon. It recounts the birth of the church age, and its content has no parallel in the New Testament.
What We Think We're Entitled to in the 21st Century
We realized just how much we had assumed we would have, how many things we believed were almost rights of ours.
What We Misunderstand about the Story of Abortion in America
If early American men were going on trial for forcing women to eat abortifacients, we certainly can’t believe what Justice Blackman wrote in his original Roe v. Wade opinion.
What We Misunderstand about Freedom
I think we misunderstand true freedom. Freedom that satisfies your heart is never found in setting yourself up as your own authority.
What We Lose If We Deny a Historical Adam
The importance of believing in a historical fall of Adam and Eve is seen when we ask the question Who is to blame for the evil in the world today?
What We Can Learn from the Reformation 500 Years Later
The Reformation emphasized preaching the gospel with boldness and clarity.
What We Can Learn from Reading Jonathan Edwards
Sean Michael Lucas shares his new book, God's Grand Design: The Theological Vision of Jonathan Edwards.
What Was the Holy Spirit’s Role in the Incarnation?
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
Christ would not be the God-man apart from the power of the Spirit forming his humanity from Mary’s flesh. God’s promises hinge upon this great work.
What Was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh? (2 Corinthians 12)
This passage gives every indication that the thorn in Paul's flesh is still a present reality and thus represents a prolonged, sustained pain. But what was the thorn?
What True Humility Is and Is Not
One mistake that we can make in thinking about humility is seeing it as self-hatred, as though to be humble means you’re constantly attacking yourself or you’re denying your own worth.
What to Say to Someone Who Has Had an Abortion
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ—including those who have had an abortion.
What to Say to Someone Suffering like Job
The book of Job does not directly tell us how to address Job-like suffering. But I think we can sketch what a helpful answer would be, if we take an approach exactly opposite from the friends.
What to Say to a Grieving Person
Sometimes it can be hard to know what to say to someone who is grieving. Yet there are helpful words we can give to people who are suffering—words that will actually help and encourage in the midst of grief.
What to Remember When Looking for a Church
When you come to church with a consumer mindset, you’re actually never able to fully commit or fully love it.
What Tom Brady Can Teach Us about Contentment
He made it to the top and thought “There’s got to be more than this.”
What to Look for in a Spiritual Mentor
A spiritual mentoring relationship is one where a younger believer is tethered to a more mature believer for a season so that he or she might grow stronger in faith and be equipped for ministry.
What to Do with Mom Guilt on Mother's Day
If you struggle with guilt over your parenting, consider that God does not require perfection from you.
What to Do When Singleness Lasts Longer than You Expected
We tend to define our life based on our perception of our progress. Am I where I thought I would be at this age? Are my dreams more or less real today? Unfortunately, our plans and dreams can become idols.
What to Do When People Don't Sympathize with Your Suffering
In the midst of your heaviest grief, those around you will likely return to life as normal long before you can. Be realistic about people and their ability to enter into your suffering, to stay, and to remember.
What to Do When Life Messes with Our Plans
Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Mahaney Whitacre
We can do the next thing because we know that God orders the seasons of our lives. Even the most difficult ones.
What to Do When It Feels Like God Is against You
When you’re facing times of trouble and it feels like God is against you, there are two important things to do.
What to Do When God Doesn’t Answer
We are called, as was Job, to begin our lives of discipleship with the fear of God and repentance from evil.
What to Do If You’re Chronically Frustrated at Church
If you're chronically frustrated at church, the primary solution is not to try to fix things but to recenter your focus on God.
What to Do If You're Bored by the Bible
When we allow the Bible to show us who we are and who God is, we find that Bible reading goes from being mildly boring to vitally life-giving.
What Those Who Care for the Hurting Need Most
This book is not for one who is necessarily suffering physical trauma or depression. Instead, it is a book for everyone.
What the Puritans Understood about the Human Heart
The genius of the Puritans was that they knew how to build bridges between Scripture and the human heart.
What the Name “Jesus” Means for Believers
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
Why were Joseph and Mary commanded to name the holy Child “Jesus?” What does his name mean for believing Christians?
What the Grand Canyon Teaches Us about Ourselves
Ninety-nine years ago today, Grand Canyon National Park was established after President Woodrow Wilson signed a Congressional act. Learn the invaluable lesson John Piper thinks this national landmark can teach.
In an effort to make the gospel bigger or more relevant, Greg Gilbert introduces three substitute gospels.
What the Early Church Can Teach Us about Living in This Strange New World
Traditional Christians are typically those who take history seriously. If only we might be able to return to ancient worlds, we tell ourselves, all might be well.
What the Church Today Needs to Hear from the Book of Revelation
This message to patiently endure persecution for Christ is a message our church needs today. And if where we are right now means we don’t need it today, maybe we will tomorrow.
What the Book of Hebrews Teaches Us about Jesus
In this video, pastor Matt Capps discusses the unique contribution that the book of Hebrews makes to the New Testament.
What the Bible Says about Women’s Physical Strength
Women's bodies are weaker because God made their bodies to be weaker than men’s bodies and that's what Peter's talking about in 1 Peter 3.
What the Atonement Means for You
In our sin, we—who were created to know, love, and obey the God of all glory—stand guilty and condemned before him; we cannot save ourselves.
What the Apostle Paul Teaches Us about Suffering
When God called Paul from being the church’s persecutor to be a gospel preacher, the Lord showed him how much he would suffer for the sake of his name.
Considering sin doesn’t have to mean conceding to it. Knowing this keeps you from being crippled by unnecessary guilt; it gives hope to keep fighting, even when temptation is raging.
For every generation, how we live and what goals we pursue depends a great deal on why we think we are here and where we think we are going.
What’s Your Ambition’s Agenda?
God’s glorious agenda for our ambition, like his glorious gospel, begins not with what we achieve but with who we are.
What's the Difference between Tolerance and Recognition?
Tolerance is that I'll allow you to live in society, but I'm not going to fully approve of you. Recognition involves full approval.
What’s The Deal With Footwashing?
Jesus demonstrates to the disciples through footwashing that the greatest among us is the one who serves out of deep and abiding love
What Star Wars Can Teach Us about History
Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke suggest that the opening sequence in the Star Wars films reminds us of the importance of historical context.
What's So Wrong with a Little White Lie?
I believe God will always give an alternative by which we can do what is right in his sight.
What's So Special about John Calvin?
If readers look to Calvin they will find a godly pastor who, with all of his flaws, evades the caricatures and exhibits the sort of piety that we need desperately today.
What’s So Important about Faith, Hope, and Love?
Faith, hope, and love have been referred to as the three divine sisters. We can think of them as three beautiful sisters joined together, hand-in-hand, swirling around as in a dance.
What Sola Scriptura Really Means
For Martin Luther, Scripture alone was of ultimate authority for Christians, yet this did not mean that there were no other means of discovering truth.
What’s New about the Revised Edition of ‘Kingdom through Covenant’?
Peter J. Gentry, Stephen J. Wellum
The authors of a landmark work of biblical theology explain what’s changed in the second edition.
What Should We Keep in Mind When Considering the Ethics of the Bible?
When we speak about the ethics in the Bible, we are not just thinking of the Old Testament law or of the Sermon on the Mount, nor do we only have in mind actual moral instructions, injunctions, and prohibitions.
What Should We Do When Members Won’t Attend?
Pursuing longstanding non-attenders and disciplining those who can’t be found is a mark of a healthy church.
What Should I Do When I'm Bearing Unbearable Suffering?
In the midst of pain and suffering, we must preach truth to ourselves rather than listening to the lies in our own heads.
What Should I Do if I’m the Only Elder in My Church?
If you are the only elder in your church, be encouraged that God is still working in your congregation.
What Should Christians Think about Same-Sex Marriage?
What’s the big deal about marriage? Why not let people have whatever relationships they choose and call them whatever they want? Why go to the trouble of sanctioning a specific relationship and giving it a unique legal standing?
What Should a Youth Pastor Spend His Time Doing?
Youth pastors should dedicate their time to three primary things—spiritual growth, relationships, and Bible study.
What Should a Pastor’s Authority Look Like?
What is the authority of a pastor? The authority of the pastor is to teach and give oversight to the flock by being an example to the flock.
What’s Fueling the Sexual Revolution?
What makes the sexual revolution remarkable is that the transgression of boundaries has now become effectively normative within society.
What’s All This ‘Gospel-Centered’ Talk About?
A gospel-centered life is the only life that can truly be enjoyed, no matter your circumstances.
What Really Happened At the First Christmas
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Alexander E. Stewart
In order to appreciate the significance of Messiah’s coming—and thus to understand the true meaning of Christmas—we need to travel back in time, back to the first Christmas.
What Questions Should a Pastor Ask Himself after Preaching a Sermon?
You actually can’t tell how effective a sermon was by the response you receive.
What Question Is Jesus Trying to Answer in the Beatitudes?
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. It’s a counterintuitive turn. It is, if you will, an upside-down kingdom.
What Peter and Jude Would Say to the Contemporary Church
One of the things that makes 2 Peter and Jude so relevant to our contemporary situation is the fact that they address issues that the church still faces today.
What Pastors Should and Should Not Share with Their Wives
Every aspect of pastoral ministry is not meant to be shared at home. Find out what is best kept at church.
What Pastors Should Agonize Over
We learn from the apostle Paul that the pastor's primary calling is the sanctification of his people.
What Parents Can Learn from Children’s Books
In many respects, and certainly in spiritual matters, we are all weak and inadequate, and we need to face it.
What Our Pro-Life Predecessors Can Teach Us about Standing against Abortion
Success on the abortion supply side—cutting down the number of abortion suppliers—is only part of the battle. Work on the demand side is at least as important.
What Our Physical Diet Says about Our Spiritual Appetite
He has prepared food for us. The food he has prepared is himself. He serves us himself through his holy word—the Bible.
What Not to Say to a Grieving Person
Here are three things that grieving people wish no one would ever say to them again.
What Not to Do in Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit
A relationship is a two-way street; that means that there is a role for us to play with the Holy Spirit. We need to think about what we need to do in order to enjoy and live out our communion with him.
What Must Happen before Jesus Returns?
We do not know how much time must elapse before Jesus comes. We err to say otherwise. But we may err in the other direction as well—presuming to think that he must not be near.
What Motherhood Teaches Us about Womanhood
In light of Paul’s and the Bible’s teaching on motherhood, what is the significance of women being mothers?
What Modern Atheists Could Learn from David Hume
One of the most important things that modern atheists can learn from David Hume is the limitations of sense perception and reason.
What Ministry “Freshness” Means
More than anything else, we want to guard our relationship with God with a sense of urgency, and deal with anything that hinders that relationship. Our primary desire is God.
What Memorizing Scripture Will Do for Your Kids
One of the neglected spiritual disciplines of our time is Scripture memorization. Rarely are churches, families, and individuals taking the time to learn by heart God’s Word.
What Makes the Preaching the Word Commentary Series Unique?
The Preaching the Word commentary series is unique because I’ve asked all the contributors to have preached the content of their commentary viva voce, or live.
What is more wonderful than to be able to put your head on the pillow knowing that if you die during the night it doesn’t matter, that you will go to heaven and wake up there as a child of God?
What Makes Pastoral Ministry Enjoyable?
Pastoral ministry—while having its unique challenges—is also filled with particular, and sometimes unexpected, joys.
What Makes Our Prayers Distinctively Christian?
We're asking for God to do gospel things in our lives, among our families, and in our churches. And that's what makes Christian prayer distinctively Christian.
What Makes Evangelicals Different?
What is it that separates evangelicals from the rest of the world, even some other branches of Christianity? The fundamental dividing line is the belief in the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. Why does it matter if we believe this or not?
What Makes Charles Spurgeon Relevant Today?
Spurgeon's ministry was marked by his constant looking to Christ for his salvation.
Jesus explicitly identifies himself with the gathering because the gathering makes his kingdom visible and active through their mutual agreement and testimony.
We are convinced in our heart of hearts that love is a feeling, but God’s word says nothing of the sort.
What Leaders Are Saying about the ESV Women's Devotional Bible
Crossway shares what some leaders are saying about the ESV Women’s Devotional Bible.
What Kind of Teacher Is Jesus?
The documents describing Jesus’s career—the four Gospels—make clear that he was a teacher.
What Jonathan Edwards's Daughter Can Teach Us about Friendship
Our culture is not one that provides great encouragement for the nurture and development of deep, long-lasting, satisfying friendships.
What John Stott Learned about Theology from Bird-Watching
Stott’s obsession with the snowy owl was more than a charming eccentricity. It reflected some important themes in his theology.
What John Piper Wants You to Know about the Bible
In his two of his newest books, John Piper helps us to understand and enjoy the Bible for what it truly is—the very Word of God.
Do John Calvin’s modern-day opponents really know Calvin’s theology?
What Jesus Thinks about Children
Children occupied a precarious position in the Hellenistic society of the first century.
What Jesus Saw When He Looked at Peter after the Rooster Crowed
When we peer into the word of God, we see who God is: his character is revealed to us. At the same time, we see who we are: we see ourselves in light of God’s character.
What Jesus Meant When He Said “The Kingdom of God Is at Hand”
He does not say “the exile is over” or even “salvation has come”—although both of these are connected to the kingdom—but “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
What It Means To Be a Missional Mother
Our responsibilities may have shifted, but our role in the kingdom remains unchanged.
What It Means that Christ Died for God's Elect
In the phrase definite atonement, the adjective definite does double duty. The death of Christ is definite in its intent and it's definite in its nature—Christ's death really will atone for his people's sins.
It’s the Spirit who brings life to our spirits and enables us to know, love, and worship God the Father through Jesus Christ.
In order to have this unified focus on God and his glory in our lives we must carefully review each area of our lives to see what changes are needed.
Today’s world has more and more information readily available, but less and less wisdom.
What Is the Ultimate Goal of Sexual Renewal?
Depending on the particular struggle we face, the Lord knows how to renew us sexually in exactly the ways we most need.
What Is the Sin that Leads to Death? (1 John 5)
What is the “sin that leads to death” and why does John not say we should pray for people committing such sin?
What Is the Single Best Explanation for Jesus’s Genius?
God invented humans. He invented language. He invented human language. So when you allow that, it’s hardly surprising that he should know such a lot.
What Is the Secret to Reaching the Next Generation?
What we need to do is keep doing the same things that Christians in every age have been called to do: make disciples, love one another, speak the truth, be kind, and ask good questions.
What Is the Rapture? (1 Thessalonians 4)
What does it mean for living believers to be “caught up together with them in the clouds” and to “meet the Lord in the air?"
For those who want to know God, the study of theology is indispensable.
What Is the Millennium? (Revelation 20)
Christians have disagreed over the details of this passage for nearly two thousand years.
What Is the Mark of the Beast? (Revelation 13)
We must be willing to suffer, to give our all for Christ, to persevere until the end in order to obtain the final reward.
Jesus claimed that the fulfillment of the Old Testament hope with its attendant blessings was present in his person and ministry.
What Is the Job of the Pastor?
Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
Your ability to do your job as a church member depends on pastors or elders doing their jobs.
'Theistic evolution' actually can be a number of different distinct ideas because the term 'evolution' can have a number of distinct definitions.
What Is the Great Gain of Godliness? (1 Timothy 6)
Believers should not act as if material possessions are the key to the good life, because they are not. The good life is in godly contentment.
Since the word “gospel” means “good news,” when Christians talk about the gospel, they’re simply telling the good news about Jesus.
In this video, Greg Gilbert explains why he wrote What is the Gospel?.
What is the Goal of Community Groups?
In order to have a vision for community, we need to understand the purpose of community.
What Is the Foundational Authority of Scripture?
That the whole authority of the Scripture in itself, depends solely on its divine original, is confessed by all who acknowledge its authority.
What Is the Doctrine of Election?
God is worthy of our praise precisely because he has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
What Is the Difference between Union and Communion with Christ?
An important distinction that a lot of Christians misunderstand is between the eternal union we have with God and the experiential communion that we have on a daily basis.
What Is the Difference between Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology?
The Bible doesn’t come to us as an academic textbook, with carefully delineated topical headings organized according to theological themes. What is different about these two ways of organizing theology?
What Is the Difference between God’s Discipline and God’s Punishment?
God promises never to repay us for our sins. Why? How? Because he's already poured out that judgment and that wrath on his Son in our place.
The common good is such an important concept because it helps us understand that when we are pursuing the welfare of the city, we're not looking out for our self-interest alone.
People throw the word church around quite a bit, and often they have different things in mind.
What Is the Christian Religion If You Subtract Our Union with Christ?
Without our union with Christ, Christianity is nothing. We’re not left with a diminished Christianity; we’re left with no Christianity at all.
What Is the Central Hope for Your Marriage?
What's a biblical view of marriage? It's a flawed person married to a flawed person in a fallen world. But with a faithful God.
What Is the Best Question to Ask a Hurting Friend?
There are lots of good questions to ask someone who is hurting, but I think one of the best questions is this: "How are you doing today?"
What Is Successful Evangelism?
Following Christ means loving those who don’t follow Jesus, and that love includes sharing the gospel.
What is Sexual Assault and How Can Victims Find Hope and Healing?
Check out this helpful interview with Justin Holcomb (author of Rid of My Disgrace) on the issue of sexual assault and how victims can find hope and healing.
Scientism is so pervasive today—it is the intellectual and cultural air that we breathe.
What Is Progressive Revelation?
Progressive revelation is a movement from truth to more truth and so to full truth.
How do we preachers handle the Bible faithfully and accurately so that Jesus is seen in every passage?
What Is Our True Comfort in Life and Death?
If you want both comfort in life and death, start by recognizing the truth about the world and about yourself.
What Is Our Only Hope in Life and Death?
Because Jesus gave himself for us, our lives no long belong to us—we surrender our bodies and our souls to the Lord.
What Is Our Friendship with God Supposed to Look Like?
We think that communion with God, or friendship with God, is some sort of secret, mystical, spiritual experience, but it's not as complicated as we might be tempted to think.
What Is New about the New Covenant? (Jeremiah 31)
Since the old covenant could be broken by disobedience, the new covenant will impart a greater ability to obey. The result will be the kind of covenant relationship that Yahweh has always sought with his people.
What Is Needed to Be a Christian?
In order to make this commitment to Jesus, you need to know the essentials about who he is and what he has done for you. This is the Gospel (“good news”) of Jesus Christ.
What Is Natural Law and How Should It Be Used?
Natural law theory refers to the idea that there is an external moral order that God has brought into existence and is an extension of God’s reason and God's will.
Marriage is the one flesh union of one man with one woman for one lifetime.
What Is Justification by Works, and Why Do We Reject It?
The apostle Paul emphasizes that we are not justified by “works” or by the “works of the law,” and the question before us is what Paul means when he speaks this way.
What Is Hurtful about Playing the Comparison Game?
Unless you are Jesus, it almost never helps to tell someone that you know exactly what they’re going through.
Hell is eternal conscious punishment where sinners are separated from God’s gracious presence. Hell is eternal. Hell lasts forever after this life.
God shows us how he consistently provides for people who cannot provide for themselves.
A person is gospel fluent when the gospel becomes their "mother tongue."
What is God's Ultimate Purpose?
Do you want to ponder a question that has roots that stretch so far back into eternity past that we will never come to the end of them? How about this: What is God’s ultimate purpose?
The concept of God living on a holy mountain is a significant theme in the Old Testament. However, this same theme frames the entire Bible.
Nearly every few weeks, it seems, another female celebrity is either claiming feminism for herself or renouncing feminism as an unnecessary ideology for women today.
On January 6, twelve days after Christmas, the Western church celebrates Epiphany. What does it mean and where does it originate?
What Is Doctrine and Why Does It Matter?
Faith is not just something you do with your brain. Faith is a commitment of your heart that changes the way you live every day.
The term sovereignty does not contain the idea of purposeful action, but the term providence does.
What Is Divine Inspiration (and Why Does It Matter)?
The general line of argument is that if the Bible is divinely inspired, it must also be infallible because God would not lead his people astray.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Philemon?
Some question whether we should even say that the book of Philemon has a theology since it is merely a short, practical letter written to an individual Christian rather than a church.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Mark?
Certainly Mark is the Gospel that has most in common with the other Gospels. But even Mark has some distinctives that are worth noting and that help us to read Mark as Mark.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Luke?
The four Gospels present Jesus as true Israel and the divine Son of God who lived a faithful life, died for sins of his people, and rose from the dead, but each evangelist retells this story a bit differently.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Jude?
Knowing the true gospel inside and out is a crucial way of being able to identify departures from the gospel and remain true to Jesus.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Hebrews?
The theology of the book of Hebrews is distinct in that it draws together so many of the greatest truths revealed in God’s word to address the deepest of human needs.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Galatians?
No compromise can be accepted or tolerated when it comes to the gospel, and all teachings and teachers must be evaluated and measured by the gospel revealed to us by Jesus Christ himself.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Ephesians?
Why has this small letter had such a big impact on the church? The answer, at least in part, is due to the depth and diversity of topics emphasized in the letter.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Colossians?
The theology of Colossians is distinct because it arises from Paul’s response to a false teaching that was threatening the church in Colossae.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of 2 Thessalonians?
Other numbered “sets” of New Testament letters exhibit distinct differences. Yet the two Thessalonian letters are customarily treated together. This is an indication of how closely the two letters track.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of 2 Peter?
Second Peter has a robust doctrine of Scripture. Peter begins his letter with one of the strongest assertions of the sufficiency of God’s Word found in all of Scripture.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of 2 Corinthians?
If otherwise vital Pauline notions such as “grace” and “law” are nowhere near the heart of Paul’s concerns in 2 Corinthians, what is the heart or center or core burden of this letter?
What Is Distinct about the Theology of 1 Thessalonians?
The Thessalonians had much to learn about the Christian journey ahead. Thus, the letter happens to capture helpful statements about each stage of that Christian journey.
What Is Christ to Us If He Is Not Our All-Satisfying Treasure?
The aim of God’s work in redemption is not that through Christ we might have salvation, but that through salvation we might have Christ—the all-satisfying treasure.
What Is Catechesis and What Role Do Bible Stories Play in It?
Catechesis is basically training discipleship. When we catechize someone, we are instructing them, oftentimes, in the foundational, fundamental elements of our faith.
What Is Burnout and Why Is It So Dangerous?
Burnout is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion and breakdown. It is usually caused by living at too fast a pace, for too long, doing too much.
What Is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Jesus teaches all the things that will be forgiven of people and then closes that talk by saying that the one thing that will not be forgiven in this world or the next is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
What Is at the Heart of the Book of Acts?
If this is a book about what the apostles did, it is interesting that after the twelve are listed in the first chapter, we don’t hear anything else about most of them.
What Is at the Center of Paul’s Theology?
How should we proceed in our own interpretation of Paul? Is it, for example, with his teaching on justification by faith? Or with his teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit? Or somewhere else?
The term apologetics has nothing to do with “apologizing” for anything. Presenting an apologetic is almost the very reverse of apologizing.
What Is a Personality vs. a Soul?
A soul can be called a personality insofar as the powers within it have come into connection with each other and have penetrated one another.
What Is Anxiety vs. Depression?
It's important to realize that anxiety and depression are different while being careful to realize that they do sometimes overlap.
What Is a Healthy Way to Leave a Church?
Leaving the church is painful for Christians and pastors, and we've seen a lot of it over the last couple of years through COVID, election crises, and racial crises.
What qualities does something possess in order to merit the title classic?
What in the World Is a Worldview?: Part 5
James N. Anderson suggests five different ways to discern someone’s worldview.
What in the World Is a Worldview?: Part 4
James N. Anderson goes into more detail about what a worldview is and what makes up a worldview
What in the World Is a Worldview?: Part 3
James N. Anderson gives four specific reasons why it is beneficial for Christians to think in terms of worldviews.
What in the World Is a Worldview?: Part 2
James N. Anderson outlines five reasons why it’s important to be worldview-aware.
What in the World Is a Worldview?: Part 1
James N. Anderson discusses what a worldview is.
What I Miss Most about Pastoral Ministry
Pastor R. Kent Hughes shares what he misses most about pastoral ministry since retiring nearly a decade ago.
What I Learned While Waiting for My Spouse
I spent many years of my life wanting to be married. Sometimes I didn't know if I’d ever get married.
What I Learned in My Season of Depression
God, in his love and wisdom, chose this very specific trial for me.
What I Learned from Pastoring a 106 Year Old Widow
Although she died a few years ago, I am often reminded of what an amazing lady she was and what the Lord had graciously taught me through her as a young pastor.
What If Your Church Were Filled with People Just like You?
When we love in ways that we can only love by the power of God’s Spirit, we show him to be sufficient. We show him to be good and glorious.
What If I Differ with My Pastor on Politics?
You may disagree with your pastor’s approach on a particular issue. He could be wrong. You could be wrong. It may be important enough to leave. It may not.
It is deeply wounding to be accused falsely and to be treated as if you dishonored the Lord when you haven't.
What Happens When We Forget We’ll Die
If we see our lives through the truth about death, then Jesus’s promises begin to take on an entirely different tone for us.
What Happens When the Governing Authorities Are the Wrongdoers?
Some wrongful convictions are merely honest mistakes, the tragic results of criminal justice administered by well-intentioned but finite humans. But some are not.
What Happens when Doctrine Suffers from Historical Amnesia
As evangelicals, we tend to go right to the cross and to Jesus dying to save us, and sometimes we forget that’s not the only thing that he did to save us.
What Happens after Death (and before Resurrection)
The Bible assures us that we already have eternal life here on earth and that cannot be interrupted.
What Grieving People Wish You Knew
Four things grieving people wish we knew about grief to help us confidently interact and helpfully take action.
What Good Self-Esteem Can’t Do For You
Having self-esteem doesn't solve all of our problems, because underneath it, we know our weaknesses and we know our sin.
What God Starts, He Always Finishes
As New Testament passages abundantly emphasize, God is faithful to sustain and establish us in our relationship with Jesus.
What George Mueller Can Teach Us about Prayer
George Mueller (1805–1898) is widely considered one the greatest men of prayer and faith since the days of the New Testament.
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.
What Family Discipleship Is (and Is Not)
Put simply, family discipleship is leading your home by doing whatever you can whenever you can to help your family become friends and followers of Jesus Christ.
What Every Book of the Old Testament Is About
Brief summaries of each book of the Old Testament.
What Every Book of the New Testament Is About
Brief summaries of the New Testament books.
What Ephesians Teaches Us about Our Past, Present, and Future
Scripture, just like good stories, contains truths we should tell and retell until the narrative has shaped us.
What Ecclesiastes Taught Me about Being a Mom
We all hit moments when life shatters our expectations of motherhood. My “moment” came early on, but sooner or later it happens to all of us.
What Do They Know? Learning From "Secular” Leaders
When God speaks through his world, we call it general revelation or common grace.
What Do I Use to Write in My Bible?
When it comes to underlining and writing in the margins of our Bibles, the choice of writing utensil can make all the difference in preserving the appearance and longevity of the thin Bible paper.
What Do I Do If I Don’t Like My Job?
Even in the onerous jobs, there is a glory that God intends for his people as they do what needs to be done.
What Does the New Testament Mean That Jesus Will Come Soon?
What would it mean for an infallible spokesman (an apostle!) of the Lord Jesus, who cannot predict the time, to say that Jesus is coming soon?
What Does the Bible Say about the Incarnation?
God the Son became the Man, Jesus. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we deserved.
What Does the Bible Say about Marriage?
Marriage is an ordinance given to human beings in creation. It is therefore not negotiable, but is entrusted to us both as a “given” and as a gracious gift.
What Does the Bible Say About God as Our Father?
Graciously, our heavenly Father shares the wonder of his fatherhood with us men. To be a father, therefore, is a sacred privilege and a high calling.
What Does the Bible Say about Evangelism?
There is a gift of evangelism, and we should be grateful for those to have it, but all believers are called to be faithful in sharing their faith.
What Does the Bible Say about Being Born Gay?
How to respond biblically to the question of natural-born homosexuality with grace and truth.
What Does the Bible Say about Alcohol?
Paul’s words of caution about not causing others to stumble by what we do are a reminder that not everything that is morally right in itself is wise or helpful in every situation.
What Does the Aaronic Blessing Ultimately Promise Us?
The highest happiness of every believer is to see the face of God unmediated, not just having to look with the eyes of faith but actually one day seeing with our eyes.
What Does Scripture Actually Accomplish?
Sometimes it's hard to nail down what reading God's Word is actually supposed to accomplish.
Life is complex. Gray areas abound. Yet Jesus taught that we all face a simple but fateful either/or: a wide way leading to woe, or a narrow way leading to life.
What Does "Raised for Our Justification" Mean?
Is Jesus's Resurrection and Our Justification Linked? Romans 4:25 reads "[Jesus] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification". The Greek behind our English word for could mean either “because of” or …
What Does Radically Ordinary Hospitality Look Like?
Those who live out radically ordinary hospitality see their homes not as theirs at all but as God’s gift to use for the furtherance of his kingdom.
If you fail to understand poetic structures and literary devices, you will understand and preach the Psalms improperly.
This verse tells me that God will give me the desires of my heart. May I not claim this as a promise? Why not?
The beauty of Psalm 23 is that it is so simple and clear that it almost needs no interpretation or exposition.
Proverbs 1:7 seeks to instill in us the indispensable virtues for becoming wise. We must tremble at the Lord’s holiness, just as we are drawn to him in love.
What Does Philippians 4:13 Mean?
This verse is well-loved and often quoted, but frequently misunderstood and thus misapplied. This verse is not a promise that God will enable believers to do whatever they want whenever they want it.
What Does Perfect Anger Look Like?
Christ got angry and still gets angry, for he is the perfect human, who loves too much to remain indifferent. And this righteous anger reflects his heart, his tender compassion.
What do the Old Testament commands have to do with New Testament Christians? Should Christians seek to obey the Old Testament just like the Israelites? Can we “unhitch” ourselves from it altogether?
The Bible, like all good literature, is full of questions. It includes over 3,000 of them—questions that are intended to make us ponder the person and powers of God and our relationship with him.
Jesus seeks disciples—people who respond to all that he is and all that he offers with a faith that says, “Wherever you take me, I’ll go.”
Verses like these are a doorway into the message of the book, an entry at a high point of the story with all its tension and drama.
It’s not that Jesus merely teaches truth or that his words are true (he does, and they are!); Jesus is truth embodied. Truth incarnate.
What Does Jesus Want This Christmas?
What does Jesus want this Christmas? We can see the answer in his prayers.
What Does Jeremiah 29:11 Mean?
This verse is commonly found on bumper stickers, signs, cards, etc. to encourage people to have hope for the future. But is that really what this well-known verse means?
James calls on Christians to reckon any situation, however difficult, as an occasion of intense joy. Not every element of suffering is joy. But, however severe one’s suffering, every trial is a time for intense joy.
What Does It Really Mean to Take the Lord’s Name in Vain?
The Old Testament identifies several ways in which the third commandment can be violated.
What Does It Mean When We Pray “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”?
This is still a powerful reminder and a necessary prayer because even though we may see grocery stores around every corner, we still are dependent upon God to give us what we need.
What Does It Mean to Walk in the Spirit?
Margaret Elizabeth Köstenberger
Prior to their new life in Christ, New Testament believers had not experienced the continual indwelling of the Spirit. It was at Pentecost that the Spirit came upon the first believers and the church was born.
What Does It Mean to Take the Lord’s Supper in “Remembrance” of Christ?
Many times today, Christians think that this remembrance is simply recalling past events, but this remembrance—at least from a biblical standpoint—means a lot more.
What Does It Mean to Represent Jesus in My Job?
If we are representing Jesus in our work, it means there's value to our work because we are showing the world his character and care—and that's always part of our witness.
What Does It Mean to Pray “Your Kingdom Come”?
A simple definition is to think of the kingdom of God as his reign and rule. Another way to think of the kingdom is as God’s redemptive presence coming down from heaven to earth.
What Does It Mean to Mortify the Sins of the Body?
The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.
What Does It Mean to Live a Life Worthy of the Gospel?
On the one hand, here is the gospel. And on the other hand, here is your life. And Paul’s exhortation is this: Live in such a way that your life “weighs the same” as the gospel!
What Does It Mean to Grieve the Holy Spirit?
To grieve the Holy Spirit is something we’re told is possible and we’re commanded not to do. There are two ways of thinking about it.
What Does It Mean to Flourish?
As counterintuitive as it sounds, flourishing is a slow and progressive death that brings abundant life.
What Does It Mean to Enter God’s Rest?
We are like the Israelites: When God gave them his Sabbaths of rest in a land of rest, he had more work to do to make them believe it than he had to overcome their enemies and obtain it for them.
What Does It Mean to Be Your True Self?
Expressive individualism, like a lot of things, captures something of the truth. Human beings do have an inner life, and that inner life is very important to who we are.
What Does It Mean to Be Pro-Life?
A biblical Christian ethic is concerned with the whole life. But the organizational priorities of pro-life organizations are necessarily narrow.
What Does It Mean to Be Judged according to Your Works? (Revelation 20 and 21)
All the dead, whether powerful or poor, stand before God’s throne to be assessed by him.
What Does It Mean to Be Fearfully and Wonderfully Made?
There is something so intricate and meaningful about how God has made us that we really should be in awe of that fact.
What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?
Just like themes such as law, sacrifice, and covenant, the theme of blessing must be understood within the full biblical story, if it is to be understood biblically at all.
What Does It Mean to Be a Man in the Home?
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Margaret Elizabeth Köstenberger
Men are to be worshipers, disciples, witnesses, husbands and fathers, leaders, providers, and protectors.
What Does It Mean that Women Will Be Saved through Childbearing? (1 Timothy 2)
The interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:15 has been an item of great debate among commentators.
What Does It Mean That Women Should “Remain Quiet” in Church? (1 Timothy 2)
“Quietly” does not mean that women are never to utter a word when the church gathers for worship.
What Does It Mean that Women Are to Submit to Their Husbands? (Ephesians 5)
What does it mean that husbands are the head of their wives and that they should love them as Christ loved the church?
What Does It Mean that We’re “Justified By Works”? (James 2)
Faith without works is dead. Genuine faith always produces righteous deeds. But are we saved by them?
What Does It Mean That Scripture Is Inspired?
How are the rest of us, who never had a revelatory dream or vision and to whom God never spoke directly, supposed to know what God wants us to know?
What Does It Mean that Samuel Was Brought Up from the Dead? (1 Samuel 28)
When Saul can no longer consult the prophet, Samuel, he uses a medium to communicate with him from the dead.
What Does It Mean That King David’s Son Would Build a House for God? (2 Samuel 7)
The Lord is undoubtedly favorably disposed to David, but this does not warrant a blanket endorsement of all that David proposes. It is the Lord’s right to decide when and by whom a temple for him should be built.
What Does It Mean that Jesus Is Prophet, Priest, and King?
Jesus has one office, that of Messiah or Christ. He is the anointed one, the one mediator between God and man, the Savior. But this office has three aspects to it: those of prophet, priest, and king.
What Does It Mean that God Hated Esau? (Malachi 1)
Because God's love was unmerited, it is unchanging. From before their ancestor’s birth, God has loved Israel.
What Does It Mean That God Chose Us before the Foundation of the World? (Ephesians 1)
God’s choice of his people is related to their being predestined to be a part of his family, but predestination is not an end in itself.
What Does It Mean That Christ Is the Firstborn of All Creation? (Colossians 1)
What does it mean for Christ to be preeminent, before all things, and holding all things together? Explore the commentary on five verses of Colossians 1.
What Does It Mean That an Elder Must Be the Husband of One Wife? (1 Timothy 3)
One’s gifting is certainly a consideration (“able to teach”), but it is not the whole, or even the main thing, that Paul is looking for in an overseer.
What Does It Mean That All Israel Will Be Saved? (Romans 11)
There is a particular call to faith in Christ through the call of the gospel. Both God’s gifts and his calling of Jews to faith in Christ remain in force and will not be revoked.
What Does It Mean for Jesus Christ to Be the Head of the Church?
The phrase "head of the church" is not employed to identify Christ as the head of a company or the head of some earthly organization.
What Does It Mean for a Man to Lead His Home?
A father who understands the Bible, loves the Lord, and has surrendered his life to Christ should not apologize for being the head of the house.
What Does It Look Like to Be Blessed?
What is the proof that God is for us? Where else do we need to look other than God giving the most valuable thing in the universe, offering up his one and only Son for his people?
How can the covenant God redeem and restore his people and can even grace save them when they seem to have sinned away their blessings?
Even those in their prime with perfect health have limits. We need a stronger strength to match our deep discouragements.
I would argue that the author of Hebrews is presenting much more than a definition of what faith is, but also offering a summary of what faith does.
What Does Gospel Fluency Look Like in Action?
Listen and pay attention—the Lord will give you the right words to bring the gospel to a non-Believer in a way that meets their needs and fulfills their longings.
What Does God Think of My Pain?
While Christians are never promised immunity from suffering, they are promised a purpose in the midst of it.
What Does God Have to Do with Math?
What does God have to do with mathematics? The two subjects have everything to do with each other.
The core issue here is our heart. It’s our nature. I always choose what I choose because I want what I want because I am who I am.
As one of the more mysterious utterances in the Old Testament, God’s self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 3:14 has received countless examinations by biblical interpreters.
What Does Ecclesiastes 1:2 Mean?
People seek lasting significance, but no matter how great their accomplishments, they are unable to achieve the significance they desire.
What Does Deuteronomy 6:4 Mean?
Deuteronomy is the first book of the Bible to demand love for God. Previously the emphasis was on fear of God, an awe of his grandeur and a dread of his judgment that serve as motives for obedience.
What Does Deuteronomy 31:6 Mean?
What’s the most frightening thing you’ve ever had to do? Terror is a powerful force that can seize us and render us powerless to act.
What Does Depression Mean for My Faith?
Kathryn Butler speaks to some of the misconceptions about clinical depression, which can be especially challenging for those of us who are followers of Christ.
What Does Covenant Theology Teach Us about Living in a Family?
Human life usually begins in families. Whether families are stable or unstable, helpful or harmful, family connections shape who we are.
What Does Colossians 1:15 Mean?
Readers often pause and puzzle over Colossians 1:15 and its statement that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is “the firstborn of all creation.”
What Does "Arsenokoitai" Mean?
That word is an unusual word. It’s a new word; we don’t know of any other instances of the word until Paul coins the word in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1.
Acts is the story of God’s grace flooding out to the world, from the cross and resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
What Does a Committed Church Member Look Like?
There are many marks of true discipleship, but one mark is singled out as signifying to the watching world that we belong to Christ.
What Does a Breaking World Sound Like?
When we look around us and within us, a truth is clear: not all is well in God’s world and in God’s image bearers. Things are not the way they once were or will be.
What Does 2 Timothy 3:16 Mean?
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” —2 Timothy 3:16
Christians, remember that God has graciously given us his Holy Spirit, who makes us fearless in troubled times.
What Does 2 Peter 1:19–21 Mean?
God is a God who speaks and delights to reveal himself. And so when God speaks, he is telling us something about who he is, what he values, what's important to him, and what he is doing in this world.
When someone asks me a question about the faith that I don’t have a good answer for, it will rattle me unless the Lord Jesus is taking up holy ground in my heart.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
What Does 1 Corinthians 16:13 Mean?
“Act like men” is a phrase that could be easily misunderstood in light of modern sensibilities. For many, at first blush, it could read as a sexist statement by Paul. So, what does it mean?
What Does 1 Corinthians 10:13 Mean?
This verse promises that God will never allow a temptation that we cannot stand under because he will provide the power to escape through endurance. But what is Paul getting at here in particular?
The way deacons are described in the New Testament and the way they operate is that they are exemplary servants who function on behalf of a congregation to assist the elders by doing at least three things.
Revelation 5:8–12 portrays a similar scene, with multiplied thousands of voices singing of the worthiness of God and the Lamb. That is the song of heaven. I cannot wait to hear it.
What Difference Does God Make on Monday Mornings?
God does his sustaining work through the actions of human beings.
What Dietrich Bonhoeffer Can Teach Us about Seminary Education
Bonhoeffer is usually remembered as a university professor, pastor, spy, and martyr, but he also served as a seminary director.
"What Did You Expect?" Goes After the Deeper War in Marriage
We invite you to learn more or pre-order What Did You Expect: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage.
What Did the Reformers Think of the Church Fathers?
Luther and the Reformers looked to the church fathers and were shaped by them.
What Did Paul Mean by “New Creation”?
The resurrection in Jewish thought means that the new age has arrived and that the old age of evil and death has come to an end.
What Did Moses See When He Saw the “Back” of God?
God is present throughout the events of the exodus. But theophanies represent events of intensive presence that underline the principle that he is always present with his people and that he is faithful to his word and his covenant.
What Did John Mean When He Called Jesus the “Word”? (John 1)
John proclaims the Word as God, through whom the world was made, in whom is life, and who is unquenchable light.
What Did Jesus Teach about Violence and Turning the Other Cheek?
J. Daryl Charles, Timothy J. Demy
Does Jesus’s teaching in the sermon on the Mount to “turn the other cheek” and not resist evil require pacifism on the part of Christians?
What Did Jesus Teach about Total Depravity?
The assumption of universal guilt before God is evident throughout Jesus’s teaching in the Gospels. Proof of this reality is manifold. Below are four evidences to support this claim.
What Did Jesus Teach about the Poor?
If poverty will always exist, does that mean any efforts to alleviate poverty—in our own communities and around the world—are in vain?
What Did Jesus Teach about the Devil and Demons?
There is an enemy of God and humanity. That enemy needs to be known.
What Did Jesus Teach about the Bible?
Norman L. Geisler, Frank Turek
Jesus and his apostles considered the Old Testament Scriptures to be the written Word of God, and thus the ultimate authority for life.
What Did Jesus Teach about Resurrection?
Jesus's teachings affirmed a future resurrection for the righteous and the wicked, but he himself was raised in the middle of history as the firstfruits of the life that will be ours.
What Did Jesus Teach about Prayer?
As mediator, Jesus brings us to God, but he does so by pouring out his Spirit upon us so that our own prayer life is to replicate his prayer life in terms of how the Holy Spirit binds us to our Father in heaven.
What Did Jesus Teach about Politics?
If we take the lordship of Christ in our lives seriously, then we should seek to apply that lordship to our participation in politics.
What Did Jesus Teach about Money?
We keep telling ourselves that the next thing will be what satisfies us, but it never does.
What Did Jesus Teach about Men and Women?
Christ not only valued women very highly, but also demonstrated a clear role distinction between men and women.
What Did Jesus Teach about Limited Atonement?
There are a number of texts demonstrating that when Jesus lived, died, rose, ascended, and interceded, he did so for a particular group of people. Read what Jesus says about this.
What Did Jesus Teach about Justification?
When we think of justification conceptually instead of just verbally, we see that Jesus taught justification in his own idiom and his own way before Paul ever came on the scene.
What Did Jesus Teach about Judgment?
Some have said that the most popular verse in the Bible is Jesus’s command to his followers not to judge. How are we to understand Jesus's teaching on judgment?
What Did Jesus Teach about Homosexuality?
In a 2012 article for Slate online, Will Oremus asked a provocative question: Was Jesus a homophobe?
What Did Jesus Teach about Himself?
Jesus taught on a variety of topics, from family, to money, to discipleship, and more. But there is one subject that is central to all his other teachings—himself.
What Did Jesus Teach about Hell?
No Bible spokesman places more stress on hell as the final consequence of God’s judgment of condemnation than Jesus.
What Did Jesus Teach about Giving Generously?
The reason money is so crucial for Jesus is that across all cultures and all ages it represents the alternative to God as the treasure of our hearts, and therefore the object of our worship.
What Did Jesus Teach about Family?
David W. Jones, Andreas J. Köstenberger
Believers are called to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, even when it brings them into conflict with natural family obligations.
What Did Jesus Teach about Evangelism?
When we look at Jesus’s life and ministry we also see that he was the greatest evangelist. In his earthly ministry he was the light of the world, the one who always lived in a way that was pleasing to his Father.
What Did Jesus Teach about Divorce and Remarriage?
David W. Jones, Andreas J. Köstenberger
Despite the fact that the Mosaic law included provisions regulating divorce, the Old Testament makes it clear that divorce falls short of God’s ideal.
What Did Jesus Teach about Discipleship?
Jesus’s instruction about discipleship applies to all (i.e., not simply the twelve) who want to follow him and includes three elements: denying oneself, taking up one’s cross, and following him.
What Did Jesus Teach about Disabilities?
In the record of Jesus’s ministry in the four Gospels, we see in the Savior a striking focus upon a ministry among the deaf, mute, lame, blind, and the broader community they represent.
What Did Christ’s Atoning Work Accomplish?
The death of Christ is a multidimensional accomplishment within a story that begins in the garden and ends in the kingdom.
What C. S. Lewis Can Teach Us about Youth Ministry
C. S. Lewis provides a case study of what is missing from most youth ministries in the United States.
What C. S. Lewis Believed about Hell
When the wrath of God is poured out, God gives us over to our desires and we become less and less human.
What Churches Should Look for in a Missionary
Churches should carefully assess the character, fruitfulness, and Bible knowledge of the missionaries they hope to send.
What Christmas Carols Get Right (and Wrong) about the Star of Bethlehem
Most of us love our Christmas traditions, especially singing the old, familiar carols. From time to time, however, we might well wonder about the correctness of some of the things we’re singing so gustily.
What Changed after C. S. Lewis Came to Christ?
He not only knew about God with his reason but also met God with his emotions. He experienced Joy. And God changed him.
What Can We Learn about God’s Anger from Jesus?
When Jesus is angry, he is right to be angry; the cause of his anger is right, and he expresses his anger rightly.
What Can We Know about the Father’s Involvement in the Crucifixion?
What sort of knowledge of God’s action in Christ’s death may we have? That a man named Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. What further knowledge about the cross, then, may Christians enjoy?
What Can Small Churches Do Together?
In what ways might God be calling your church to partner with others?
What Can I Give to a Grieving Person?
What can we give as a gift to someone who is going through grief—something that we can do for them that would be really helpful?
What Can I Do to Foster a Deep Hunger for Jesus?
There are so many ways that we can foster a hunger for Jesus, but the most important and primary thing is to be praying for the Holy Spirit to change our hearts.
What Bible Reading and Eating Have in Common
Devotional Bible reading is vital for every believer in the same way that eating is vital for every human—it's just the way you're nourished. It's what you do to get stronger and grow.
What Authority Does a Husband Have over His Wife?
A husband’s authority is what I would characterize as an authority of counsel, not an authority of command. It is both kinds of authority.
Sometimes we end up disappointed with Jesus because we want the miracle, the answer, the reconciliation, the restoration, the healing right now.
Our blind spots lead to divisions and disagreements, preventing God’s people from testifying to his grace with one voice.
Our hearts are always captured by something—that’s how God made us.
What Are the Tongues of Fire? (Acts 2)
Apostolic witness, signs and wonders, and regeneration—are all entirely the doing of the Spirit. How the Spirit is working and what he is bringing about depends on the context.
What Are the Seventy Weeks of Daniel? (Daniel 9)
The events detailed in Daniel 9 are fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the coming king.
What Are the Limits of a Church’s Authority?
Christians today tend to give little attention to the idea of church authority, just like we give little attention to church membership and discipline.
What Are the Bible's Key Themes?
How does knowing the end of the story influence the way we think about the story now?
What Are Some Dangers of Neglecting Church History?
By cutting ourselves off from church history, we are cutting ourselves off from a rich tradition that the Holy Spirit has been teaching the church through his faithful disciples.
What Are Demons, and How Should Christians Think about Them?
Demons have right beliefs about who God is; they have known about him from the beginning of their existence, even though they chose to rebel against him!
What Are Angels, and How Should Christians Think about Them?
While God’s word does not offer us a detailed description of how and when God made the angels, or of what exactly they look like, we can nevertheless gather truths and principles from the Bible.
What a Productive Life Is (Not) All About
The productive life is not a life of working all the time. It’s a life of wisdom to know when it’s time to work and when it’s time to rest.
What All Healthy Churches Have in Common
The most important things about a Christian church are always the things that make it a Christian church. The things that are unique about your church or mine can never be the most important things about it.
What a Heated Disagreement between Two Puritans Can Teach Us Today
It takes the effort to understand and to empathize—in an age of polarization when empathy seems to be in short supply. It takes time and mutual generosity.
Christmas is about the coming of Christ into the world.
What a Church Is . . . and Isn't
The church is not a place. It’s not a building. It’s not a preaching point. It’s not a spiritual service provider. It’s a people—the new-covenant, blood-bought people of God.
What About the Issues Scripture Doesn't Address?
John MacArthur shares a few questions to ask ourselves when venturing into gray territory.
What about Scholars Who Deny that the Bible Condemns Homosexual Practice?
It's just not accurate to say that what we are seeing now as expressions of homosexuality were completely unknown to the biblical authors.
What 1 and 2 Thessalonians Teach (and Don’t Teach) about the End Times
Thessalonians does not present a complete picture. Neither do other parts of Scripture. What do these letters contribute to a fuller biblical eschatology?
We were made for closeness to others and to God through Christ, and yet it doesn’t always feel as though we can grasp God’s nearness to us.
We Should Expect Frustration When Reading the Bible
If we give in to impatience with the learning process, we tend to react in one of two ways.
Were the Reformers Obsessed with Predestination?
A commonly held prejudice regarding Reformation theology is that the doctrine of predestination and election was the peculiar focus of Reformed theologians.
Were David and Jonathan Lovers?
That‘s a fair question, though it’s a question that would have been strange to anyone in the biblical world.
We’re All Writing the Stories of Our Lives, but We’re All Failed Authors
We’re all writing the stories of our lives, and we’ve all failed to write and publish the book we wanted. Some of us failed at the beginning, some of us fear failed endings, all of us have failed chapters.
We Read the Bible to Commune with God
We know God for who he is, and meet him as he is, when we meet him through his word—the Bible.
We Need the Soul-Stirring of John Wesley
Is anybody listening to the voice of John Wesley anymore? Outside the self-identified Wesleyverse, the Wesley Literacy Quotient among evangelicals has declined alarmingly.
We Need Spiritual Sight to Read about Jesus
The disciples’ journey with Jesus on the road to Emmaus poignantly illustrates the fact that we need spiritual sight to recognize Jesus’s true identity as revealed in the Scriptures.
We Need Gospel Community, not a Behavior Modification Program
It is dangerous and tempting to change behavior without also changing heart and mind.
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.
We Need a Theological Framework for Racial Reconciliation
It’s really critical that the Bible and theological categories inform the racial reconciliation conversation lest culture and politics become where we start from.
We Need Another Storyline to Put Ours in Perspective
Orienting ourselves by stories involves using their storylines to put our lives in proper perspective.
We Must Worship God on His Terms
True worship is not possible unless God himself enables it, because human beings are unable to truly worship him without his enabling.
We May Be Confused, but God Isn’t
As much as we try to make sense of our lives, there are things that we simply aren’t able to understand.
We’ll Be Truly Alive on Our Third Birthday
Some day, some way, my heart will stop, as sure as eggs are eggs, and that what the world will call my death-day will really be a birthday—the third in line.
We Forget Just Why We Live in a WEIRDER World
The rate of change in the last two centuries makes the past feel much further away than it actually is, which inclines us to fawn over the future, and either patronize the past or ignore it altogether.
We (Do Not) Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident
We are inclined to see equality and human rights as universal norms. But in reality they are culturally conditioned beliefs that depend on fundamentally Christian assumptions about the world.
We Desperately Need What We Reject
There is a disharmony between our thinking and feeling, between our willing and acting. There is a discord between religion and culture, between science and life.
Look at the Jesus of the Bible. Look at him. Don’t close your eyes and hope for a word of confirmation. Keep your eyes open and fill them with the full portrait of Jesus provided in the Bible.
We Are Both Job and Job’s Friends
One important question in reading any biblical text is who you, as a reader, identify with. This is easier for some texts than for others. Who do we identify with in the book of Job?
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but the crowds roared to free Barabbas and to crucify Jesus.
Watch the Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full Trailer
In Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full: Gospel Meditations for Busy Moms, Gloria Furman, a pastor's wife and mother of four, shows us how to pursue a vibrant and ever-growing relationship with Christ in the midst of the busyness of life.
Watch the Trailer for 'The Biggest Story: The Animated Short Film'
The Biggest Story connects the dots from the garden of Eden to Christ's death on the cross to the new heaven and new earth.
Watch the First 3 Minutes of 'The Biggest Story: The Animated Short Film'
Get a glimpse into the film's rich content, striking animations, and beautiful storyline.
Watch Paul Tripp Teach on 12 Doctrines That Will Transform Your Life
Paul David Tripp takes a close look at twelve core doctrines and how they engage and transform the human heart and mind.
Watch Out for Functional Atheism
In the midst of storms in your life, have you forgotten who Jesus is?
Watch for Faithfulness in Those around You
As you spend time in the local church, observe how the believers around you follow Jesus. Watch for people who radiate the life of Jesus and spend time with them.
Was Violence against the Canaanites a Matter of Racial Prejudice?
Gregory Goswell, Andreas J. Köstenberger
It is impossible to ignore what is routinely viewed as the grave moral problem of the book of Joshua, namely, the action of the Israelites in exterminating the Canaanites.
Was the Trinity Torn Apart at the Cross?
Jesus's quoting of Psalm 22 on the cross has been a source of wonder and speculation. What can and can’t we say about this cry?
Was Shakespeare a Christian Writer?
Leland Ryken encourages us to look at the Christian elements present in Shakespeare's plays.
Was King Saul Possessed by Demons? (1 Samuel 19)
Was Saul a prophet or was he possessed by a demon? Learn more about 1 Samuel 19 with commentary from the ESV Expository Commentary Series.
Was Jesus a Leader or a Follower?
Joanne J. Jung, Richard Langer
The New Testament leaves no doubt as to the deity of Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. So perhaps it is unsurprising that we forget that Jesus was also a follower.
Was Christ’s Coming the End of the Law? (Romans 10)
Christ is the termination of the law in the sense that he ushers in a new age— both continuous with and different from the former age.
Warfield—A Model and Challenge to Christians
Fred Zaspel shares what he has learned most from Warfield and how that has challenged him.
Want to Pray More? Try Memorizing Scripture
A good quiet time is when the Lord is speaking to us by his word and his Spirit, and we are speaking back to him what we are hearing in his word by the Spirit.
Want to Be a Missionary? Check Your Motives
We don’t just need more warm bodies called missionaries; we need qualified people sent by healthy churches who are equipped to do missions well.
Walk with Jesus During His Last Week on Earth
The final days of Jesus were the most important days of the most important person who ever lived.
Casting off the old self and walking in love is only possible through God's work in us as new creation.
Waiting on the Lord Is Not a Waste
You’re not doing anything, but God is. Waiting is one of the greatest applications of the Christian faith.
We all long for the restoration that will come when God gives us new, resurrected bodies. But we don’t have those bodies yet.
Vocation: My Choosing or God's Calling?
One aspect of the doctrine of vocation flies in the face of every self-help book and occupational seminar, every conversation about “your plans,” and every agonizing bout of decision-making.
Virtual church cannot deliver the water of baptism. It cannot deliver the body and the blood, the bread and the wine of Christ's body broken and his blood shed for us.
Because of Christ we can rejoice in hope, and there is no place for anxiety in the city that is to come.
Views of Justification—Two Differing Gospels
In Justified by Faith Alone, R. C. Sproul clarifies the differing views of justification.
Viewing the Christian Story through the Lens of Our Suffering
Suffering disrupts our lives, seeming to violate the way life should be. This can make us desperate to know why we are suffering.
Video: Zack Eswine on Significance in the Ordinary
Zack Eswine, author of Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his own life and ministry.
Video: Word-Filled Women's Ministry
In this video, Kathleen Nielson and Gloria Furman discuss the importance of women's ministries in the local church.
Video: What Leaders Are Saying About "Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament"
A variety of Christian leaders testify to the depth, quality, and gospel-centered practicality of Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament.
Video: What Does the Bible Say The Church Should be Like?
Mark Dever suggests that there are nine marks that church leaders and members can cultivate to make their church more healthy.
Video: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
Pastor and best-selling author Kevin DeYoung answers a controversial question.
Video: What Does It Mean to Be Gospel-Centered?
We recently sat down with some Crossway authors and asked them, *"What does it mean to be gospel-centered?"
Video: Todd Wilson on the Book of Daniel
Todd Wilson explains how the book of Daniel ultimately points to the sovereign Lord of history.
Video: The Word of the Lord by Nancy Guthrie
In this video, Nancy Guthrie introduces us to the newest addition in her new Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament Bible study series, The Word of the Lord: Seeing Jesus in the Prophets.
Video: The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses
Chris Bruno sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses
Video: The Vision Behind Buzzard and Um's 'Why Cities Matter'
Why Cities Matter provides a comprehensive analysis of urban life that informs, instructs, inspires, and answers questions.
Stories both entertain and educate, occupying the mind and forming it at the same time.
If you treat your church like a business, you will see other churches as competition. You'll worry about turf and market share.
Video: The Picky Eater Approach to Bible Study
We all know it’s important to study God’s Word, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin . . . especially when you're feeling a bit lost in the middle of Leviticus.
Justin Taylor recently sat down with Greg Forster, author of The Joy of Calvinism, who asserts that Calvinism is a largely misunderstood tradition that is ultimately about joy and the love of a God who saves.
Video: The Impetus for A Loving Life
In this video, Paul Miller discusses the impetus for his new book, A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships.
Video: The Fruitful Wife by Hayley DiMarco
Hayley DiMarco gives a brief overview of her new book, The Fruitful Wife: Cultivating a Love Only God Can Produce.
Video: The Explicit Gospel Tour with Matt Chandler
In mid-April, Matt Chandler and Shane and Shane traveled to six locations on the Explicit Gospel Tour.
Video: The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
Popular pastor and worldwide speaker Matt Chandler writes his first book to remind the church of what is of first and utmost importance—the gospel.
Video: The ESV Following Jesus Bible
Designed to help strengthen children in their faith and teach them what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
Video: The Advance of the Gospel Around the World
In this video, Tim Keesee sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance in the World's Difficult Places.
Video: Studying the Books of Ruth & Esther
In this video, Kathleen Nielson introduces us to Ruth & Esther: A 12-Week Study, which is part of Crossway's Knowing the Bible study series.
Video: Studying the Book of Psalms
In this video, Douglas Sean O’Donnell introduces us to Psalms: A 12-Week Study, which is part of Crossway's Knowing the Bible study series.
Video: Studying the Book of Philippians
In this video, Ryan Kelly introduces us to Philippians: A 12-Week Study, which is part of Crossway's Knowing the Bible study series.
Video: Studying the Book of Matthew
In this video, Drew Hunter introduces us to Matthew: A 12-Week Study, which is part of Crossway's Knowing the Bible study series.
Video: Studying the Book of James
In this video, Greg Gilbert introduces us to James: A 12-Week Study, which is part of Crossway's Knowing the Bible study series.
Video: Sam Storms on Eternal Security
Sam Storms sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, Kept for Jesus: What the New Testament Really Teaches about Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Security.
Video: Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition
David Dockery sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss the Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series and the state of Christian higher education.
Video: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian
Bret Lott answers common questions about writing, shares about his life as writer, and talks briefly about his forthcoming book, Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian.
Video: New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp
Paul David Tripp wants to energize you with 365 gospel-centered devotions designed to remember God's mercies all day long.
Video: Nancy Guthrie on the Miracle of Bible Study
In this video, popular author and Bible study leader Nancy Guthrie discusses how God used regular time in his Word to work a miracle in her heart.
Video: Nancy Guthrie on Pretending to Teach the Bible
In this video, popular author and Bible study leader Nancy Guthrie explains a valuable tip for those looking to study the Bible well.
Video: Matthew Newkirk on the Book of Exodus
Matthew Newkirk explains how the book of Exodus fits into the storyline of the Bible and sets the stage for the coming of Jesus.
Video: Lydia Brownback on the Book of Proverbs
The book of Proverbs offers wisdom for godly living that both glorifies God and leads to blessing for his people.
Video: Leaders on the Need for Study Bibles in Africa & Asia
Rev. Dr. Paul R Gupta, Professor Ephraim Mudave, and Pastor Victor Anukem describe the encouraging growth of the church in Africa and Asia but also the great need for Bible study resources in these contexts.
Video: Kristyn Getty on Coming Back to the Bible
In this video, singer and songwriter Kristyn Getty shares two passages that have had a big influence on her life and offers some encouragement for those struggling to consistently read God's Word.
Video: Kristie Anyabwile on What God Taught Her Through a Challenging Book of the Bible
In this video, Kristie Anyabwile recounts how God used her study of Leviticus to sharpen her approach to reading the Bible.
Video: Kathy Keller on Reading the Bible Every Day
In this video, Kathy Keller encourages us to make time for God's Word each day, even if it's just a few short minutes.
Video: Justin Taylor (Sorta) Interviews Dane Ortlund
In this video, Justin Taylor asks Dane Ortlund about two common objections related to Jonathan Edwards.
Video: Justin Taylor Interviews Tom Nelson on "Work Matters"
Justin Taylor interviews Tom Nelson on Nelson's new book Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work.
Video: Justin Taylor interviews Lydia Brownback on "A Woman's Wisdom"
Justin Taylor and Lydia Brownback as they discuss her new book A Woman's Wisdom: How the Book of Proverbs Speaks to Everything.
Video: Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung Discuss "The Hole in Our Holiness"
Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung, author of The Hole in Our Holiness discuss the topic of holiness.
Video: Justin Taylor and Jonathan Dodson on "Gospel-Centered Discipleship"
The terms "disciple" and "gospel-centered" are thrown around often in Christian circles these days, but what do they really mean?
Video: Justin Holcomb on the Book of Acts
Justin Holcomb, author of Acts: A 12-Week Study, explains how the book of Acts chronicles the spread of the gospel in the early church and offers transformative grace for us today.
Video: Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors Trailer
In Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors: Reading an Old Story in a New Way, Voddie Baucham Jr. shows us the crucial role that the story of Joseph plays in redemptive history.
Video: John Piper Speaks at Wheaton College
John Piper recently spoke at Wheaton College, addressing the community with a talk entitled "Race, Repentance, and Rejoicing: Ethnicity in the Christian Church".
Video: John Piper Reads "The Innkeeper"
John Piper reads his illustrated poem The Innkeeper.
Video: John Piper on Poetry, Music, and Affections
John Piper encourages the Crossway staff (and you) to cherish language as the sacred gift that it is.
Video: Joe Thorn on the Most Difficult Season of His Life
Justin Taylor talks with author and pastor Joe Thorn about walking through difficult seasons and finding refuge in the triune God.
Video: J. I. Packer's Life and Legacy
In this video, Justin Taylor sits down with Sam Storms and Leland Ryken to discuss the life and legacy of an evangelical titan.
Video: J.I. Packer on Weakness
J.I. Packer, renowned theologian and author of the forthcoming Weakness is the Way, reflects on his experience of weakness, having been hit by a bread truck as a child and now facing the realities of aging.
Video: J. I. Packer on Taking God Seriously
J. I. Packer reflects on this "undernourishment" that many Christians suffer from, challenging us to take our faith and God's Word seriously.
Video: Jen Wilkin on Staying Motivated in Bible Study
In this video, author and Bible study leader Jen Wilkin offers some advice for staying motivated in our reading of God's Word and explains the limitations of topical Bible studies.
Video: Jani Ortlund on Staying in the Word as a Young Mom
In this video, Jani Ortlund offers some advice for staying motivated to read God's Word and making time for Bible study as a young mom.
Don Clark discusses why he creates art and how it has the potential to give us a glimpse of the way the world was intended to be.
Video: How to Cultivate "Gospel-Doctrine" and "Gospel-Culture"
Ray Ortlund sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ.
Video: God's Broken and Redeemed Work-in-Progress
In the video below, Rob Bentz sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, The Unfinished Church: God's Broken and Redeemed Work-in-Progress.
Video: Francis Schaeffer on the Christian Life
Justin Taylor and Steve Nichols, discuss Dr. Edgar's first visit to L'abri and his resulting relationship with Schaeffer.
Video: Four Ordinary Means of Grace
Kevin DeYoung explains that there are four very ordinary means to pursuing holiness.
In Found in Him: The Joy of the Incarnation and Our Union with Christ, Elyse Fitzpatrick explores the wonder of the incarnation and the glory of our union with Christ, offering us a sure path to ultimate acceptance and true belonging through the power of the gospel.
Video: Features of the ESV Women's Devotional Bible
This video gives a helpful overview of the Women’s Devotional Bible content, features, and aims.
Video: Engaging Our Culture with Joy
In this video, Greg Forster sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It.
Video: Elyse Fitzpatrick on How She Reads the Bible
In this video, author and speaker Elyse Fitzpatrick explains why she stopped reading through the entire Bible every year and reminds us that God doesn't get "mad" at us when we miss a day of reading his Word.
Video: Edwards on the Christian Life
In this video, Dane Ortlund sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book, Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God.
Video: Dr. Bruce Ware Answers Questions About "The Man Christ Jesus"
Have you ever struggled to understand and explain the biblical truth that Jesus is both fully man and fully God?
Video: Don Whitney on the Benefit of Praying the Bible
In this video, Justin Taylor sits down with Don Whitney to discuss what it means to pray through God's Word.
Video: Discipling through Anger
Join Dodson and Matt Chandler as they discuss the topic of discipling through anger.
Video: Disability and the Gospel
"Why do we in the evangelical church in the West demand that everyone be “normal” and look the same? Why do we as a culture try so hard (and succeed so well!) at hiding people …
Justin Buzzard, author of the forthcoming book Date Your Wife, recognizes that many married men have forgotten how to date their wife.
Video: Dane Ortlund Interviews R. Kent Hughes
In this video, Dane Ortlund sits down with R. Kent Hughes to discuss his new book.
With Crazy Busy being named the 2014 Christian Book of the Year, we thought we'd share a short behind-the-scenes video from that infamous interview.
Video: Collin Hansen on Identifying Our Blind Spots
Justin Taylor talks with author Collin Hansen about how Christians can view their differences as opportunities to more effectively engage a needy world with the love of Christ.
Video: Churches Partnering Together
In this video, Matt Dirks sits down with Justin Taylor to discuss his new book (with Chris Bruno), Churches Partnering Together: Biblical Strategies for Fellowship, Evangelism, and Compassion.
Video: Christian Guides to the Classics Series
In these short guidebooks, popular professor, author, and literary expert Leland Ryken takes you through some of the greatest literature in history while answering your questions along the way.
Video: "Christ + City: Why the Greatest Need of the City Is the Greatest News of All"
Pastor Jon Dennis, author of Christ + City, and others share their love for these cultural centers and their desire to see the kingdom of God take root in the city.
Video: Biblical Theology Has A Center
In the Old Testament: God used judgment of the Egyptians and Canaanites to save the Israelites. In the New Testament: God's righteous judgment on the cross brought us salvation. At the end of time: God's …
Video: Bible Study Q&A with Jen Wilkin (Part 2)
Crossway recently asked readers to submit questions about Bible study for Jen Wilkin, author of Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds.
Video: Bible Study Q&A with Jen Wilkin (Part 1)
Crossway recently asked readers to submit questions about Bible study for Jen Wilkin, author of Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds.
Video: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life
Many Christians have unwittingly embraced the idea that “church” is a once-a-week event rather than a community of Spirit-empowered people.
Video: A Word of Encouragement from Jen Wilkin
This video provides a final word of encouragement and advice from Jen Wilkin.
Video: A Crazy Awkward Interview with Kevin DeYoung
Sometimes interviews don't go the way you planned... Sometimes they get to feeling a little bit weird... And sometimes, yes sometimes, things get downright awkward.
Video: 6 Reasons to Pray the Bible
Here are six benefits of praying through the Bible.
Using Reader's Mode in the New ESV Bible App
We removed verse numbers, section headings, and translation footnotes so as to declutter each page and help readers focus their attention on the biblical text itself.
Yesterday we posted an urgent request from Crossway's president, Dr. Lane Dennis, concerning an extraordinary opportunity to meet a matching grant for $270,000. In the above video, Dr. Dennis provides some perspective on why this opportunity is so important to the ministry work of Crossway.
Updates to the ESV Bible App for Android and iOS
The ESV Bible app—available for both iOS and Android devices—was designed to facilitate a beautiful and intuitive digital Bible reading experience.
Consensus is hard, especially in an individualistic culture where “have it your way” consumerism is the air we breathe. Sometimes it’s just easier to say, “You do you, I’ll do me.”
Unpacking “Separation of Church and State”
The notion of the separation of church and state is a comparatively recent phenomenon, as part of the American experiment in republican government.
Unpacking “No Creed but the Bible”
Many Christians may well have heard the phrase ”no creed but the Bible“ at some point. Is it a faithful and useful principle for guiding how we think about Christian truth and authority?
While our collective declaration of “New year, new me” is powerful on January 1, it loses steam quickly. The second Friday in January is known as Quitters Day because so many of us give up by then.
Unpacking “My Body, My Choice”
God alone is the potter. He alone knits cells together in the womb to form a baby human. He alone has the right to destroy or glorify the work of his hands.
“Love is love” proudly pronounced that the lover's authenticity determines the love's integrity. Who can judge love? it asked. But does God define love, or do I? Is God love, or are my feelings my God?
Unpacking “Look inside Yourself”
Knowing who you are and being true to yourself has never been more important. They are seen as signs of good mental health and well-being and the keys to authentic living and true happiness.
Unity Is Not the Same as Total Agreement
There is an extreme view of Christian unity that is found among those who will work together only with those with whom they agree on everything—doctrinal and practical.
Union with Christ When You Don’t Fit In
Jesus was excluded by all and abandoned by his friends in a time of need so that we could always be welcomed into relationship.
Understanding the Role of Justification
Theologically understood, justification is the moment—the event—that God declares a sinner righteous in his sight.
Understanding the First and Last Adam
Truly God and truly man, Jesus was not a transgressor like the first Adam. Our hope is the perfect righteousness of Jesus, which is credited to us sinners.
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.
Understanding the Bible Thematically
Two books, two ways to study the Bible.
Understanding Teen Anxiety and Depression
One of the best things we can do for our teens is to explain to them that many teens suffer in the same way.
Understanding History Takes Empathy
Because the course of history involves all kinds of people, an analyst has to be able to deal with people whose personalities, inclinations, and backgrounds are different from his own.
Understanding Biblical Covenants Is As Easy As 1, 2, 3
Why are covenants so important in Scripture? Why does it matter in the Christian life?
Two Truths You Must Believe When You Feel Stuck in Your Sin
It is a good thing for you to see your sin. You need to feel the conviction of the Spirit on the one hand, but God doesn't want you to stay in that mindset.
Two Possible Responses to Christ
When we read the Bible, we have a deep-seated instinct to look at particular characters and compare ourselves to them. We wonder, Is this someone I should try to emulate?
Two of Prayer’s Essential Ingredients
The resurrection is the most important thing to behold in God’s word to fuel our desire to pray. But really, we need all of God’s word. We also need God’s people.
Turning Prayer from Monologue into Dialogue with God
Prayer is not pleading with a God who is not already there to somehow show up. Prayer is not enticing a silent God to finally speak.
Turning High Thoughts to the Help of the Lowly
Paul loved God and people. His love for God summoned him ever higher into God’s revealed glory, and his love for people summoned him alongside ordinary folks.
Zack Eswine explains how Ezekiel 18 provides a summary of the gospel in the Old Testament.
Truth Was Made in the Image of God
Truth has three key attributes: omnipresence (everywhere present), everlastingness (through all times), and unchangeability (immutability). These three features of truth are attributes of God.
Truth That Transforms the Teen Years
The teenage years have been hijacked—by pleasure, pressure, entertainment, and distraction. But there is one truth that has the power to totally change the life of a teenager: the gospel.
Trust Your Savior, Not Your Efforts
When we trust Jesus, we displace rules from the center of our discipleship and replace it with his gospel
Trusting When We Don't Understand, Believing When We Can't See
The question that haunts most people who experience significant suffering and loss—is, “why?”
True Peace Isn’t Found in the Absence of Conflict
When pain tempts me to feel disheartened and glumly stare out a window, I stand up to my miserable emotions. I quell those dark feelings by singing about peace and resting my soul in God.
Orthodoxy and Heresy Orthodoxy means right doctrine or belief. In one very important sense it is essential to salvation. Although we are saved entirely by the grace of God, not on the basis of the …
Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Mahaney Whitacre
We don’t have to accept our culture’s ever-changing and ever-more-tyrannical definition of beauty.
Trevin Wax's Challenge to the Church, to Us
Do our hopes and dreams look the same as the world's? Do we claim Jesus is Lord, and then relentlessly pursue a bigger paycheck, a bigger house, a better job, or more leisure?
Treasured Words on the Altar of the Urgent
If we're honest with ourselves, often, in the craziness of life, instead of treasuring and applying more Scripture to a heart that needs it we shy away from time in the Word.
Training Parrots or Making Disciples?
We can’t always say everything, but we want to help people read the Bible well, not merely train them to parrot our conclusions.
Training Our Kids in a Culture That Affirms Transgenderism
We must tell the truth about what the Bible teaches about gender. Among other things, the Bible is clear that there is a normative connection between biological sex and gender identity.
The maker of the universe is not far off—he is nearby. Realizing this is a huge first step in trading anxiety for patience.
If we’re after true and lasting change, we must pray that the Lord work out our sanctification by his Spirit
Tracing Christianity’s Impact on Slavery through the Centuries
If we live in the West, we often take freedom for granted. But the idea that every human is of equal dignity and should be afforded liberty has not been obvious to most cultures.
#toxic - Why Is Our Culture So Reactive? (Reactivity Episode 1)
Paul Tripp discusses the toxic culture of reactivity full of anger, mockery, and disrespect that is so common to see on social media but also bleeds into our everyday relationships.
Tossing Out Beliefs When They Don’t Spark Joy
What’s fascinating (and saddening) is that there seem to be many Christians, particularly in the affluent West, who think of theology, or doctrine, the way Marie Kondo thinks of clutter.
Review the highlights from our blog this year.
Tools for Teaching the Overarching Story of the Bible
Whether we are leading our families, working in the office, or even studying the Bible, one of the great challenges in life is living in the tension between the forest and the trees.
Tom Schreiner on Paul, the Apostolic Missionary in Acts (Season 2, Episode 8)
Join Nancy Guthrie as she talks with Thomas Schreiner about the person and work of Paul, particularly his theological foundations, his work as a missionary, and the many problems he faced.
To Love Redemptively and to Respect with Thoughts, Words, & Deeds
Gary and Betsy Riccucci urge us to focus on what it looks like for husbands to love their wives redemptively and vice-versa.
To Lead Others, Become a Disciple
A disciple of Jesus follows in Jesus’s steps, doing as Jesus taught and lived. But it means more than that.
To Cry Is Human, but to Lament Is Christian
Every human being has the same opening story. Life begins with tears. It’s simply a part of what it means to be human—to cry is human. But lament is different.
To Be Human, To Read the Bible, To Live
James M. Hamilton Jr. discusses the challenges of being human, bearing the image, striving to know God, to find truth, and to help others find their joy, satisfaction, purpose, meaning, and life in knowing God through his Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit.
To Be a Woman Is to Be Fully Human
Being a woman means being human. And this is good news.
Tithing in Financially Tight Times
Giving out of scarcity declares in an especially profound way that God is better than money.
Tips to Help Anyone Teach the Bible (Women of the Word Episode 9)
Jen walks through different contexts for teaching the Bible, offering tips and wisdom on how to teach well no matter who or where you are.
Tips for Students Facing Doubt in the Real World
When facing doubts and fears, the last thing you want to do is isolate yourself and struggle alone.
Tim Keller's Foreword to "Bloodlines" by John Piper
I was excited when I learned that John Piper was writing a book on race and the gospel of the cross. When John gave me the privilege of reading the manuscript, I devoured it and …
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.
Three Purposes of God in Your Suffering
We know that suffering is a result of sin and a fallen world, but that usually feels inadequate when we're in anguish.
#thosepeople - Our Problem with Tribalism (Reactivity Episode 6)
Paul Tripp talks about our culture of tribalism in which we associate primarily with those who agree with us and find it easier to react to anyone who isn't in that group.
This Day in History: The Execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
At the break of dawn on April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged. As they prepared him for his death, he preached a final sermon.
This Day in History: The Death of Martin Luther
On this day in history, as night turned to day on February 18th, the earthly life of Martin Luther, the most famous man of the sixteenth century, came to an end.
This Day in History: The Death of John Owen
When John Owen died on August 24, 1683, his reputation as “the Calvin of England,” was firmly established.
This Day in History: The Death of John Calvin
The struggles of his Calvin’s life tested his faith. At the heart of his faith was the confidence that for the sake of Jesus, God was his loving heavenly Father.
This Day in History: The Death of Hudson Taylor
Today marks the 113th anniversary of the death of Hudson Taylor, missionary to China. His legacy of faithfulness lives on.
This Day in History: The Death of Elisabeth Elliot
Elliot had weaknesses and strengths, she got things right and she got things wrong, and she did not necessarily know which were which. Nor do we. We are too small to see very far.
This Day in History: The Death of C. S. Lewis
Jack faced the prospect of death bravely and calmly. “I have done all I wanted to do, and I’m ready to go,” he said one evening.
This Day In History: The Death of Charles Spurgeon
It was January 31, 1892, and after twenty-four years of ill health, the ‘Prince of Preachers’ went to be with the Lord, aged just fifty-seven.
This Day in History: Jonathan Edwards Preaches “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
When Edwards came to preach in Enfield, God blessed the preaching of his Word in an extraordinary manner.
This Day in History: John Stott Was Born
On this day in history John Stott, one of the most influential Christian leaders of the twentieth century, was born. This year marks the centenary of his birth.
This Day in History: John Newton Was Born (and Surrendered His Life to the Lord)
“The day is now arrived when I propose to close all my deliberations on this subject with a solemn, unreserved, unconditional surrender of myself to the Lord.”
This Day in History: John Calvin Returns to Geneva
We can learn three important lessons from this episode in history.
This Day in History: C. S. Lewis Is Born
On this day in history, the most significant Christian apologist of the twentieth century was born at home in Belfast, Ireland.
Things You May Not Know About Bible Paper
A few weeks ago we posted a crash course on Bible cover materials, and now we turn our attention to the interior of the Bible.
Mormonism and Christianity advocate two deeply contrasting and conflicting worldviews.
The Work of the Trinity in Salvation
Michael LeFebvre, Philip Graham Ryken
God plays the symphony of our salvation in three movements. Each of these movements is associated with and facilitated by a different Person of the Trinity.
The Wisdom of God-Centered Rhythms in a Me-Centered Age
When every moment of our iWorld existence conditions us to celebrate the self, the church boldly celebrates something bigger, grander, and more compelling.
The Wilderness Offers Us New Sight
When we walk through any season of wilderness, the greatest danger is not the scorching heat of the trial; it is that we would be blind to the God who sees us.
The Why behind Rapid Cultural Shifts in Gender Politics
Christians are often prone to focusing on symptoms rather than looking at underlying causes.
Mentoring is a discipleship relationship that focuses on equipping younger believers for the work of ministry so that they grow in maturity and unity in the faith with the ultimate goal of glorifying God.
We need to look to Christ. We need to draw our strength from him. The way we grow is simply by looking to Christ.
The Voice of Wisdom and the Voice of Folly
Proverbs tells us that there are two voices calling out in the marketplace.
The Vision for a New Children’s Curriculum: An Interview with Crossway CEO Josh Dennis
Crossway’s CEO, Josh Dennis, answers questions about The Biggest Story Curriculum, a new children’s curriculum based on the bestselling The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by pastor Kevin DeYoung.*
The Vicious Cycle of Idolatry and Loneliness
Escape from difficult circumstances can easily turn into idolatry and unhealthy coping mechanisms. But God always provides a way out.
The Value of Your Work Isn't Attached to a Dollar Sign
I don’t want to diminish the need to pay people a fair wage for the work they do. But it is important for us to see work as a contribution, and not always with a dollar sign attached to it.
We have much to learn from the apostle who had the ability to be blunt and corrective while striving toward peace with others in kindness.
Since the cross was a monstrous symbol of death and defeat in the first century, it is no wonder that early Christians were mocked for worshiping a crucified Savior.
At Crossway, we would be grateful for your urgent prayers and gracious support for our upcoming ministry projects.
The Unresolved “Why” of Suffering
When tragedy strikes, almost everyone who believes in God, along with almost everyone who claims they don’t, asks the same question: Why does God allow suffering?
The Unexpected Outcome of Self-Sufficiency
Do you ascribe something to yourself that is only true about God?
The Unbiblical Pursuit of a Trouble-Free Life
How can we keep on loving and serving people when life has so much pain and disappointment? What are the roots of endurance?
God’s rebuke is never about giving up on us; it’s about investing in us once again. God rebukes us because we need it.
The Ultimate Hope for the Pro-Life Movement Is Still the Gospel
We need lawmakers and lobbyists that will encourage state legislators to pass pro-life laws to protect unborn babies, but heart-change is not going to come just through new laws, but through Christ.
The Truth About Sexual Assault
Justin Holcomb shares some important statistics related to sexual assault in our country and around the world.
The Truth About Paul David Tripp
WARNING: What you are about to see is probably completely real and might be disturbing to some.
The True Way of Keeping Christmas
I entreat that your time may be thus spent. Let it not be about your dressing, your plays, your profits, or your worldly concerns but let it be the wonders of redeeming love.
The True Test of a Gospel-Centered Church
Salvation from the judgment of God into fellowship with God is all of God. It is not of us.
The Triumph of Easter: A 6-Day Devotional for Families
There is no story more worthy of being retold in our families than the true account of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.
The Trinity Transforms the Church into a Community of Love
Just as the church is the glorious gift of love from God the Father to Christ the Son, so the church, as the body of Christ, reflects that Trinitarian love and beauty outwardly to the world.
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit is the grounds for our communion with him and one another. Our triune God, simple and perfect for all of eternity, has always been the one God.
The Transition from Centripetal Worship to Centrifugal Worship
Continued from part 1 of Makoto Fujimura's chapel address at Crossway on January 21, 2011.
The Toughest Place to Talk Faith
Your family and friends can be the toughest people in the world to approach on matters of faith, especially those that want nothing to do with God.
When Jesus, the Clean One, touched an unclean sinner, Christ did not become unclean. The sinner became clean.
The Top Two Ways Dads Can Love Their Kids
As we approach another Father’s Day, Timothy Witmer asks us to reflect with him on the top two ways we can love our children.
The Top 2 Archaeological Finds of All Time
The Holy Spirit, through time, has preserved a couple of key archaeological finds. Learn about two of the most important.
The Three Stages of Temptation
Temptation is typically gradual. There's more going on behind the scenes before one gives in to full-blown sin. Russell Moore explains the three stages of temptation.
The Third Dimension of Writing: Bret Lott on Saying Exactly What You Mean
Brett Lott discusses the third dimension of writing.
The Theology We Claim versus the Theology We Live
Our hope is the glorification without which we cannot see the Christ who saved us. But believing in the Christian hope is one thing. Living as though that hope is real is another.
The Ten Commandments: A 10-Day Devotional
Our obedience should be the result of our gratitude to God for his work in Christ.
The Temple(s) Filled with God’s Presence
What a glorious end to the story! In the new Jerusalem, there is no temple, no need for one particular place where God will dwell, because he dwells right out in the open, among his people.
The Temple Destroyed: Jesus Becomes the Meeting Place Between God and Sinners
If we are going to understand why Matthew reports these words, we must remember that the theme of Jesus' destruction of the temple has already been introduced.
The defense of the faith is not a luxury or an intellectual vanity, but instead is a task appointed by God that you should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in you as you bear witness before the world.
The Sympathetic Heart of Our Lord Jesus
The emotion that we should naturally expect to find most frequently attributed to that Jesus whose whole life was a mission of mercy, and whose ministry was so marked by deeds of beneficence, is compassion.
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.
The Surprising Limits of Natural Selection
The mechanisms that theistic evolutionists propose are the means by which God created are themselves demonstratively not creative. That’s a big problem—a scientific problem.
The Super Bowl and Folk Culture
The event around which we gather shows the erosion of folk culture just as much as it fosters it.
The Structural Abortionism That Remains after Roe v. Wade
I cannot forecast accurately the changes that will come in the first post-Roe decade. I can, though, list some fundamental things that will still apply.
The nature of temptation is not random. There is strategy, purpose, and power involved.
The Strategic Righteousness of Ruth
The question that Ruth 3 answers is, What do a God-saturated man, a God-dependent young woman, and a God-exalting older woman do when they are filled with hope in the sovereign goodness of God?
The Story of the First Ordained African-American Pastor in US History
If the church is to prosper and mature, she will need faithful men to lead and care for her.
The Story of Redemption: A 1-Year Reading Plan
Over the course of 365 days, read through Scripture chronologically, and see how the story of redemption has unfolded over time.
