If you’re serving in youth or college ministry, you know that advertising an evening of “Dinner and Doctrine” or “Theology Tonight” may not be the most surefire way to draw a crowd. It can be difficult to engage teenagers and young adults in the discipline of theological study—especially as they have often been deeply influenced by an entertainment and social media culture of two-minute video clips and sound bites, which can significantly hinder an appetite for sustained, concentrated theological thought. Even so, it is the role of faithful believers in the local church to challenge our young people to think theologically and grow in their theological understanding as they are guided by God’s Word.

I’m grateful that, in our church context, our pastor for youth and college engages our students in sound biblical teaching and presses toward deeper theological understanding. Our college students have met for book discussions on great Puritan works and gathered on Sunday evenings to wrestle through dense theological topics. Our high school and middle school students have worked through the Westminster Shorter Catechism, both memorizing the catechism questions and being taught the meaning and application of its theology.

Below, let me humbly offer three encouragements toward engaging youth and young adults in theological thought that our church is seeking to apply in our church context.

1. Convince them that theology is practical.

The first “apologetic” in convincing young people to give themselves to theological study and understanding is to counter the common sentiment that theology is impractical—that it belongs in stuffy seminary libraries rather than the hallways of the local high school. It’s good to remind young people that their theology will shape every aspect of their lives: their patterns of thought, decision-making, convictions, cultural engagement, motivation, and relationships. What we believe about God is the most intensely practical thing about us.

Perhaps the most striking (negative) example of the practical nature of theological belief in Scripture is spelled out in Romans 1:18–32. What begins with a sinful decision about belief and worship (the “exchange” of the Creator for idolatrous images of created things) bears fruit in all kinds of sinful behavior and actions. Truly, what we believe will bear fruit in how we live. It is helpful, on this point, also to remind young people that they are engaged in theological thought already, all the time. They are being “discipled” in theological thought through song lyrics, tweets, TikTok videos, and social media influencers. Their failure to engage in Christian theological study will not leave them on neutral ground but will make them vulnerable to other forms of inaccurate theological discipleship.

2. Show them that theology is exciting.

During my seminary years, Dr. D.A. Carson often remarked that he had learned over the years that while his students would not remember everything he taught them, they always seemed to remember the things about which he was most excited. I want to suggest that, for pastors and lay leaders in the church who work with young people, perhaps one of the first steps toward your students gaining a love of theology is their catching your infectious excitement about God, His Word, and the beauty of Christian doctrine.

College and high school students should be able to sense our passion for the depth of theology, the beauty of the gospel, and the riches of the Christian Scriptures, perhaps even before they begin growing in their own understanding of all those treasures. Do we talk about Christian doctrine in such a way that communicates to our young people that we are sharing with them the most weighty and glorious matters in the universe?

3. Remind them that theology must be worshipful.

Paul’s beautiful prayer for the Ephesian believers, which he summarizes in Ephesians 1:15–21, is a prayer for their growth in what we might call “theological knowledge,” to be sure. But his prayer for their growth in knowledge tilts undeniably Godward in worship. Paul wants these Christians to grow in deeper theological understanding so that they exult more worshipfully in their glorious Savior. He wants them to “know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18–19). Paul is not after theological knowledge for its sake alone. For Paul, growth in theological understanding is meant to grow our hearts in more and more worship to God and to praise Him for His glorious saving work in our lives.

Theological teaching and study must never be divorced from a relationship with the glorious God who has revealed Himself to us in His Word. As we understand more of Him, we are meant to worship Him and enjoy Him more and more as well.¹

Archibald Alexander was born during a time of upheaval in the American colonies. He was born in 1772 near Lexington, Virginia. The third of nine children, he grew up in a Christian home with parents who were serious about passing along their faith to each of their children.

Because of his parents’ instruction, Archibald Alexander had already memorized the Westminster Shorter Catechism by the age of seven. This was a great blessing to him later in life as he began to teach theology to others and to grow in his own understanding. The training he received bore much fruit later in life, and when the Lord opened his eyes to the saving work of Christ, the theology he had already absorbed provided the structure for his future ministry. Charles Hodge, one of his students and later one of his colleagues at Princeton Seminary, remarked particularly on the effect of this early knowledge of the Westminster Standards in training his mind to teach theology in a balanced and biblical way.

But despite his early training and Christian upbringing, Alexander did not come to an experiential saving knowledge of Jesus Christ until his teenage years. At the age of ten, Archibald Alexander began formal study under William Graham. From all reports, Graham was an excellent tutor, and he held the same Presbyterian convictions as did Alexander’s parents.

By the age of seventeen, Archibald Alexander became a tutor himself, leaving his father’s house to tutor in the home of General John Posey. It was here, through the kind influence of a godly older lady, that Alexander began to think more deeply about the reality of his faith. According to Alexander’s later memory, it was in 1788 that the Lord opened his eyes to the truths of Jesus Christ, giving him a saving knowledge of faith. This was followed quickly in 1789 by a public profession of his faith to the church.

As so often happens with many new Christians, Alexander’s conversion led him to become a voracious reader of spiritual books, many of those from the time of the English Puritans and from the sermons and writings of the Great Awakening in America. He drank deeply from these wells of wisdom, and they shed new light on the things that he was taught as a younger man.

In 1791, he attended the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church. It was there that he met the grandmother of his future colleague, Charles Hodge. In that same year, he was licensed to the gospel ministry and began itinerant preaching under the oversight of the synod of Virginia.

He was ordained to pastor several churches in Virginia in 1794 and, in 1796, became the President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia while still maintaining an active role as a preacher and a pastor.

In 1801, he resigned from that role, partly from exhaustion, and began a journey to New England, which he had long wanted to visit. On the way, while staying with a well-respected minister, he met his wife, Janetta. Though his travels to New England were profitable, he returned to Hampden-Sydney College in 1802 and, in 1806, at the age of thirty-four, was called to be the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

While his labors as a pastor, evangelist, and college leader were fruitful, Alexander is best known for his work at Princeton Seminary. As a pastor in Philadelphia, he had for some years encouraged the establishment of a Presbyterian seminary in the United States. When the General Assembly finally voted to establish a seminary in Princeton, it was not surprising that they appointed Archibald Alexander to be its first professor and principal in 1812.

Just as Archibald Alexander was born in troubling times, so the seminary was established in years of difficulty. The United States was once again at war with Great Britain. Yet despite this, Archibald Alexander ministered with remarkable faithfulness and zeal for the next forty years. A generation of pastors and missionaries were trained under Alexander’s ministry. Even with the addition of Samuel Miller, Charles Hodge, and others to the seminary’s faculty, Alexander was the clear leader. He was a gifted teacher and the author of many books and articles, including the greatest of his works, Thoughts on Religious Experience. But he was best known as a man of deep piety and modesty. Godliness adorned all his labors.

This is perhaps captured best by his friend and colleague, Charles Hodge. He reflected on Archibald Alexander’s influence, writing:

The man who can bring us into communion with God, who can reveal to us the glory or the love of Christ, who can unseal the fountains of penitence, or kindle the expiring embers of faith and hope—the man whom God uses to do us such services as these, is one “for whom some would even dare to die.”

This was the legacy of Alexander’s leadership at the seminary and of his teaching ministry.

Archibald Alexander died on October 22, 1851. He preached his last sermon just over a month before. While on his sickbed, he stated, “My views of theological truth are what they have always been.” His early convictions remained, and he entered the presence of his faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, having served Him well.

When was the last time you were studying a difficult Bible passage and it suddenly became clear?

These moments of discovery are among the greatest joys of the Christian life. As we come to a fuller understanding of who God is, what once brought confusion now drives us to deeper worship. You cannot find this satisfaction anywhere but in the Scriptures.

Yet this joy is often hard-won.

To help you in this pursuit, we’ll send you two copies of Dr. R.C. Sproul’s book Hard Sayings—one for you and another to help guide a friend through challenging passages in Scripture. Request both copies when you support Ligonier Ministries with a donation this month.

Even the Apostle Peter acknowledges that some portions of Scripture are “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). Every Christian eventually encounters passages that stop us in our tracks.

While some of the Bible’s teachings are difficult for us to grasp, others seem hard to accept. The biblical truth of God’s sovereignty over all things—even over sin and suffering—initially jars our emotions. Passages about hell and the Lord’s holy justice challenge our assumptions about who God is—and who we are.

Yet these verses are not stumbling blocks to hinder our walk with Christ. By God’s grace, they become stepping stones toward our greater spiritual growth.

Dr. R.C. Sproul wrote, “If there is a shortcut to accelerating your understanding of Scripture, it is to focus your attention on the hard sayings.” This passion to help people study God’s Word for themselves shaped R.C.’s decades of teaching, and it still shapes Ligonier Ministries today.

Through our global Bible-teaching outreach, Ligonier helps Christians navigate Scripture to come to a fuller view of God and His glory. This ministry depends on the generosity of friends such as you to equip God’s people to know and love His Word.

Our founder loved inviting people on the journey of knowing God and delving into His Word. R.C. drew Christians into the drama of Scripture with its captivating accounts of the Lord’s work in the world. When he came to a difficult text, Dr. Sproul encouraged his students to welcome this opportunity to deepen their reliance upon the Lord as they grapple for the truth.

This lifelong quest to know God is the reason Ligonier exists. In the Lord’s providence, we provide trusted theological teaching to help Christians everywhere know the Bible, love the Lord, and serve Him faithfully throughout the world.

• This August, I’ll be in Africa helping to distribute study Bibles to more than 35,000 pastors across the continent. By September, one in every 25 pastors on earth will have received the Reformation Study Bible. Your support is crucial in our endeavors to strengthen hundreds of thousands more pulpits.

• In Sunday schools back at home, our children’s Bible curriculum is laying a foundation for biblical literacy to serve the next generation. Your generosity undergirds efforts to translate Growing in God’s Word into Spanish and Chinese to assist the global church.

• This month, students are returning to Reformation Bible College in Central Florida to receive theological discipleship and formation for their callings. Your financial backing helps form clear-thinking Christians who rightly handle God’s Word in all of life.

• And as you enable the translation of Ligonier’s discipleship resources into the world’s most-spoken languages, we’re spreading the joy of the Lord where sound theology is hardest to obtain.

This month alone, Ligonier Ministries will reach more than 10 million people worldwide with trusted Bible teaching. But with more than 8 billion souls on the planet, we’re only beginning the work of discipleship among the nations.

Your support is crucial for inviting more people on the ultimate journey to know God. None of us grows in grace by accident. Yet unparalleled blessedness awaits God’s people as they meditate day and night on His Word (Ps. 1:2). Together, we’re helping Christians reach the assurance and fulfillment that comes from having minds renewed in the knowledge of the Lord.

To further your Christian growth this month, we want to send you Dr. Sproul’s book Hard Sayings. Drawn from a lifetime of careful study, these chapters guide Christians toward clarity on some of the Bible’s most perplexing passages. Receive this book with your donation of any amount, and we’ll send you a second copy. You can share it with a friend or study together with a group, as iron sharpens iron (Prov. 27:17).

Knowing God’s Word is the pursuit of a lifetime. By His grace, let’s help more Christians explore the Bible’s depths, mine the riches in every passage, and behold the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for standing with Ligonier Ministries as we proclaim, teach, and defend the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible.

While walking near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encountered two fishermen—Simon Peter and his brother Andrew (Matt. 4:18). We know little about the two brothers prior to Jesus’ call to follow Him. Simon was married (Matt. 8:14–15; 1 Cor. 9:5) and worked on the sea. Previously, Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist (John 1:35–41) but had come to believe that Jesus was the long-anticipated Messiah of Israel. Both men were among the first followers of Jesus. In John 1:42, John recounts that Jesus gave to Simon the name for which he is best known to us—Peter, which means “rock.” Along with John and James, Peter was counted among the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples.

According to the gospel accounts, Peter participates in a number of significant events associated with Jesus’ messianic mission. When Jesus ensured a miraculous catch of fish for the Galilean fishermen, Peter, along with James and John, “left everything” to follow Jesus (Luke 5:1–11). Peter was present for the healing of the daughter of Jairus—Jairus was the ruler of a synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 5:37–43). In what is the turning point in Jesus’ messianic ministry, Jesus asked the critical question of His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Peter was the first of the Twelve to make the confession that Jesus was the Messiah: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Upon his confession, Jesus gave to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, which came with the spiritual authority to bind and loose in heaven and upon the earth (Matt. 16:19).

But Peter was also prone to speak impulsively. During our Lord’s transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–8), Peter did not fully understand the significance of what was happening. Seeing the dramatic change in the appearance of our Lord, we read that “Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.’” When a voice from heaven announced, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him,” Peter and the others, James and John, were terrified and needed to be reassured by Jesus.

After Jesus predicted His coming death and resurrection (Matt. 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:17–19; Matt. 26:1–2), it was Peter who sought to change our Lord’s mind, only to be sternly rebuked by Jesus. Jesus turned to Peter and said: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matt. 16:23). After our Lord’s final Passover, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, who directed a mob to Jesus seeking His arrest, it was Peter who drew his sword in Jesus’ defense, removing the ear of a man named Malchus (John 18:10). And it was Peter who was adamant that he would never deny Jesus, only to lose his nerve and do so three times after Jesus predicted that this would happen (Mark 14:29–31). Therefore, it was an act of grace and kindness that Jesus made one of His first post-resurrection appearances to Peter, assuring him of forgiveness and restoration (Luke 24:33–34; John 21:15–25).

At Pentecost, we learn that Peter was filled with the Spirit and transformed into a bold preacher of the gospel—starting with his famous Pentecost sermon, as recounted in Acts 2:14–21. Some three thousand people were converted that day (Acts 2:41). Peter continued preaching in Jerusalem, with many people healed and demons cast out as a manifestation of the advancing kingdom of God (Acts 3–4).

As the gospel spread throughout Judea, we later read of Peter’s role in the newly established church, where he stressed that gentiles were being saved in the same manner as believing Jews (Acts 15:7–11)—although he again wilted under pressure, this time from the Judaizers. Peter found himself confronted to his face and publicly by Paul in Antioch (Gal. 2:11–16). Peter was restored and continued his ministry.

Peter was the author of two New Testament epistles (1 and 2 Peter), both of which address the themes of suffering and persecution. Christian tradition holds that his subsequent ministry was later centered in Rome, where he was likely put to death in AD 64 during the Neronian persecution. The same tradition also holds that Peter insisted upon being crucified upside down, since he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

The Bible offers numerous instructions on how parents should raise their children, guiding them not only to live moral and upright lives but also to understand and embrace their identity within the home, church, and state. But godly parenting is also a witness to the watching world and is a distinguishing characteristic between those who belong to God and those who do not.

The Covenantal Context

One of the key distinctives of godly parenting is that its foundation is the bound relationship God has with His people, known in Scripture as covenant. The covenantal context emphasizes that raising children is not just about instilling good behavior, but about nurturing them in the fear and knowledge of the Lord so they can grow into their role as participants in God’s ongoing story of redemption. In the Bible, a covenant is more than just a contract; it’s a bound relationship between God and His people with both promises and obligations.

When parents realize that they are raising covenant children—children who are part of God’s covenant community—they understand that their parenting has a purpose beyond mere survival or success in this world. They are raising children who are meant to live in relationship with God, embracing the promises He has made to His people, and fulfilling their calling as children of the covenant.

Godly Parenting

“Godly” parenting assumes that the parents are believing, thinking, and living in such a way that reflects God’s will for them as revealed in His Word. They are marked by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) and are fulfilling their role as parents according to the precepts and commands of Scripture. Deuteronomy 6:4–7 states:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

The command to infuse God’s Word into the lives of children requires continual effort. It is an active, daily responsibility. Parents are stewards of the children God has entrusted to them, which means more than just caring for their physical needs; it means nurturing their spiritual lives, guiding them to understand and embrace the truth of Scripture, and helping them to live out the implications of being part of God’s covenant people, the church.

Discipline and Instruction

Godly parenting also involves discipline and instruction. The Apostle Paul writes, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Both the negative (discipline) and the positive (instruction) are in view here. Disciplining and teaching children involve more than just passing on biblical knowledge or enforcing rules. It means shaping their character and helping them to delight in the Word of God.

Proverbs 22:6 says,

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Godly parents are to train their children in the paths of righteousness, helping them to understand the consequences of sin and pointing them to the grace and forgiveness found in Christ.

Parenting as Witness

When parents raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, with godly discipline and instruction, it demonstrates their values, priorities, and purpose—living to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 1)—which stands in contrast to the values, priorities, and purpose of the unbelieving world. Moreover, when godly parents are fulfilling their calling as parents according to Scripture, it bears witness to the world about the truth, grace, love, and wisdom of God. These divine attributes find tangible application in a covenant family living for Him, and thus, bear witness to Him. Godly parenting also bears witness to the Lordship of Christ. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He is also Lord of the home.

The goal of godly parenting is not just to raise well-behaved children, but to raise children who know, love, and serve the Lord. When Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), this didn’t only mean formal preaching or teaching; it also meant in lives lived in conformity to Scripture. Parenting, though a basic reality for most people, becomes a witness when carried out for God’s glory and according to God’s truth.

Godly parenting requires reliance upon God’s grace, wisdom, and strength. It is about walking with God and with your children, trusting that He who began a good work in them will carry it on to completion at the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). As parents embrace their role in God’s covenant community, they can be confident in the glorious promises of God for their children, for they are to 

tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done . . .
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children. (Ps. 78:4, 6)

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on September 27, 2024.

It’s not just you; parenting is crazy. For some it comes naturally, like a realized dream—a grace to taste and see the good. For others it feels like uncharted territory, requiring a faith that hopes for things not yet seen. No matter how we feel, we can remember that parenthood is a calling. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, and this calling is not dependent on our feelings of readiness, competencies, or even on our preparedness.

When we recognize our inadequacy as an example, provider, or loving caregiver, let us turn to the Lord who is not simply a metaphor of the perfect Father; it is who He is. The calling of parenthood is not a human institution that we project onto God; it is a divine reality that God has graciously extended to us. Every tender instinct we have as parents—to teach, to heal, to lead with conviction, to run toward our child in compassion—reflects the One from whom all fatherhood is named. When we are caught up in a wave of uncertainty or exhaustion, we can turn time and again to the Lord whose “steadfast love . . . never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam. 3:22–23). With this promise, here are three things to remember when parenting feels crazy.

1. We are shaped by our experiences.

Parenthood is often surprising in the way it draws out our past experiences while we’re in the middle of creating new ones. Sharing and interpreting these experiences is important. For many of us, it is vital that we address our sorrows in order to truly embrace new joys. Moses reminds the Israelites as they stand on the edge of the promised land:

Take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children. (Deut. 4:9)

Their losses and God’s manifold provisions were not meant to be left behind them but to interpret their experiences in the wilderness and to inform their parenting for this generation and the next.

In this way, we should be diligent to use practical wisdom without fearing that history is doomed to repeat itself. When parenting feels crazy, we need to consider how our experiences have shaped our understanding of ourselves and how we see God because He uses parenthood to shape and sanctify us for our good and His glory.

2. We can pray imperfectly.

As the Lord equips us, He does not equip us to be perfect in the way we often hope—with greater speed, accuracy, confidence, and success. Parenthood offers many opportunities to be humbled in how little we have to offer and how little we can affect. Try as we might, we cannot be all things to our children. It is important that we remember our higher calling: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Our children’s greatest need is not for us to be the answer or solution, but to see our dependence on the Lord and the blessing that they have to call on Him as well.

When parenting feels crazy, we can pray imperfectly: quickly and often, through the long watches of the night, and in all seasons. Our calls to prayer are a lifeline and a witness. Do we believe the Lord watches over us while we sleep? We can pray with our children when they wake with nightmares and illnesses. Do we believe the Lord provides our daily needs? We can give thanks for our food and find practical joy in counting our blessings together. Do we believe the Lord provides wisdom? We can ask trusted friends for prayer, sharing our burdens while also receiving practical suggestions.

3. It’s never too late to start doing the right thing.

The hardest part of any commitment is faithfulness in the small, unseen, and unpraised things. We all often want to move on to greater things, but if we are not faithful in the mundane, we will not fulfill our calling. Jesus reminds us:

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock . . . And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (Matt. 7:24, 26)

Recognizing this, we then understand the importance of how we respond to mistakes. Parenting is filled with mistakes—ours and those of our children. When we build carelessly or ignore the cracks, the structure will inevitably suffer. When parenting feels crazy, we can remember that it’s never too late to start doing the right thing because we are building for eternity and the Rock will withstand every storm. Any effort to build upon the Rock is for the good of our children and God’s glory.

Conclusion

Contrary to the popular motivational statement, we do not all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. People and situations are complicated. We don’t all have the same resources, time, needs, or commitments. These things are sovereignly administered and not necessarily indicative of our inner life, outward behavior, or favor with God. Our times, and the times of our children, are in His hands.

With that in mind, we should remember that faithfulness is not measured by comparison to others or by the absence of problems, but by obedience to Jesus Christ and His Word. Building on the Rock requires honesty and consistency, but it is because of the hope that is within us that we remain steady in the face of the hard things of parenting. The Proverbs remind us, “Discipline your son, for there is hope” (Prov. 19:18). We see the complexities of things so much more clearly in the rearview, yet the Lord calls us to trust Him in the steps along our way. He knows the way; He goes before us; He knows we are broken vessels. When parenting feels crazy, we can remember we are not only raising children but also proclaiming hope.

To many, the idea of gentleness conveys a wimpy form of Christianity. Yet gentleness, the penultimate quality of the listed fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, needs consideration. We learn from Scripture that it is essential to the life of the Christian, the leadership of the church, and the love of Christ.

A Fruit Essential to the Life of the Christian

The word translated gentleness in Galatians 5:22–23 means “meekness, mildness of disposition, tenderness in spirit.” The word James uses to describe the gentleness of heavenly wisdom means “reasonable, equitable, patiently hearing and deciding on a matter, not overly strict” (James 3:17). These qualities must be present in the life of the believer. Their absence indicates the presence of an evil substitute.

Have you considered what opposes gentleness? According to Scripture, unrighteous anger is its antithesis. The fruit of the Spirit is contrasted with the deeds of the flesh. These are “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions” (Gal. 5:20). Additionally, Proverbs 15:1 says,

A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger. (NASB)

Where gentleness is absent, anger is found in such places as a Christian home where a man yells at his family, in churches where members divide the body, and on social media where people feverishly share biting comments. Christians must learn to bridle their emotions by speaking the truth in love, demonstrating that gentleness is connected to the last fruit of the Spirit: self-control.

A Fruit Essential to the Leadership of the Church

In the list of qualities for elders recorded in 1 Timothy 3, Paul emphasizes the man’s character over the gifts he possesses or the doctrine he knows. He describes a Christian leader as “not violent but gentle” (1 Tim. 3:3). Gentleness is contrasted with a hot-tempered and hurtful demeanor. Elders are to shepherd the flock of God by caring for them gently. As elders are often challenged and criticized, they must be men who meet these attacks with this grace. Otherwise, they will respond with fleshly anger, further damaging the people of God rather than protecting and loving them.

As I write this article, I am mourning the loss of my last living seminary professor, Dr. Wayne Spear. He served as the professor of systematic theology for thirty-five years at the seminary where I teach. Dr. Spear was the epitome of a “gentleman theologian.” He taught the doctrines of the faith with dignity and warmth toward students. His character was like that of Ligonier’s founder, Dr. R.C. Sproul. Doctrine, for them, was not used for arguing or creating dissension, but for deepening the church’s love for God and for one another. How this fruit is needed more than ever in Reformed churches today.

A Fruit Essential to the Love of Christ

When we look at the life, heart, and teaching of Jesus, we see His gentle spirit and ways. In teaching, He called to people, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29). In dealing with the lost, He did so meekly. He touched the leper, spoke graciously to the woman at the well, and allowed a woman to wash His feet with her hair. In heading to the cross, He entered Jerusalem with these prophetic words fulfilled in Him:

Say to the daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” (Matt. 21:5)

The word “humble” in Matthew 21:5 is the same word translated as “gentle” in Matthew 11:29. The focal point of Christ’s love—His substitutionary death on the cross—shows that gentleness is essential.

We should know this as we look at the cross. At any moment, God could justly have brought judgment upon us for our sins. God is just and His righteous anger is real. Every wrong must be made right. Yet the Lord held back His wrath, patiently waiting to satisfy justice, which He did by crucifying His Son. Think again of Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” Christ is the gentle answer of heaven. As Proverbs 15:4 says,

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

The gospel is to be lived and proclaimed with a gentle spirit and lovingkindness toward all, as we pray that the Spirit will draw sinners to the Savior.

Within a few weeks of being called as the children’s ministry director to my current church, an elder and his wife requested a meeting. They began with this loaded question: “Are you here to minister to all the children in our church, or just most of them?” After giving the right answer (all of them, of course!), they proceeded to ask me how I planned to care for the five children and their families touched by disability who were members of our church. These challenging questions convicted my heart and rocked my ministry world, setting the stage for an eventual thriving disability ministry in our church.

The question of how to care for individuals and families touched by disabilities in the church is first answered by recognizing a responsibility to care for all members of the church. Disability ministry is not optional, even if there may not be many people with disabilities in your church. It is not a ministry that we focus on after the “more important” ministries to children, youth, etc. Virtually every local church has someone in their midst impacted by disability, whether clearly visible or more invisible. And there are many more people in the community who long to be embraced by the church as well.

In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul describes the church as one body of Christ made up of many members. After describing how all members are both different and necessary, he writes: “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable . . . that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:22, 25). Applying these truths to people with disabilities, we are called not only to care well for them but also to recognize that they are indispensable to the body of Christ.

The church is not only described in Scripture as the body of Christ but also as the family of God. So, while we are called to care for people with disabilities as a part of the body, we must do so from a family heart. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we share a family bond and a love for one another in Christ. With these two pictures of the church in our minds, here are five practical implications for how we care for individuals and families touched by disability:

Inclusion

As a church family, we should want all people to be included. Various disabilities make it challenging to become involved and be a functioning part of the body. We must look at each ministry area of the church, from worship to discipleship to missions, etc., and ask how we can ensure inclusion for all our members. We must do everything possible to enable people with disabilities not just to be included, but to fully belong (Eph. 2:19).

Accessibility

One of the more obvious ways we care for people with disabilities is by making our buildings accessible. How can all people worship together and be discipled together if we can’t get together? Making all our facilities accessible is always a priority. But we must also strive to make all our ministry programming accessible to everyone as well. How do we care for the hearing and visually impaired, those who need quieter spaces, as well as the cognitively impaired? Do certain individuals need a buddy to access Sunday School, Bible studies, and other ministry events? As a church family, we are to seek to give all members full access to family life.

Sharing of Gifts

All members of God’s family have been given spiritual gifts for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7). This includes all Christians with disabilities too. So, while we are to serve and care for people with disabilities, we are also to disciple and equip them to use their gifts to glorify God and serve other people. The church family is incomplete without the gifts that people with disabilities have to offer.

Real Relationships

The world tends to dehumanize people with disabilities. Even Christians can sometimes only see the disability and not the person. When we embrace one another as family, we seek real relationships with real people. We must go beyond “taking care” of people with disabilities and really care about them. Know their story. Know them. Love them.

Respite for Caregivers

A final way that the church can care for individuals touched by disability is to care for their caregivers. Offering parents a night out or a few hours of rest from the relentlessness of caregiving is essential to long-term care. It is typically a simple task for most people to find respite for themselves from the cares of this world. Families touched by disabilities need help from their church family to find rest and rejuvenation for their bodies and souls.

Conclusion

In our world often characterized by isolation, division, and conflict, Christians can also easily become disconnected from one another. But, as the church, we are to live out our dual reality: we are the body of Christ connected to one another, and we are the family of God called to love and care for each other. The call to disability ministry is the call to care for all God’s people. ¹

We’re sharing a bonus episode today on Renewing Your Mind, featuring a conversation that Ben Sasse recently hosted with Sinclair Ferguson and W. Robert Godfrey.

Listen now as they discuss Christian worship, the church’s influence on the culture, and our calling to serve Christ amid suffering and weakness.

Long before he was known to America as the U.S. senator from Nebraska, Ben Sasse has been an advocate for Reformed theology and a longtime friend of Ligonier Ministries.

Ben came to know R.C. Sproul through his work with Michael Horton and James Boice. For several years, he served as the executive director for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, helping to organize the meeting that produced the Cambridge Declaration. Ben later went on to work closely with W. Robert Godfrey at Westminster Seminary California for a time.

Many of us may know that Ben has stage-4 pancreatic cancer, and he seeks to face this terminal diagnosis with steadfast faith in Christ. At the close of a recent 60 Minutes interview, when asked if he thinks God has a plan for his cancer, Ben quoted a familiar statement by Dr. Sproul to affirm, “There are no maverick molecules in the universe.”

Join us in praying for Ben Sasse and his family as Ben seeks, by God’s grace, to finish his race well.

When we think of the angel Gabriel, we probably think of his appearances to Zechariah and Mary in the opening chapter of Luke’s gospel, especially around the Christmas season. Yet Gabriel’s story begins long before the New Testament. In the Old Testament, angels are members of God’s heavenly court (Job 1:6; Ps. 103:20); they praise Him continually (Ps. 148:2); they provide for and protect God’s people on His behalf (Ex. 23:20); and, perhaps most commonly, they bring important messages from God to His people. The angel Gabriel is one of only two holy angels mentioned by name in Scripture (the other is Michael), and he first appears not in Luke’s gospel but in the book of Daniel to foretell the coming of the Messiah and God’s kingdom. We should remember Gabriel not primarily because he appeared to Zechariah and Mary, but rather because he first appeared to Daniel and afterward to Zechariah and Mary.

In the Old Testament, Gabriel appears in one of Daniel’s prophetic visions to explain to him what is going to happen. Israel during the time of Daniel was in the midst of exile. The Babylonian empire had conquered the final portion of Judah and had hauled the remaining Israelites to exile in Babylon. Jerusalem lay in ruins, and no king was on the throne, while Daniel served the royal court at the pleasure of the Babylonian and later the Persian kings. After observing the startling vision of a one-horned goat defeating a two-horned ram, Daniel sees Gabriel (whose name means “mighty man of God”) standing before him, and Gabriel proceeds to explain to Daniel that the ram and goat signify “the time of the end” when the Greeks will defeat the Medes and Persians (Dan. 8:19–22). After the vision, Daniel prays for the restoration of God’s people, and Gabriel shows up again to tell him what comes next. Gabriel announces that Jerusalem will be rebuilt, the Anointed One, the Messiah, will come, and God’s kingdom will be established forever (Dan. 9:24–27).

Because of his prominence in Daniel’s prophetic ministry, Gabriel played an important role in non-biblical Jewish literature during the period between the Old and New Testaments. For example, in 1 Enoch (written 300–200 BC), Gabriel appears notably as part of God’s heavenly council alongside the angels Michael, Raphael, and Uriel. Gabriel and the others are responsible for observing human matters and reporting them to God (1 Enoch 9, 20, 40), and he is even tasked with executing God’s judgment on wickedness (1 Enoch 10). While 1 Enoch is not canonical Scripture, it does reveal that Jews during the time of Jesus held Gabriel in high esteem, viewing him as one of God’s most important messengers. They understood that when Gabriel shows up, an earth-shattering message is about to be announced.

In the New Testament, Gabriel announces the message of all messages in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel. Luke opens his orderly account by describing Gabriel’s visit to the priest Zechariah, who was offering incense in the holy place of the temple in Jerusalem. At first, Gabriel merely announces the message without identifying himself. He tells Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son named John who will prepare the way for the Lord (Luke 1:8–17). Zechariah should have known who the angel was from the message alone, but when he responds in unbelief, Gabriel identifies himself by name. As a trained priest, Zechariah would have immediately known that this was the same Gabriel who appeared to Daniel and that that ancient message was about to unfold. But because of the fogginess of his faith, Gabriel declares that Zechariah will be unable to speak until these things come to pass.

In contrast to Zechariah, when Gabriel appears to the virgin Mary, she believes his message even without Gabriel identifying himself. Gabriel arrives in Nazareth and explains that Mary will conceive and give birth to a son whose name will be Jesus, which means “the Lord saves.” This son, Gabriel explains, will be the Son of the Most High, He will sit on the throne of David, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:26–33). Significantly, this account strongly echoes Gabriel’s encounter with Daniel, where Gabriel announces the same message: the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom (Dan. 8:16–17; 9:21–27). In this way, the angelic messenger who formerly announced to Daniel the coming Anointed One now stands before Mary to declare that He is about to arrive. When Mary asks how this is possible since she has never been with any man, Gabriel tells her that the child will be conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:34–35). Unlike Zechariah, Mary did not need Gabriel to identify himself, for she knew the truth of the ancient prophecy when she heard it. The result for her was not a curse of silence, but rather a joyful song in which she praises her God for His faithfulness to David, a song known as her Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55).

When we meet Gabriel in Scripture, we find more than a random messenger who just happens to have a name. Gabriel’s appearances in Daniel and Luke form a bridge between promise and fulfillment, and this reminds us that the God who speaks is the God who acts. May we all find great comfort in our promise-keeping God.

There are times when the Bible seems to contradict itself about whether we are punished for our parents’ sin—sometimes even in the same book. For instance, the second commandment forbids the worship of God through images because the Lord is “a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Ex. 20:5–6; Deut. 5:9–10). We also read in the book of Numbers that the Lord will “by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Num. 14:18). Yet in Deuteronomy, we read, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deut. 24:16).

Centuries later, Ezekiel warns:

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (Ezek. 18:20)

Similarly, Jeremiah prophesies of a day when “they shall no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’” (Jer. 31:29). So, which is it? Does God punish children for the sins of their fathers? The answer is yes and no. Let’s get the yes out of the way first.

Adam, Federal Headship, and Original Sin

God does punish us for the sins of our first parents (see Rom. 5:12–14; 1 Cor. 15:22). This is because of the covenantal role Adam played as a federal head in the prelapsarian covenant of works. Adam uniquely represented all his posterity, such that when our first parents fell, they incurred punishment not only for themselves but for their descendants—all people who would be born into this world through ordinary generation (see Westminster Shorter Catechism 13–17). The Westminster Confession of Faith explains regarding our first parents and original sin, “They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed; and the same death in sin, and corrupted nature, conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation” (WCF 6.3). The only way, then, that we’re delivered from the sin and misery brought on us by our first parents is by being united by faith to a faithful head—the Lord Jesus Christ. Concerning our federal parentage, then, God deals with us according to our parents’ sins or obedience. In this way, our answer to the question at hand depends on how we define parents in context.

Now that we’ve discussed Adam and his unique role as federal head in the covenant of works, we can consider the question closer to home—your father and my father, which is typically the way the question is framed.

Individual Culpability vs. Corporate Consequences

Unlike Adam, our parents are not in a position of federal headship in a covenant of works wherein their obedience or disobedience determines everything thereafter for their descendants. Therefore, we can safely say that God does not directly punish children for the sins of their parents. Yet at the same time, the consequences of sin often affect future generations, and in this way, there is a sort of indirect punishment. For example, the sins of idolatry and false worship become deeply planted in the religious life of any society or family. This is why, for instance, in the accounts of the various successive kings in Israel, we often read of kings who follow in the ways of their fathers—whether for good or for ill. King Ahaziah, for example, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 22:52). Idolatry and false worship aren’t easily extinguished once they’re inherited from previous generations. It takes intentional, Spirit-wrought reform, like that carried out by Josiah, who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left” and destroyed the high places upon which idols were worshiped (2 Kings 22:2; 23).

There is no guarantee, however, that righteous fathers will beget righteous sons and wicked fathers will beget wicked sons. Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 23:32). Hezekiah, on the other hand, had a wicked father in Ahaz, yet he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done” (2 Kings 16; 18:3). Notice that the author of Kings mentions David as Hezekiah’s father. Hezekiah followed in the godly ways of David rather than the wicked ways of Ahaz.

In these Old Testament examples, we see that idolatry passes easily from one generation to another, and God often punished the Israelites as a result of their idolatry. Although the Lord does not punish people directly for the sins that their fathers commit (the Lord punishes those who follow in the sins of their fathers), their fathers’ sins often reverberate, and the consequences can be felt for generations to come. Also, although a righteous son will not suffer directly for the sin of an unrighteous father, he’s susceptible to following in the path of his wicked father. He will often indirectly suffer the consequences of some of his father’s unrighteous behavior. For example, if a father is given to drunkenness, his son is more likely to experience abuse and follow in his father’s footsteps. Nevertheless, each human bears the punishment for his own wickedness. As Matthew Henry says, “God does not punish the children for the fathers’ sins unless they tread in their fathers’ steps.”¹ Therefore, our answer to the question at hand depends on how we define the word punish in context.

So What?

What does this mean for us? We can draw several applications, but let’s just note a few. First, we must be quick to repent, being especially careful with sins that have so easily entangled our family members in the past. Our sins, if not mortified, will affect our children. Second, we’re reminded of the importance of Christian parents’ properly discipling and praying for their children. Typically, God blesses through familial lines. Third, sin has direct consequences for those who commit it, but it can also have indirect consequences for those around us and future generations. Last, we’re not slaves to the sins of our parents. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6:12–23). God has providentially placed us in our respective families, cultures, and societies, with all the privileges, temptations, and disadvantages that come with that context (see Acts 17:26). The parentage that truly matters is whether we’re under the headship of Adam or Christ (Rom. 5:12–21).²

I’ve always found fellowship to be an interesting word. While it does occur outside of Christian circles—for example, in academia or among fans of The Lord of the Rings—you are sure to hear it often in the church. You might associate the word with fellowship time, that brief part of the church service that tends to involve small talk in rapid-fire succession. Or you may understand fellowship as a close synonym for friendship—just a peculiar, Christian version of it. But what is Christian fellowship, actually?

The language of fellowship is popular in Christian circles because it is biblical language. The Greek word behind it, koinōnia, involves more than small talk or friendship. It refers to a close association with others that involves active participation in something larger than the individuals who share in it. Scripture uses this language to describe something unique about the relationship Christians have with one another. While much more could be said, allow me to highlight three characteristics of Christian fellowship.

1. Christian fellowship is grounded in our union with Christ.

Many people seek to be part of something larger than themselves by joining a club or association, whether that be for advancing a cause, enjoying a hobby, or participating in an activity. But the association Christ has built for His people transcends all these things. The members of this association participate in Christ Himself, the One who has redeemed us and set us apart for Himself. It is the fellowship of Christ (1 Cor. 1:9).

As Christians, we “in one Spirit” were “baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). That body is the body of Christ, the church, and each individual Christian is a member of it (1 Cor. 12:27). One of the practices the Lord gave us, the Lord’s Supper (or Communion), sets visibly before us not only our union with Christ but also our union with one another. It is “a participation (koinōnia) in the blood of Christ” and “in the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 10:16). In partaking of it, “we who are many are one body” (1 Cor. 10:17).

In 1938, after the Gestapo shut down the underground seminary where Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught, he wrote Life Together, a brief but profound meditation on the joy and strength of Christian fellowship at a time when such fellowship was costly and precious. He wrote that we enter into this fellowship “not as demanders but as thankful recipients.”¹ We did not work to be in this fellowship. Rather, God established it and firmly planted in it all who are united to Christ. Therefore, we can give thanks to God for providing us with a fellowship that transcends not only any earthly cause, hobby, or activity, but every barrier and border that would normally be impassible by human efforts (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:11–22). In this fellowship, we are made to be “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” the household of which Christ Jesus Himself is the cornerstone (Eph. 2:19–20).

2. Christian fellowship is anchored in the truth.

At the beginning of 1 John, the Apostle proclaims Christ “so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Then John explains what it means to be part of this fellowship:

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5–7)

In the fellowship of Christ, darkness is cast out, light thrives, and the truth is practiced. Bonhoeffer once again provides powerful insight at this point:

Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ’s sake. . . . Human love has little regard for truth. It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even the truth, must come between it and the beloved person. Human love desires the other person, his company, his answering love, but it does not serve him. On the contrary, it continues to desire even when it seems to be serving. . . . Spiritual love, however, comes from Jesus Christ, it serves him alone.²

Christian love marks Christian fellowship, which is anchored in the truth and serves other believers not to win their favor or affection but first to serve Christ. It “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6). It holds other believers accountable to the truth out of love, not out of flattery:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy. (Prov. 27:6)

This leads to a third characteristic of Christian fellowship.

3. Christian fellowship is a Spirit-wrought means of sanctification.

One of the ways Christian fellowship benefits those who share in it is by serving as an instrument to conform them to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:10–21). Sin likes to hide in the darkness. As Bonhoeffer put it, “Sin demands to have a man by himself.”³ But Christian fellowship, shaped by truth and the grace of the gospel, shines a light that breaks forth in the darkness of the heart. In it, fellow sinners speak the truth in love, bear one another’s burdens, confess sin, extend forgiveness, and help one another walk in the light when sin inevitably arises (Gal. 6:1–3; 1 John 1:7). It is Proverbs 27:17 in action:

Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.

This sanctifying work of Christian fellowship means that the church is a place where believers are made to grow in the Lord and shine forth the good news of the gospel. Ultimately, this fellowship is a gift from Christ to His people, who have the joy of “being built together into a dwelling for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22).

When people hear the word idolatry, they think of different things. Some imagine ancient rituals where worshipers bow down before carved statues. Others think of how fans “idolize” their favorite actors, athletes, or musicians. Still others may use the word as a metaphor for obsession. 

So, what is idolatry? Essentially, idolatry is worshiping anything created instead of the Creator. 

Why is God so concerned with this? Well, it’s simple: God is concerned with idolatry because God is concerned with worship.

Sometimes this concept unsettles modern readers because they may perceive God as a narcissist, unhealthily addicted to His worship. This would be true if God were a created being instead of being the Creator. But as people, God made us to worship Him. This is right. It’s good because God alone deserves worship. But if we flip this around and God does not promote or protect His glory and honor, He is not acting like God. Too often, people think about God like He is a person (part of creation) while at the same time thinking about creation like it’s God (worthy of worship). Incidentally, the promotion of creation and demotion of the Creator are both inappropriate. It’s idolatry.

The Apostle Paul describes idolatry as an exchange. Instead of giving glory to God, it’s exchanged for the glory of images of created things. To do this, the worshiper has “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Rom. 1:25). 

Exchanging the glory of God for idols is like appraising God’s value on a scale. Instead of seeing His glory (His infinite weight, value, and substance), the worshiper determines that He is less valuable than something created (in comparison, something light and empty). This exchange is the height of folly. Imagine a person seeing an elephant and a feather compared on a scale and concluding that the feather weighed more. Clearly, such a person would be out of touch with reality. How could anyone think this? How could we replace God with an idol? Only by exchanging the truth about God for a lie. When we suppress God’s revelation of who He is, we draw erroneous conclusions (Rom. 1:18). 

To protect against idolatry and to promote true worship of God, the Lord instructs us in His Word:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me. (Ex. 20:2–3)

This familiar passage is intentionally placed at the head of the Ten Commandments. We must not allow anyone or anything to take God’s proper place of preeminence.

But what do we find over and over in the Bible? Even in the same book of Exodus, the people who were redeemed from Egypt fashioned a god out of their gold and then worshiped it (Ex. 32). Then, later, King Jeroboam feared he’d lose power, replicated this idolatry, and invented his own system of worship. Exchanging God’s honor, they worshiped the result of their own creation: “Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). These famous examples stand as bright neon lights warning us against idolatry. God hates idolatry because He loves His glory. God loves His glory because it is good.

Many have observed that the first commandment is the foundation for the other nine; to disobey the others is to turn away from the true God to worship an idol. This shows how dangerously varied idolatry can actually be. We may think of it as bowing down to an actual statue, but it can also be desiring something you don’t have that someone else has (see Ex. 20:17).

When we become Christians, we turn away from idols to serve the living God (1 Thess. 1:9). But this is not the end of the fight. We must continue to turn away from idols (1 Cor. 10:14), working to keep ourselves and others from them (1 John 5:21). 

The Apostle Paul provides us with a suitable and challenging example. While walking around Athens, waiting for his ministry partners to join him, he looked at the sites. Instead of being impressed by the architecture, he was provoked by the rampant idolatry (Acts 17:16). Paul was so jealous for God’s glory that he was actually irritated that God was not getting the honor that He deserved. As a result, he went out and shared the gospel with everyone around him.

This love for God’s honor is a suitable safeguard against idolatry. So, think much upon the supreme value of God over all. Dwell upon His unfailing faithfulness, unreserved love, inexhaustible grace, inflexible righteousness, incorruptible goodness, unimpeachable wisdom, and unchanging character. Who is like this? Then think about how, in Jesus Christ, this is the God who knows and loves you. 

We can pray that God would help us and that we’d resolve to give God the honor He deserves and be quite uncomfortable with anything else.¹

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Deborah was a prophetess and judge whom we could call the Joan of Arc of the Old Testament. She was a woman who, in an hour of extreme emergency and crisis, was used of God to rescue her entire nation.

The story of Deborah takes place during the period of the judges. This was a time of transition in Israel’s history. The nation was formed at the foot of Mount Sinai after God had brought the people out of bondage in Egypt, and He formed them into His covenant people and gave them His law. Then they wandered for years in the wilderness before they set about to conquer the promised land. The book of Joshua then records the conquest of the land of Canaan.

After the Israelites came into Canaan, they settled in territories by tribe according to their size. The form of government that they had at that time was not a democracy; it was not a monarchy. It was called amphictyony, with each tribe’s having its own leader. The tribes were organized like extended families, and they were linked together not by any sort of central government but as a kind of loose federation. The only time that there would be any kind of consolidation or unity of the tribes was during a crisis or national emergency.

Leadership over the whole group of tribes was what we call charismatic. This doesn’t mean that the leaders had a lot of charisma, that they were very charming or had great personalities. It also doesn’t mean what some people in the church mean, that they could speak in foreign tongues. Rather, it had to do with how the leaders were selected. The leaders of the nation were chosen by God, not by human ballot or by dynastic succession of kings. Whenever the need arose, God would endow an individual with His Holy Spirit and empower that person to be the leader for the season. During this period, we hear of Samson, whom God raised up and enabled with power from on high to defeat the Philistines. Gideon was a judge, Ehud was a judge, Othniel was a judge, and so on. We have the heroic individuals who were especially gifted. That’s what charismatic means—that they were gifted by God to lead the nation in a time of grave danger.

In the book of Judges, a theme arises again and again. A pattern develops: The people of Israel begin to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord; they begin to get enamored of the local pagan deities and thus depart from obedience to the law that God gave them at Sinai. When they do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, He punishes them by giving them over to some pagan king who tyrannizes them. Then the people repent and cry out to God, begging Him for deliverance. In response to their cries, God raises up a judge, a deliverer. This judge drives out the pagan princes and Israel rejoices, and then the next refrain is this: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” So God again raises up the Philistines and the Midianites and others, and it just goes on and on and on.

As the book opens, this pattern is already established. It has happened two or three times already. By the time we get to the fourth chapter, we read this: “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died” (Judg. 4:1). Ehud had delivered the people of Israel, but as soon as he died, the people went right back to their old ways.

And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. (Judg. 4:2–3)

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites repeatedly faced military opponents who had highly developed armor and military weaponry made of iron. The Philistines, for example, were noted for their ironworks. Here we see that the Canaanites had nine hundred iron chariots, while the Israelites had only rough-hewn wooden carts pulled by horses. They didn’t have the same kind of sophisticated weaponry, and they seemed totally impotent against the military power of Jabin, king of the Canaanites.

“Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came to her for judgment” (Judg. 4:4–5). Earlier in Israel’s history, Moses led all the people in the wilderness and God made him the judge over the whole nation. If people had contractual disputes or domestic problems in the law courts of the day, they had leaders over tens and twenties and fifties and hundreds who would solve these little squabbles (Num. 11). But anything that was really significant and heavy came to Moses, who would hear the case, try the case, and make a decision. Moses was like the chief justice of a supreme court, only without the other justices. He sat by himself on the bench of the supreme court, and he made the final decisions. He was not the king; he was the judge. This is the role to which God now calls Deborah. At the time the story opens, the oppression at the hand of Jabin has been going on for twenty years.

To get a better understanding of what has been happening, it is helpful to turn to Judges 5. There we find the song of Deborah, wherein she poetically and prophetically lays out what has taken place during her reign as judge. Deborah says something fascinating here. She notes that in the preceding twenty years, the main streets and highways of Israel have been deserted. The highways are controlled by Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, and so for all intents and purposes, commerce in Israel has ceased.

Deborah goes on to explain what else has happened: “When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates” (Judg. 5:8a). The Jews have started embracing the pagan deities, and the Jews are so intimidated by the Canaanites that we read the following: “Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?” (Judg. 5:8b). Deborah reports that she looked at forty thousand healthy, strong military men among the Jews, and she didn’t see a single spear or a single shield. None of them would lift a finger to resist the oppression and the terrorism of Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army. Deborah asserts: “My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord” (Judg. 5:9). This is a reference to those who are willing to pitch in, and chief among those is a general named Barak.

Let’s look back at Judges 4:6–7:

She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”

Deborah goes to the chief military leader of the Israelite armies and tells him that she has a prophecy for him: that he is to go into battle against Sisera and that God will deliver him.

Barak responds: “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judges 4:8). This response appears to overturn the idea of chivalry, wherein the knight rides up on his horse and assures his fair maiden that she has nothing to worry about, that he will protect her. Instead, the male champion of Israel refuses to go unless the female leader of the nation goes with him. Deborah therefore replies: “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman” (Judges 4:9a). The mighty man of valor will not have the honor of the victory; it will instead go to a woman because of his cowardice.

The song of Deborah in chapter 5 continues:

Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord. (Judges 5:10–11)

Now the song is becoming a song of celebration, a song of victory.

Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty. From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff; the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels. (Judges 5:12–15b).

Deborah is celebrating the fact that she has told Barak to make the sound of the trumpet, which is the signal to all the tribal leaders to rally to the cause of the nation.

This is their moment of liberation. Barak is going to raise the standard and march against Sisera. But remember, there is no standing army. There is no conscription. There is no central government. There are only tribal militias. The trumpet is blown in times of distress, and you just have to hope that volunteers show up. And the praise and the glory of this is that at the call of Deborah and then Barak, the rallying comes from Issachar, Naphtali, Zebulun, and so on.

Verse 19 tells us that “the kings came, they fought.” These are the kings of the Canaanites, now under the leadership of Jabin. “Then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo” (Judges 5:19). This battle takes place at the Valley of Megiddo, also known as the plain of Jezreel, very close to Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. This area was extremely important in the ancient world. Caravan traffic had to go through that plain to travel north and south through the region. Because of its commercial and strategic importance, many crucial battles took place there. Whoever controlled that pass, whoever controlled that plain, controlled the commerce going between Africa and Asia.

Because of the area’s place in the history of warfare, the book of Revelation uses its name to speak about the last cosmic battle between the forces of evil and the forces of good. The battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16) draws its name from the Hebrew Har-megiddo, the Valley of Megiddo. This is where the battle is to take place between Deborah and her general, Barak, on one side and the kings of Canaan on the other. Yet the kings of Canaan “got no spoils of silver” (Judg. 5:19). They rally and expect to utterly destroy the Israelites and to take the spoils of victory home with them, but instead “from heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera” (Judges 5:20).

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what happened in the battle, but it makes very clear that at that moment of confrontation, God miraculously brings deliverance to the Jews, probably through some kind of storm that flooded the river Kishon. That area features many wadis, or deep ravines, and when a sudden rainstorm comes up, these wadis fill up quickly and become conduits for raging flash floods. In the midst of such floods, chariots of iron don’t have a chance. The Israelites are waiting for their enemy, and God opens up the heavens miraculously and delivers the armies of Jabin into the hands of Barak.

Yet Sisera, the general for the Canaanites, escapes. Barak pursues him, but Sisera flees into some obscure place under treaty arrangements with the Canaanite kings. He comes to the tent of a woman named Jael. There he asks for refuge and hospitality according to the Semitic law. She goes out of her way to give him sanctuary, invites him into the tent, puts him down on the finest skins, covers him up, takes care of him, and gives him milk. She calms him down, she soothes him, and he falls sound asleep because he is exhausted from the battle. As soon as Sisera is asleep, Jael takes a hammer and one of the pegs used to keep the tent up and drives the peg through his head and into the ground. She literally nails his head to the ground. So in the celebration, who gets credit for vanquishing the mighty general Sisera? This woman, Jael. It is Deborah, who is the leader, and this woman Jael, who is not even a soldier, who kills the opposing general. With that, the prophecy of Deborah comes to pass.

Deborah was a woman who believed God, a woman who was faithful to God, and a woman who was willing to go up against nine hundred chariots of iron, up against a standing army, in spite of the fact that when she did what God told her to do and gave the call of alarm among her people, the leading tribes of the nation did not rally around her. The politicians avoided her, but she said, “We’re going, and God will bring us victory.” Under the impetus of the Spirit of God, Deborah led the people to freedom.

The Apostle Paul had many coworkers and close companions. But most likely Paul’s closest companion was Timothy. Timothy is prominent in Paul’s ministry and letters. In six of Paul’s thirteen letters, he links himself with Timothy in the opening greeting section, as if Timothy were coauthor of the letters (2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon). Timothy is mentioned in two other letters (Romans and 1 Corinthians). Two letters are addressed to him. So, of the thirteen Pauline letters, Timothy appears in ten of them.

To begin with, Timothy was an active coworker of Paul. Paul writes to the church in Rome, “Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you” (Rom. 16:21). But Timothy was also active in the churches that Paul started. The church in Corinth was one of the most troubled and corrupt churches that Paul founded. But he had confidence enough in Timothy to send him to sort out their troubles and to bring harmony and righteousness among them. Paul exhorts the Corinthians: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:16–17).

Yet, Timothy’s temperament was different from Paul’s. It appears that Timothy was relatively timid, which is implied both in 1 Corinthians 16:10 and 2 Timothy 1:6–7. Paul writes to the church at Corinth, “When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.” Paul also exhorts Timothy himself, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:6–7).

Timothy’s personal traits and characteristics probably would not rate him very high on the list of most churches’ pulpit committees. In addition to being relatively timid, he was relatively young. Paul instructs him not to let others look down on him because of his youth (1 Tim. 4:12). Timothy was also relatively sick. Paul instructs him to drink a little wine “for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Tim. 5:23). These features would make many churches today uneasy. But we know one final thing about Timothy—namely, that he knew and was rooted in the Word of God, and he was willing to serve God despite his physical struggles. It was precisely this knowledge of God’s Word that made Timothy a valuable minister of Jesus Christ, and Paul had complete confidence in him.

Thus, we see in both Acts and Paul’s letters Timothy’s active involvement in a number of churches, not only in Corinth, but also in Philippi and Thessalonica. Timothy appears to have been Paul’s most trusted helper, a faithful servant of Christ, whose ministry of the Word of God was vital in helping the early churches be established, grow, and avoid falsehood. He served as a pastor to the church in Ephesus for several years. He had the assistance of elders and deacons (1 Tim. 3:1–13). Many of the elders had gifts in teaching and preaching (1 Tim. 5:17–18), which would have been invaluable for the ministry of the church. But Timothy would have been seen as their “pastor.”

Paul also exhorts Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). Paul himself was committed to the Great Commission, teaching and preaching salvation in Jesus Christ. Timothy is called to do the same. But at the heart of his ministry is teaching and preaching the Word to God’s people. Paul writes, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). God’s people need to be built up with the Word of God.

Timothy’s work in Ephesus spanned several years, and he seems to be the one who was primarily responsible for the church’s spiritual well-being. Elders and deacons were invaluable. But Timothy had a unique role that was devoted to teaching and preaching the Word of God. There were elders who primarily oversaw the church and others who also taught (1 Tim. 3:1–7; 5:17–18). Timothy’s ministry was certainly in partnership with theirs. But Timothy had a unique role, one that was centered on the ministry of the Word—reading, teaching, preaching the Scriptures. Paul’s instructions to Timothy, then, are vitally important for understanding the role of pastors today.

Many think of the Apostle Paul as a lone ranger kind of guy. But he valued and needed friends and companions—especially Timothy. Paul wrote to him:

As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. (2 Tim. 1:4–5)

Paul and Timothy had a spiritual bond in Christ. But they also had a strong emotional bond, like a father and his child. Paul writes, “To Timothy, my beloved child” (2 Tim. 1:2). Timothy was loved by Paul. More importantly, he was loved by God, whom he served faithfully.

To a lost world, the cross of Jesus Christ is an offense.

But for Christians, the cross reveals the power and love of God in rescuing sinners from judgment and delivering them into His glorious kingdom.

Join us on January 14–15 at Reformation Bible College for the 2027 Winter Conference: The Cross of Christ. In a time of doctrinal confusion and renewed challenges to Reformed theology, we will explore why only the atoning work of our Lord provides a sure foundation for our worship, unity, and witness.

Registration includes admission to all sessions and access to a bookstore with special conference pricing for select titles. Register today to secure your spot.

Schedule

Thursday, January 14

• The Cross of Christ and the Glory of God by Derek Thomas
• Panel Discussion: Life and Ministry in View of the Cross with Crowe, Thomas, and Tweeddale

Friday, January 15

• The Obedience of Christ by Brandon Crowe
• The Demonstration of Love by Kevin DeYoung
• We Preach Christ Crucified by John Tweeddale
• Questions and Answers with DeYoung, Thomas, and Tweeddale

This conference will also include breakout seminars from the faculty of Reformation Bible College.

• Did the Father Turn His Face Away? by Levi Berntson
• Justified by His Blood by Matthew Dudreck
• The Reformed Pastor? by Keith Mathison
• Christ Our Substitute by Ben Shaw
• Golgotha and the Great Commission by Cody Wilbanks

Loneliness is no respecter of persons. It can strike young and old, married and unmarried, male and female, rich and poor, extrovert and introvert. For some, loneliness may result from life circumstances that isolate and prevent us from cultivating relationships in the ways we’d like. For others, loneliness can be present despite being around other people regularly. In both cases, there can be a deep sense of feeling unseen, unknown, unloved, and disconnected from others, which can fuel anxiety, shame, or depression. As Christians, how do we understand loneliness from a biblical perspective to orient ourselves in this painful providence?

1. Loneliness is a result of the fall.

To understand the experience of loneliness, we must go back to the very beginning. The triune God, who is eternally existent in three persons sharing all-satisfying fellowship with one another, created mankind in His own image. Part of what that means is that we, like God, are relational beings. This is why it was “not good” for Adam to be alone before Eve was created. Before the fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed unbroken fellowship both with God and with one another. But when sin entered the world, so did the experience of loneliness, and we all taste its bitter fruit to one extent or another.

In discussing loneliness, it’s helpful to go back to the beginning because in doing so, we acknowledge that the experience of loneliness is not how things were originally meant to be. Loneliness feels wrong because, in a very real sense, it is wrong. That’s why we groan under the weight of the curse—because it’s not supposed to be this way. Therefore, our loneliness actually testifies to the truth of the goodness of the original creation and the bitterness of sin and the suffering it brought into the world.

2. Loneliness is a form of suffering.

Loneliness is also a form of suffering. While there may be times and ways in which our own personal sin causes or contributes to our experience of loneliness, it’s often the case that our loneliness is not correlated to any specific sin on our part. But until we are glorified in the presence of the Lord, to one degree or another, we struggle to experience the kind of communion with God and with one another that our hearts were created for. And until God eradicates sin entirely from His people and His world, our limitations and failures in our love for one another create a painful space where loneliness is an ever-present threat.

Acknowledging loneliness as a form of suffering helps us because we can then grieve over the painfulness of the experience and bring it before the Lord in lament. In Psalm 142:2, David says, “I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.” He goes on to present a powerful image of the painfulness of loneliness: “Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul” (Ps. 142:4).

3. Suffering loneliness can tempt us to sin.

Suffering the sting of loneliness can also tempt us to sin, seeking to satisfy our longings for connection through means that God has prohibited. In our fallenness, we are skilled in self-justification, finding plausible-seeming reasons why what God calls sin is permissible in our particular circumstances.

David acknowledges the believer’s dual identity as both sufferer and sinner when he says: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins” (Ps. 25:16–18). As we suffer loneliness, we are wise to remain vigilant against temptation and sin.

4. Loneliness drives us to take refuge in God.

As we bring our lament about our loneliness before God, grieving that we can find no refuge in the companionship of friends, we turn to the One of whom it can be said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living” (Ps. 142:5). In our loneliness, we feel disconnected from fellow human beings. But as we bring those laments to God in prayer, by faith we connect to Him, finding divine refuge where human refuge is lacking. Part of the sweetness of turning to God as our refuge lies in the fact that Jesus Christ experienced and understands what it’s like to be lonely. He prophesied before His arrest and crucifixion: “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you . . . will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me” (John 16:32).

Jesus knew He would be abandoned by His followers and friends, but His comfort was in the fact that the Father was with Him. But on the cross, as He bore the divine judgment for sin, He felt the howling abyss of loneliness in His human nature as He experienced the presence of God’s wrath and the absence of His divine favor and fellowship. And because He was forsaken in this way on our behalf, we can confidently say with the Apostle Paul that even though “all deserted me . . . the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (2 Tim. 4:16–17).

5. Loneliness is temporary.

Because Jesus has satisfied the wrath of God against sin for all who place their faith in Him, and because one day God will bring about a new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells, we can live in confident hope that ultimately, our loneliness is temporary. David ends Psalm 142 by saying, “The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me” (Ps. 142:7).

This is the ultimate hope for every Christian who is lonely in this life. One day, we will be surrounded by the righteous in never-ending, joyous fellowship. We will be perfectly righteous, others will be perfectly righteous, and no one will ever feel overlooked, unloved, unknown, or disconnected. And in this redeemed and restored world of righteousness, loneliness will be one of the former things that has passed away—forever.

Is your church small group, homeschool co-op, or Sunday school class looking for a trusted way to study God’s Word together?

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Ligonier Connect makes it easy to organize your group so you can focus on growing together in God’s truth.

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With Ligonier Connect, your group can choose from more than 130 interactive courses in biblical studies, theology, Christian living, worldview, and church history. Set a custom schedule, track your group’s progress, and manage your community—all in one place.

Begin studying together today with courses like these:

Theology for All I: God

What difference does theology make in the Christian life? In this course, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson explains why knowing God is vital for every believer—and that theology shapes how we think, worship, and live before the One who saved us.

When Worlds Collide

Without a biblical understanding of the nature of God, man, and the world, everything seems to be spinning out of control. In this course, Dr. R.C. Sproul explains God’s sovereign and righteous purposes over every aspect of life—even times of suffering.

The Lord’s Day

When few people see Sunday as sacred, it’s time to ask if we’ve lost something vital along the way. In this course, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey surveys the Bible and church history to discover God’s purpose for the Lord’s Day.

Everything in Christ

Is Jesus really enough? Sometimes Christians can be tempted to chase spiritual experiences or keep religious rules rather than rest their faith in Christ alone. In this course, Rev. Joel Kim explores Colossians, showing how this book lifts our eyes to the preeminence of Christ.

The Necessity of Reforming the Church

In this course, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey gathers insights from John Calvin to ask penetrating questions for Christians and congregations today. Far from being over, the work of reforming the church is needed even now.

Remember to use coupon code GROUP26 at checkout to save 30% on your first three months with an individual or community subscription to Ligonier Connect. This offer ends Saturday, July 18.

There is something about Mary Slessor that has turned her into a legend. By the time she died, she was as well-known as one of her role models, David Livingstone. Today, her name is still highly regarded both in her native Scotland (her image appeared on a 1997 Clydesdale Bank £10 note) and on her mission field of Nigeria, where she is often remembered as Obongawan Okoyong (Queen of Okoyong). Statues have been erected in her honor and schools and churches named after her.

And yet, as much as her commissioning mission board appreciated her achievements, they were baffled by her insistence to venture into the forests where natural dangers, protective tribes, and an oppressive climate had frightened most European missionaries. To make things worse, she discarded many of the typical Western precautions. In her effort to become one with the natives, she walked barefoot, drank unboiled water, and shunned both the protection of mosquito nets and sun hats. To some foreigners, she looked “mad and dangerous.”¹

But, while she fully understood that God’s timetable differs from ours (“Christ never was in a hurry,”² she famously said), Slessor had little patience with the missionary board’s hesitations. It was the challenge of bringing the gospel to an unreached population that had moved her to approach the mission board in the first place, and she was not about to sit with other missionaries in the relative comfort of a coastal town.

The Making of a Missionary

Despite her small frame and timid personality (she was famously afraid of crossing a road alone or standing in a field if there was a cow), Mary Slessor was used to challenges. Born on December 2, 1848, in Gilcomston, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, she was only ten when her father’s alcoholism and consequent unemployment forced her to work as a weaver in the textile mills of Dundee to support her family. And yet, after her twelve-hour work schedule, she found time to improve her slim education and, later, to serve as a missionary teacher in the local United Presbyterian Church.

In 1873, captivated by the flurry of reports following the death of David Livingstone, she applied to her denomination’s foreign mission board. Three years later, with only minimal training, she was off to Duke Town, Calabar, near the southeastern coast of present-day Nigeria.

Following the board’s advice, she spent time with the local women to learn their language, Efik. But she was surprised that none of them had yet joined the church. “Something more must be done for the women here if we are to raise the men,”³ she said. Throughout her life, teaching the women and improving their oppressed condition remained one of her main commitments.

Once she had mastered the language, she asked the board’s permission to move three miles away from the coast where most foreigners lived. In 1885, when her mother and sister, her last surviving family members, died, she considered her ties with her homeland irrevocably severed: “Heaven is now nearer to me than Britain, and no one will be anxious about me if I go up-country.”⁴ And up-country she went, eventually settling in the district of Okoyong.

She came close to marriage in 1891, when Charles Watt Morrison, a Scottish missionary teacher in Duke Town who was eighteen years her junior, proposed to her while she was on sick leave. Asking for the board’s approval, Slessor and Morrison specified that he would join her in Okoyong, and not the other way around. She left the matter to the Lord: “If it be for His glory and the advantage of His cause there to let another join in it I will be grateful. If not, I will still try to be grateful, as He knows best.”⁵ When the mission board refused to allow Morrison to move, the engagement was off.

Slessor’s family became the twins she adopted in order to save them from death, as some African tribes believed that twins were the result of a coupling with evil spirits. Slessor worked hard to prevent the murders of these children and their mothers, until the local chief agreed to declare this custom unlawful.

Influence and Legacy

Slessor exercised an even greater influence on the local laws and customs starting in 1892, when the British government, impressed with her interaction with the locals, appointed her vice-consul of the region, presiding over the native court. She was the first woman to hold such a position. In 1905, she became vice president of the Ikot Obong native court.

To some Western observers, her judgments seemed unconventional. “She was an expert at settling quarrels,” Mina Amess, who lived with Slessor for some time and carried on some of her work, remembered during an interview. “Once she told two warring chiefs, ‘I will prick your hand and his, and you can suck each other’s blood.’ ”⁶ Her greater emphasis, however, was on the gospel she conveyed to everyone she met, resting on God’s power to transform hearts.

Eventually, after years of hard work and exposure to the elements, a painful and crippling form of rheumatoid arthritis forced her to take long periods of rest. Still, she kept on her post as long as she could. She died of fever and dysentery on January 13, 1915, at sixty-two years of age.

But her energy and vision continued with some of the missionaries she had trained, and her memorials stand as a reminder for the church not to rely on comfortable arrangements. As James Luke wrote in The Record in 1904, “Where the church has failed, a single woman has stepped into the breach.”⁷ But Slessor would have put it in simpler terms: “After all, it comes back to this: Christ sent me to preach the gospel, and he will look after the results.”^{8 9}

The State of Theology survey from Ligonier Ministries Canada reveals what people really believe about the Christian faith.

Unfortunately, the survey’s key findings show that theological confusion is prevalent—not only outside the church, but also within.

Nearly three quarters of Canadian evangelicals affirm the statement, “Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.”

This means that three out of five evangelicals throughout Canada either don’t understand or don’t believe the Bible’s teaching about original sin and human fallenness. When people fail to see the seriousness of sin, the need for the gospel itself is called into question.

To make matters worse, 60% of Canadian evangelicals agree with the statement, “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”

These sobering statistics point to significant perplexity in the church about sin. Yet Scripture is clear: Since Adam’s fall, every person (except for the incarnate Lord) is born guilty, corrupted in nature, and in need of God’s grace for salvation through Jesus Christ.

Download the Free Study Guide

The church today needs clarity on sin and salvation. One important way of gaining clarity is by gathering people together around the Word of God.

Download the free digital study guide for The State of Theology Canada. Each section includes discussion questions and biblical insight to guide your conversation.

More Resources on Sin and Salvation

R.C. Sproul founded Ligonier to help Christians know who God is and who they are. Here are several resources from Ligonier addressing the Bible’s teaching on sin.

• The Bondage of the Will book by Martin Luther
• “Radical Corruption” article by R.C. Sproul
• “The Sinfulness of Man” video message with Michael Reeves
• “TULIP and Reformed Theology” article by R.C. Sproul
• What Is Reformed Theology? video teaching series with R.C. Sproul

Do you feel disoriented in our rapidly changing world?

Civilizations that once reflected Christian values now embrace secular ideas and challenge biblical truth. How did these changes happen, and how should the church respond?

The Church in a Changing World is a new digital teaching series from Dr. W. Robert Godfrey. This series invites you to:

• Examine the historical influences behind the decline of Christendom
• And consider how the church might respond today with clarity and renewed confidence.

Buy lifetime digital access to this video teaching series today.

The Church in a Changing World is a teaching series to help Christians today be persuasive people for the sake of the gospel. This digital series can be a valuable addition to your Sunday school or homeschool curriculum, small group discussion, or personal study.

8 Messages Reflecting on Recent Church History, Including:

• Defining Christendom
• Freud, Marx, and Modern Thought
• The Erosion of Christian Values
• Becoming a Persuasive People
• And More

Watch the first message for free to begin your study.

Several Teaching Series Formats Available

• Digital video teaching series
• Ligonier Connect course
• Digital study guide

Preorder the DVD Edition and Study Guide

You can be among the first to receive the DVD edition and paperback study guide of The Church in a Changing World once they’re available. Preorder both for yourself or a loved one.

Watch Now as a Ministry Partner

Did you know that Ligonier’s Ministry Partners get complete streaming access to our teaching series library? Start streaming The Church in a Changing World and 230+ other series when you partner with Ligonier today.

Your prayers and monthly donation will help fuel gospel outreach so more Christians worldwide can benefit from this biblical teaching.

Who is your role model for the Christian life?

All of us learn by imitation. From our earliest days, we pattern our lives after the examples set before us. We absorb their habits and characteristics—both the good and the bad, as every parent knows too well.

Ligonier Ministries has created a new book filled with godly examples from redemptive history. Request Heroes of the Christian Faith, featuring teaching from Dr. R.C. Sproul, with your donation this month.

For me, faithful pastors and theologians are my heroes.

The Lord Jesus Christ has given these men to His church as gifts (Eph. 4:11–12). They are on the front lines of the gospel’s advance. He used faithful preachers to lead me away from the “seeker-sensitive” approach to church growth and toward a biblical understanding of how God works through His ordinary means of grace. The church grows as pastors proclaim the whole counsel of God, tearing down strongholds of unbelief and advancing the Great Commission (2 Cor. 10:4–6) by means of the Word, prayer, and the sacraments.

This is why I am as passionate as ever about the purpose of Ligonier Ministries: to spread trusted Bible teaching from gifted theologians for the health of the church. This passion drove Dr. Sproul. He looked up to faithful Christians throughout history who devoted their lives to the ministry of the Word, and he took joy in serving in that long line through the teaching fellowship he established at Ligonier.

The generous support of Ligonier’s donors is vital for strengthening the church. Following our founder’s example, friends such as you help lift up God’s glorious Word so that generations to come, and nations around the world, may love and serve the Lord.

The heart of Christian discipleship is learning to imitate our Savior. One way we do this is by patterning our lives after saints who have gone before us and believers who are ahead of us in their walk with the Lord. The Apostle Paul illustrated this pattern when he urged the Corinthians to “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).

It matters immensely who influences us and whose example we follow.

Today, many people—especially young people—model their lives after the wrong heroes. Influencers, athletes, and entertainers shape the popular imagination, yet their character typically does not drive anyone to Christ. Even within the church, many are led astray by false teaching and unbiblical ideas. Others grow complacent in the pursuit of holiness, aimless and without a guide.

God calls His people not to be conformed to the pattern of this world. We must instead seek to renew our minds by His Word and Spirit (Rom. 12:2). Helping Christians cultivate renewed minds is the objective of Ligonier’s Bible-teaching outreach as we exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, the Hero and Champion of our salvation. He is our hope and our highest model for faithfulness.

Ligonier seeks to help Christians follow the Lord by building what we believe is the world’s greatest discipleship library—more than 30,000 theological resources from 800 teachers. This library preserves the rich heritage of God-honoring heroism in the historic Christian faith:

• The prophets and Apostles, whose costly obedience gave us Spirit-inspired Scripture;
• Courageous leaders like Athanasius and Martin Luther, who defended the truth;
• Great teachers like Augustine and John Calvin, who brought clarity to the church.

As R.C. said, “We need examples, not only in the Bible, but in church history, of people who were willing to stand against the whole world if necessary to be loyal and faithful to Christ.” Your support of Ligonier can help more people see the rich depths of historic Christianity and the courage it instills to live for God’s glory.

This month, we want to send you a new resource drawn from several of Dr. Sproul’s most well-known teaching series. Heroes of the Christian Faith is a book aiming to invigorate steadfast faith and godly conviction through the examples of twenty of the Lord’s servants, from Moses and Esther to Polycarp and Jonathan Edwards. Be among the first to receive the book with your donation.

The heroes in this book stood firm by God’s grace, yet they did not stand alone. Nor can Ligonier stand alone today. Your support is crucial as we begin this new budget year with a plan to expand outreach for the further proclamation of God’s Word.

Your prayers and financial generosity can help establish a pattern for Christian faithfulness by:

• Guiding Christians at every stage of life with more Bible-teaching resources, including the now-complete Crucial Questions series of 50 booklets;
• Equipping parents and teachers to model faithfulness for the next generation through the new digital Growing in God’s Word Bible curriculum and forthcoming translations;
• And edifying the global church by releasing new Christ-exalting teaching each week on Ligonier’s dedicated websites in the world’s top 20 languages.

Please pray especially for our largest-ever distribution of the Reformation Study Bible next month. In August, Lord willing, 35,000 church leaders across four African nations will receive study Bibles in three languages. These pastors are hungry for reliable resources to help them guide their congregations to know the Lord deeply and follow Him faithfully.

Outreaches like this would not be possible without Ligonier’s thoughtful donors. God works through real people—like you and me—to spread truth and further discipleship in His church.

Thank you for standing with Ligonier today by making a timely gift that expands the reach of trusted Bible teaching, helping more Christians stand firm in the truth and live for God’s glory alone.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

It can be hard to be still in a world filled with responsibilities, distractions, and struggles.

Yet as Christians, it is vital that we maintain a consistent time of Bible study—to reorient our gaze heavenward and to deepen the roots of our faith.

Tabletalk magazine can help you establish this habit. Each month’s issue provides:

• Daily Bible studies guiding you passage by passage through God’s Word
• Themed articles to aid you in a focused study on theological topics
• A Bible-in-a-year reading program, helping you engage with all of Scripture
• And more

When you give today, you’ll receive one year of Tabletalk.

Your gift sends trustworthy Bible teaching throughout the world, enabling more Christians to know what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it, and how to share it.

Give today to receive a discipleship resource for your own home, and to continue spreading discipleship resources to the homes of Christians throughout the world.

This offer ends on June 30.

For the first time, Ligonier has released a nationwide Canadian survey. The State of Theology Canada reveals what people really believe about God. And the results are sobering:

66% of Canadian evangelicals agree with the statement, “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.”

This is no minor theological mistake. It shows a widespread confusion about the foundation of the Christian faith. If we fail to know who God is in His triune nature, we risk undermining the gospel itself.

Interestingly, most Canadian evangelicals surveyed (93%) affirm the statement, “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” These contradictory responses highlight a deep theological confusion among many in the church.

Yet Scripture is clear on this matter: The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force—He is the third person of the Trinity.

Download the Free Study Guide

These survey results are serious, and they warrant serious discussion. Gather a group and download the free digital study guide for The State of Theology Canada. Each section includes discussion questions and biblical insight to guide your conversation.

More Resources on the Holy Spirit

R.C. Sproul founded Ligonier to help Christians know who God is and who they are. Here are several resources from Ligonier addressing the Bible’s teaching on the Holy Spirit.

• Who Is the Holy Spirit? booklet by R.C. Sproul
• Everyone’s a Theologian, book by R.C. Sproul
• The Holy Spirit, guide from Ligonier Ministries
• “What Is the Procession of the Holy Spirit?” article by Robert Letham
• “Another Helper,” episode of Things Unseen

Right theology shapes our minds and directs our lives. The more we know God, the more opportunities we have to grow in our walk with Him.

Ligonier Connect provides an online space for Christians to dive deeper into biblical truth through an ever-expanding library of interactive video courses.

For a limited time only, save 30% on your first three months of Ligonier Connect when you use the promo code THEOLOGY26.

Try these courses to grow in your knowledge of God, His Word, and His world:

• Theology for All I: God
  Before we can know ourselves, we first need to know God. In this course, the first of four parts, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson introduces the study of theology proper, showing the importance of the core doctrines of the Christian faith for everyday life.

• Basic Training The Apostles’ Creed is much more than an antiquated formula: It is a monumental affirmation of what it means to be a Christian. In this course, Dr. R.C. Sproul teaches through the creed to give a concise explanation of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.

• Reformation Truths
  In this course, Dr. Michael Reeves examines key Reformation ideas in light of the differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics so that believers can think with clarity about the central truths of the Reformation.

• Signed, Sealed, Delivered: An Introduction to Covenant Theology From beginning to end, the Bible reveals God’s gracious plan of salvation. In this course, Dr. J.V. Fesko introduces the essential elements of Reformed covenant theology.

• Union with Christ Many Christians today suffer from an identity crisis. In this course, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson explores our Christian identity as people who are “in Christ,” revealing the glorious benefits and blessings of living in union with the Savior.

Use coupon code THEOLOGY26 at checkout to save, and begin learning today.

• More than 120 Christian courses are available.
• Explore biblical studies, theology, Christian living, worldview and culture, and church history.
• Take as many courses as you want, when and where you want, at your own pace.

Each course contains study tools to help you apply what you’re learning:

• Use optional quizzes and discussion questions to solidify your learning.
• Follow your visible study progress at every step.
• Start a private study group and invite others to join you in your study.

Remember to use coupon code THEOLOGY26 at checkout to save 30% on your first three-month subscription to Ligonier Connect. This offer ends June 20.

What does it mean to be a Christian today? Teenagers hear many answers to this question—but are they the right answers?

If our children are to follow Christ in a confused world, it is vital that their faith rest on the right foundation. Not on the opinions of online influencers—or even the authority of their parents—but on the immovable foundation of God’s Word.

Join churches and youth groups on October 17, 2026, in Atlanta, GA, for Always Ready. This youth conference invites hundreds of Christians ages 12–18 to hear biblical teaching on the core truths of the Christian faith.

SESSIONS:

• Bigger Than You Think
• Why This Book?
• Who Am I?
• Why Am I Here?
• Panel Discussion: Faith in the Real World
• Panel Discussion: Unfazed in a Strange New World
• Q&A: Got Questions?

During this full day of biblical teaching and fellowship, we’ll explore who God is, why we can trust the Bible, and how the gospel of Jesus Christ shapes our whole lives.

Register today for $35, which includes a welcome bag, lunch, and admission to all sessions. A 20% discount is also available for groups of ten or more. Invite your youth group, family members, and friends to join you.

Time is running out to save on your registration for our 2026 Southern Ontario Conference, Thy Kingdom Come. The early-bird rate ends Saturday, June 13, so don’t delay. Register now and save 50% on the regular rate.

Join us on November 6–7 as we reflect on the profound significance of both Christ’s inaugurated rule in this present age and our hope in the consummation of His rule in the age to come.

CONFERENCE SESSIONS:

• The King and His Kingdom
• Preaching the Gospel
• Speaking the Truth in Love
• The World as God’s Mission Field
• Obedience and Rest
• The Kingdom to Come

We’ll also host a pastors’ pre-conference event, Standing Firm in the Truth, on November 6, 2026. This additional event invites pastors to reflect on Paul’s second letter to Timothy, offering guidance for ministers in Christ’s church as they seek to remain faithful to their calling.

PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS:

• Fan into Flame
• Guard the Deposit
• Endure Hardship
• Preach the Word

We hope you will join us for this time of mutual edification as we explore the biblical reality of God’s kingdom and the calling on every Christian to live under Christ’s lordship.

Register today to save before the early-bird rate ends on Saturday, June 13, at midnight ET.

Ligonier Ministries joins with Christians around the world in thanking God for the life and ministry of Rosemary Jensen (1929–2026).

As the founder of the Rafiki Foundation, Rosemary labored joyfully to provide education and Christian discipleship to children, pastors, and communities throughout Africa. Her work was marked by a settled conviction that the greatest need of every person is to know God’s Word.

This commitment to the truth and life-changing power of Scripture led to Rosemary’s decades-long friendship with R.C. Sproul and Ligonier.

In 2001, Rosemary joined us at the Ligonier National Conference to reflect on how God uses His Word to bring His people to faith, transform their lives, and send them out into faithful service. Later, she wrote an article for Ligonier reminding Christians to live with values fixed on eternity, deploying our gifts and talents to further God’s everlasting kingdom.

Dr. Sproul shared Rosemary’s desire to see the church anchored in sound theology, with pastors well equipped to proclaim God’s Word faithfully for generations to come. This shared vision brought about a now-global outreach, Study Bibles for the World, gifting the Reformation Study Bible to the church where the need is greatest and faithful Christian teaching is least available.

Rosemary wanted 100,000 people throughout Africa to receive study Bibles before she died. In the Lord’s great kindness, she lived to see her vision achieved, with more than 114,000 Reformation Study Bibles distributed throughout the continent as of the end of May 2026.

Ligonier’s chairman, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, shared these remarks following Rosemary’s death:

“By faith, Rosemary Jensen stopped the mouths of lions—at least metaphorically. She did so in her engaging way, making friends of many kinds and in many places to help her in her work of serving Christ. She was a clear-minded visionary seeking ways to encourage as many people as possible to study the Bible so they would know Jesus and grow stronger in faith. Unlike many visionaries, she was also a practical builder. She got things done at remarkable speed, whether producing Bible study materials for adults and children or building orphanages and schools where children could live, grow, and learn the Word of God.”

Chris Larson, Ligonier’s president, wrote this of Rosemary:

“I was brought into friendship with Rosemary because of her friendship with Dr. R.C. Sproul, a friendship that went back decades. Certainly, Rosemary cared deeply about missions, but never missions untethered from sound doctrine. She loved the church and wanted to see theologically faithful pastors strengthened, equipped, and encouraged to preach the Word of God with courage and conviction. She also cared deeply about the next generation of Christians, that they would be grounded in Scripture, formed by sound doctrine, and prepared to serve Christ faithfully in their own day. The Lord used Rosemary's faith to strengthen mine, and I praise God for her life and ministry.”

“God’s Word at Work.” Rafiki’s motto embodies the faithful testimony of Rosemary Jensen. Her confidence in Scripture and her devotion to serving others still bears fruit as God’s truth goes out to the nations.

Are you looking for a gift for Dad that can help deepen his knowledge of God’s Word and equip him for family discipleship?

This week only, receive steep discounts on more than 100 biblical discipleship resources—including select items available for as little as $1. Shop and save on a variety of books, teaching series, children’s titles, study Bibles, and more. Explore the collection.

Do you know someone looking for gift recommendations? Share this special sale with them. Don’t delay—this offer ends on Saturday, June 6. While supplies last.

Not sure what to get Dad? You can also purchase gift certificates to our online store ranging in value from $10 to $500.

My other favorite Reformer, partly because I love his name, is Johannes Oecolampadius. His name literally means “house lamp,” but he was a brilliant language scholar. He wrote a Hebrew grammar. He wrote a commentary on Isaiah that became the model for Luther, for Calvin, and for all the Old Testament work of a whole century of scholars. Every time we pick up our English Bible, we know that a boatload of scholars made that possible. Some of them gave their blood for us to have an English Bible. Oecolampadius was one of those guys. He died young, but he filled his life as much as he could. And what a great name!

This text doesn’t literally mean we should never do anything other than pray. It’s clear the Scriptures call us to all sorts of other things. But prayer should be a regular, recurring part of our whole experience, such that there are not only, perhaps, set times of prayer for us but that we turn to the Lord throughout the day. We don’t have to pray at great length all the time, and I think that’s part of the reminder here. This text calls us to cultivate a sense of the presence of God with us, along with us turning our hearts, minds, and cares to Him regularly throughout the day.

It’s an encouragement to think of ourselves as a prayer-filled people. That’s the call, and it’s a valuable call for us to hear.

To know who you are already in Christ is invaluable. You belong to Him. Any persecution you experience, any demeaning you experience, yes, it will be sore, but you can look up to Him and say: “Lord, I belong to You, I’m Yours, and I know this is about You. You will help me cope with it.”

The other thing I would say is really get to know your Bible. Psalm 119 was written for people your age. That’s why it says, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” (Ps. 119:9). Psalm 119 teaches us that if we hide God’s Word in our hearts, it will not only protect us from sinning, but it will make us wiser even than our teachers. That doesn’t mean you’ll know more than a rocket scientist, but it does mean that you have the clues to the meaning of life and that you learn in Scripture first principles that will enable you to negotiate your way through life. That is such a tremendously stabilizing force.

I would also advise that you really seek to understand Christian doctrine. Understanding Christian doctrine gives you a framework of reference, and most of your peers have no idea of their framework of reference. They don’t have any roots. They don’t have any first principles of which they are conscious. They are awash. They’re blown around, as Paul says, by any teaching that comes along. There is “cool” teaching that you’ll come across—for example, it’s cool to be an atheist today just like it was cool to smoke fifty years ago. But just like it was cool to smoke fifty years ago, being an atheist is going to kill you.

There is a tremendous strength in the Christian gospel, and one of the things our conference time does for youngsters is give them a sense that the gospel has its own intellectual power, and we don’t need to be ashamed of it.

There are people in the visible church—that is, they attend church and may even be members of the church—but they are not members of the invisible church. They may even make a profession of faith, but we don’t know the heart. We can’t see into the heart. In some denominations, in order to be a member, you have to have a credible profession of faith. They are looking for evidences, but even then they don’t know if someone is genuinely saved.

To sum it up, false converts are not converts who then become not converts. They were never converts. This is not something that’s new for us; it’s there in the epistles of John and in the New Testament church.

I started reading the Bible when I was nine. I had read John 5:39–40 before, but I was fourteen when it hit me. That verse applied to me in this way: I thought being a Christian meant reading the Bible, saying prayers, helping old ladies cross the street, and doing good things, but that verse hit me like a hammer. I thought: “This is exactly where I am. I’ve been searching the Scriptures and reading them diligently. In five years, I’ve probably missed only five days of reading the Bible.” It really came to me with great power and awakened me. It didn’t convert me; it awakened me. A number of months afterward, I was brought to a living faith through John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Those are reasons why I love John’s gospel from my mid-teens, but there are many other reasons. One of them is simply because of the sheer wonder of the portrayal of Christ in it. There are also sections of it that I particularly love. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved John 13–17 particularly, but there is no part of it I don’t love. Every time I read it or preach on it, I think, “This is absolutely endless.” The early fathers used to say that John’s gospel was like a sea that an elephant could swim in and in which a lamb could bathe—it’s just so rich for all believers. So, I think my favorite book of the Bible is John’s gospel.

I remember when I was converted as a high school student and first found myself worshiping amongst the Dutch Reformed, we always prayed the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We can debate the translation, and it can go either way, but I think our Lord is reminding us that He withstood temptation for us and overcame the evil one. We pray that He will continue to preserve us so we don’t face temptation as He faced it and that we would be delivered from the evil one to live for Christ. I think that’s at least part of what’s going on in the Lord’s Prayer.

REEDER: I love the translation, “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” I actually think it’s a better translation because that’s exactly where this is aiming: we are reminded of Christ having endured temptation for us, and therefore, we are delivered through His faithfulness in all of life under the assault of the evil one.

On the other hand, the notion of testing itself is not evil. On the contrary, God uses testing. Further, God can sovereignly take that which the world, the flesh, and the devil would use to ensnare us, and the Lord can use it instead to disciple us and develop us. But we are to flee temptation. I’ll make two comments.

First, Christians make a big mistake in this area by saying that we resist temptation and flee Satan. I think the Bible would have us do the opposite. The Bible does not want us to flee Satan; the Bible wants us to resist Satan, and he will flee from us. But that which is designed to ensnare us into sin, we are to flee that temptation and pursue the environment of holiness and the means of grace that build us up.

Second, having said that, when God brings tests, they are not designed to ensnare us. Rather, they are designed to edify us. A test from the divine hand does three things. It’s kind of like my algebra teacher in the eighth grade. I was convinced she gave me tests to flunk me. I have always told people: “You never have to worry about prayer in school. As long as you’ve got algebra tests, you’ll have prayer in school, I can promise you.” But a test in the hand of the Almighty is there to show us what we know, to show us what we don’t know, and to show us what we need to know. That is from the hand of the Lord. But we flee that which is designed by the world, the flesh, and the devil to bring us down.

PARSONS: I think it is confusing for everyone when we hear that translation. Part of the issue with the way it’s translated into English and the way we understand that portion of the Lord’s Prayer is that it’s a bit of a Hebraism. It’s a way of speaking. It’s a manner of getting a point across to say: “When we are tempted, Lord, lead us away from it. Get us out of it. Help us to flee it.” I know that sounds like the opposite of what it is saying, but that is the way the Hebrews thought and spoke. We see Hebraisms throughout the Gospels, and I think that’s what it’s getting at.

The second thing I would say is that many Christians have been taught to have prejudices against the Reformed faith, but often they don’t know what it is. However, if they are really the Lord’s people, there is one person they are not supposed to have a prejudice against, and that is the Lord Jesus. So, immerse yourself in the teaching of Jesus.

Our late friend, James Montgomery Boice, once preached a sermon on the radio, which I think was called “Was Jesus a Calvinist?” He got more bad press for that sermon than for anything else, but that is actually quite a good question because we can get prejudices about “isms,” but if we are the Lord’s people, we love the Lord Jesus. We know even at the instinctive and emotional level that if He taught it, we should listen, and if He believed it, we need to learn to believe it.

So, a great tool for us in keeping friendships and helping our friends is our own study of the way in which Jesus Himself taught about the grace of God, the depravity of man, the nature of the atonement, and the sovereignty of God. It’s all in the Gospels. I think that will enable you to maintain friendships, or if you lose them, they will be lost because alas, people won’t listen to Christ Himself. That is very sore, but I think it does mean that you have not been the offensive one. That’s one thing that I’ve found helpful.

The Spirit primarily does two things in us, and if you understand these two things, you’ll understand how the Spirit helps us pray. First, the Spirit illumines us. He opens our eyes to see who God is truly, and we then find our minds turned. We have a complete misunderstanding of what God is like, and then the Spirit opens our eyes, and it’s a mighty aha moment that carries on as we carry on being educated by the Spirit. So, the Spirit renews our minds as we think: “Oh, that is what God is like. I did not think God was like that.”

Second, by renewing our minds, the Spirit transforms our hearts. He takes away a heart of stone to give us a heart of flesh. That is an initial work that He does, but it’s also an ongoing work. The Spirit gives us a new mind and a new heart, but He also ongoingly educates us and affects us. In regard to prayer, that means that as the Spirit works in me, my mind is enabled to know what to pray for.

As a young Christian, I naturally tended to have a prayer life like a shopping list of blessings for me, my family, and my friends, and it was pretty self-centered. And then I’d remember that I ought to do some less self-centered prayers. But as the Spirit works in me and transforms my mind, and I see reality differently, as I start seeing the centrality of God and not me, then my prayers start following that change. My prayers start becoming more God-centered and less me-centered. That’s the Spirit’s re-education work.

Further, through the Spirit’s re-education work, He is also transforming my affections and desires. It’s not merely as the Spirit works in me that I know, “Yes, I really ought to be more God-centered and less self-centered.” Rather, the Spirit is doing a deeper work. He’s actually making me want to be and enjoy being God-centered so this just becomes natural to me. I’m not trying to work at it. It just comes out of who the Spirit is making me to be. Therefore, I begin to desire to pray God-centered, God-loving, and God-adoring prayers.

The Spirit educates and affects me such that I begin to desire to pray, to desire long communion with God in a way that I did not think about before. Initially, prayer was just one of those things that I ought to do every now and again. But the Spirit’s work runs so deep that I begin to enjoy communion with God.

So, it’s those two things that the Spirit does. He educates me, transforming my mind, and He transforms my affections so that I enjoy prayer and begin to pray more intelligently and more Christian prayers.

The basic principle is to make sure that you have space in your day, then space in your week, and then space in your month set aside for reading. I remember the late John Stott saying that he tried to read one hour a day, a morning a week, a day a month, and a week a year. If you keep that up, or some such program, even though it seems slow, you will eventually get through a lot of books over a longer period of time.

This is not a matter of setting a pattern or a standard for everyone. Some of us read very quickly, and some of us read more slowly. Some books should be read quickly. Others should be read slowly. I think the thing that helps is breaking the back of our sloth and indifference and saying, “Even if I have to start small, I will do it.” And if you keep going, it’s amazing how much you can get through.

I would also recommend paying attention to the style. If you read something and think, “That is really good,” then don’t just go on to the next thing. Look back and ask yourself: “Why is this really good? How is this person doing this?” Then, see if you can build some of these principles into your own use of language. I think we often forget that we use language in ministry, and the better we can use it, the better it will be. In a sense, the better our language is, the better we will be able to glorify God with words—not just cheap, easy words and slang but words that exalt God and lift the spirits of those who listen to us.

In the ministry of Christ and the seventy, when they came back from their mission, Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). An aspect of Satan’s control over the world was affected by the ministry of Christ, His death and resurrection, and the day of Pentecost, which suggests that now the gospel is to be preached in all the world.

That being said, Satan is still referred to as the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). He still has power. He does not have as much power as he did under the old covenant, but he is still to be reckoned with: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). In his Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis said something along the lines that you can make too much of the devil, but you can also make too little of him. He hasn’t yet been cast into the bottomless pit that the book of Revelation speaks of in Revelation 20. So, he is very much to be reckoned with, even in the new covenant.

GODFREY: I certainly agree, but we have to be very clear: Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords now. I think Lewis is exactly right: we can’t make too much or too little of Satan. On the “too much” side, sometimes we talk about Satan almost as if he were a minor god. He is a finite creature, which means he can’t be everywhere at once. He can’t be the Holy Spirit, so he has minions who serve him.

Sometimes we talk as if there is the Holy God and then there is the evil god, Satan. Satan is not God. He’s a finite creature. He’s limited by his finitude as well as by God’s sovereignty. He is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but he is chump change compared to the sovereign God. He has been defeated, and he will be destroyed. Our calling is not to let him destroy us before he is destroyed.

FERGUSON: We all try to answer questions by saying the same thing in different ways, and there are two things I’ve found helpful in this context.

The first is what Bob has alluded to in Matthew 28:18–20. Jesus is saying in Matthew 28:18–20 that as the second man and the last Adam, He has won back the dominion on earth that Adam lost. Adam lost his dominion. He fell to the tempter. Christ has overcome the tempter so that He now says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” We might instinctively think, “He’s the Son of God—of course all authority in heaven and on earth is His.” But Jesus is speaking in a particular context, saying that the dominion Satan won in the garden of Eden has been overthrown, and that authority is now His.

The second is to pick up what Derek said: the limiting context of the expression regarding the binding of Satan is that he would no longer deceive the nations. It isn’t just a general statement, “Satan is bound,” but that Satan is bound in this particular respect: until the resurrection of Christ, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the coming of the last days, Satan was deceiving all the nations except the one nation God was undeceiving in His mercy. On the day of Pentecost, the crowd that gathered was analogous to the crowd that gathered to build the Tower of Babel in an attempt to pull God down. God judged the nations at Babel and committed them to the deception of Satan. But from the day of Pentecost onwards, the nations are being undeceived by the preaching of the gospel. That is symbolized by the gatherings of the people at Pentecost and has now been experienced for two thousand years.

This is just another way of saying that we always need to look at the context in which phrases are used. We don’t just see a phrase and then make up ourselves what it means. In specific ways, the Scriptures help us to see these statements within a particular grid and context. So, when the Scriptures say that Satan is the god of this age, we realize that those who are not Christians are living in this age. However, the end of the ages has dawned on believers, and the preaching of the gospel continues to invade this age to bring people into the new age, which will continue until the Lord comes. And then, whatever your eschatology, comes the end.

I was seventeen in 1965, a first-year student at university, and I encountered the first reprints of John Owen’s works. They were big—six hundred pages per volume, and there were twenty-four volumes. I was able to buy them for fifteen shillings a volume, which is about eighty cents or something like that. When you are Scottish and young and you can get six hundred pages for under a dollar, you buy it. Of course, I’m being humorous. But when I started to read him, I realized this was a different order of teaching altogether. Owen’s works were so theologically rich and spiritually profound that they made some of the other things I was reading seem very superficial. So, that was how I started reading John Owen, and I have kept reading him ever since.

If somebody asked me, “Which theologian taught you to think?” I would say John Calvin because I bought his Institutes when I was a teenager as well.

BINGHAM: Was it expensive or cheap?

FERGUSON: I got them cheap. However, they were more per volume than John Owen. I probably got my first set of Calvin’s Institutes for about $4.50. But Owen helped me to apply theology and to see the way biblical theology flows out into the experience of the church and the Christian life.

Some of Owen’s books in particular helped me, and the one I have treasured most is his book Communion with God, which focuses on communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are also helpful volumes in his complete works. He talks about Christ in volume one, sin in volume six, and justification in volumes four and five. There are twenty-four volumes. I go back to reading him and sometimes think, “Why do I bother reading anybody else?” It is so rich. He is not an easy read, but it’s worth persevering.

The world takes confidence in all sorts of things. It takes confidence in its own accomplishments. It takes confidence in the various ways it avoids having to think about reality. It’s sometimes prideful. Sometimes it’s just indifferent. Christian confidence, on the other hand, is attuned to the Word of God, the promises of God, and the assurance of what God has said.

Recently, I was talking to some friends about a dear saint in our church who is on her deathbed. They reported that she is full of confidence that Jesus has eternal life for her and that death is not the end. It is critical that we have confidence like hers as we face the struggles, difficulties, and from our limited perspective, uncertainties of life. We can have confidence that God’s promises that will prove true.

Machen was a brilliant scholar. He had a bachelor’s from Johns Hopkins, was Princeton-trained, and then became a Princeton professor. Machen lived during the time of modernism in American culture, as the twentieth century was a time of optimism and growth. Of course, it had World War I, but that influenced Europe far more than it did America because it took place on European soil. France lost 2 million people in World War I, while America lost 170,000 soldiers, which is terrible, but the differences are known. But it was still a time of modernism, and Machen lived during the “Roaring Twenties,” as we call it. It was a culture that was ready to move away from God. That’s modernism: “We don’t need God anymore. We built skyscrapers, and He is holding us back.”

Much of the church didn’t want culture to keep moving past them, so they said: “Hold on, you don’t have to leave just yet. We’ll make our doctrines a little more palatable. If you don’t like sinful man, let’s say that humanity is basically good. If you don’t like the idea that Christ had to die and you must have a substitute, let’s turn Christ’s death into just an example that you are empowered to follow every day. Isn’t that beautiful?” That’s liberalism. It compromised the doctrines that actually define Christianity in order to stay at the “cool table” of culture.

Along came Machen, and he wrote a book, Christianity and Liberalism. He essentially said: “This is not Christianity. This is a Christianity without a cross, which is not Christianity. Christianity without the message of sin is not Christianity. Christianity without an authoritative Bible standing over us that we are accountable to is not Christianity. If you don’t have those things, you don’t have Christianity. You are American. You are free to believe whatever you want to believe. We love liberty, but you can’t believe something that’s the total opposite of Christianity and call it Christianity.” Machen took a bold stand.

I mention all of this because I think it’s true of the story of American Christianity, which is a tale of two cities. We love our culture in America. Sometimes, we want to be a part of it so much so that we’ll compromise our convictions. It has happened. We all saw it. It’s happening right now. Whole denominations are selling their birthright to keep up with culture. That’s one city. Or, we can be a church of conviction that says, “No, we are going to follow God’s Word.” Machen is a good example of being a Christian of conviction.

So, that is one incident I find interesting and informative.

Later on, I used a different pattern and then I started using the kind of “Through the Bible in a Year” type pattern and there are various forms of that. I have used one that was written by Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Scottish minister in the nineteenth century that is very well known. You read four chapters a day from Old Testament, New Testament. You get through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice in the year. And so, getting through the whole Bible each year I think is a helpful practice.

I’ve also, in addition to that, focused from time to time on certain books and given them more concentrated study. The material I actually recommend, I think I find myself recommending most, is actually Tabletalk, Nathan, for two reasons. One is because it does give you that help of a disciplined program of Bible reading. It gives you help in the notes that help you to expound and understand and apply the text, and there are also some great articles that go along with it. And it’s a terrific bargain. So, product placement is Tabletalk.

I know people who have used the same pattern all their lives. I have tended to vary the patterns I’ve used just because knowing the way I’m wired, that’s what I’ve found most helpful. And then, I have surrounded that with various things. You know sometimes I’ll have used some kind of prayer book just to help me, you know, to get the engine started. Sometimes I would sing.

Last year I did something I had never done before. I’m a speed reader and I felt I was speed reading instead of meditating, and so I started chanting the Psalms to myself, now not quite in the old Anglican way, but what I found in the English Standard Version was I could slow myself down by chanting out loud. And one of the things, I think, both my wife and myself have found is that speaking the Bible out loud is a very good help to Bible study because it was actually written to be heard and not just to be read.

So, those are some of the things that I have found helpful.

For those who want to pretend that God doesn’t exist and want to act as if He doesn’t and claim that He doesn’t, I still say to begin with Him. At the end of the day, people are not converted by the way in which we evangelize but rather by God who works in their hearts. So, objectively, begin with God. Begin with His standard, His character, who He is, and what He demands.

At the same time, I would also say that it depends on the conversation. I am engaged in conversations with non-Christians all the time, whether at restaurants, where I am in the community, at the gym, and so on, and it’s fascinating to me: people are incurably religious. They are religious at the very core of their being. Even people who don’t go to church, who are not a part of any organized religion, are religious. We see it every Sunday: clubs, communities, people coming together, being spiritual, being people of faith, whatever they are. So, start wherever they are. In one sense, you can meet people where they are. If they’re thinking about their children, if they’re thinking about their situation, if they’re worried about things, if they have guilt, if they feel the pressures and the anxieties of life, start there.

I would also say this: engage in conversations with them as human beings in a genuine and authentic way because you actually care about them. Yes, you want to communicate and proclaim the gospel to them—but communicate with them because you care about them.

That’s one of the things we see Jesus doing in His ministry. We see the Apostles doing that in their ministries. They have a love for people and a care for human beings. It’s true that their love for God and their desire to glorify God exceeds all of that, but they actually do care about people. They engage with people because they care about them. They care about their souls.

We evangelize not so that we can tell our Christian friends that we have evangelized; we evangelize for the glory of God and for the sake of the souls of those to whom we speak.