Scripture Applied

Sermons — not entertainment or big personalities — are central to the building up of Christ’s church. That’s Paul’s point in Romans 16:25-26. Given this fact, we must take listening to sermons seriously, and here’s how: (1) don’t listen with a careless heart; (2) expect God to speak; (3) admit that God knows better than you; (4) hear sermons ever...

How do you keep a church strong? The Apostle Paul gives (3)  clear  ways in his close to the book of Romans (16:17-27). First, guard the unity of the church against “those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learn.” Watch out for smooth talkers who flatter and “avoid them.” Second, show grace, love, and care for your fellow saints....

Every woman wants a good, reliable, and steady man . Yet wives tend to respond with angst whenever their strong man  doesn’t  seem to fully “understand” or “relate” to them. Does he even care? The truth is,  it’s  a mistake to take your husband’s silence as apathy or detachment.  A man bears burdens the way he lifts weights : &nbsp...

Should you ever correct your spouse? The Bible says you should, and it tells you how (Gal. 6:1-3). First, you must not be just frustrated and fed up, but “spiritual.” Second, your goal must not be to humiliate, expose, or “win,” but to “restore.” Third, you must bring  correction  in a “spirit of gentleness,” not anger. Fourth, you must exa...

People in our church had a big disappointment in this last election. We prayed. We showed up at City Council meetings. We spoke. Yet, when the votes were counted, all the godly candidates we supported for office were wiped out. Despite these losses, our response must not be despair, but prayer—not withdrawal, but intercession: “first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, a...

The local church is not  some  abstract idea  with nameless members — it ’ s  a family of  real  people who are  personally  connected with one  other .  That’s  what  we  learn  in Romans 16.   After all the great doctrine  in Paul’s letter ,  he  greets real people   with real n...

Message to daughters — when it comes to your gender, the most terrifying thing the Devil sees is a faithful mom raising her children at home. This beautiful picture is in direct odds with a culture at war with God. While feminism’s lies say that the Bible’s limitations on women are restrictive, they’re actually liberating. The submissive woman is wise an...

The church is not simply an idea, a platform, or a live stream. It is physicality expressed in her people, buildings, writings, meetings, and evangelism. While many tend to despise the physical over the spiritual, the Bible objects to such a view with these doctrinal truths that manifest the physicality of the church: First, the incarnation. God saves through flesh and blood, not through a ghost....

Every journey has its obstacles. But what, specifically, is holding you back? Sometimes  it’s  unconfessed sin, hidden bitterness, divided loyalties, delayed obedience, or broken relationships.  Maybe you’re  violating your soul and sacred relationships through pornography, and you wonder why  you’re  not moving forward. Yet not every roadblock is ca...

Even in Christian circles,  it’s  commonly held that only professionals are competent to counsel. Yet the Apostle Paul obliterates this view in this statement to the local church in Rome: “Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another” (Rom. 15:14). The good news is...

The Lord’s Supper is not a mere ritual. Nor is it empty symbolism.  It’s  the “Gospel made visible,” as Gerhardus Vos once said. Consider these six elements:  (1) The Lord's Supper proclaims the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ   (1 Cor. 11:24 - 25); (2) it is given for  our  spiritual nourishment and growth and grace   (John 6:35...

  This Christmas, we celebrate Christ’s incarnation, born of the Virgin Mary. The Prophet Isaiah foretold this hope, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Isa. 9:6). In Bethlehem, Jesus was to be born of a woman, not a man (Gal. 4:4). This is vital, because substitutionary atonement requires a sinless substitute — the Lord Jesu...

When we hope in God, we can hope have hope for one another. That’s because — whether we’re weak or strong — the same Savior is helping us in our journey, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13). Knowing this, we’re called to receive one ano...

Needless debates can tear a church apart in no time. So how do the strong and weak avoid dividing over matters of conscience — considering that God has designed the church to be a family with differing levels of knowledge and maturity? Paul gives four corrections in Romans 14. First, don’t condemn your brother for something God doesn’t condemn them for. Second, don’t destro...

Message to men — scrolling endlessly on your phones and arguing with people online is a dereliction of your sacred duties. God made men to build, govern, and reclaim. This doctrine of work begins with the Dominion Mandate (Gen. 1:28). Men are called to be dominion-takers, working with their wives in common cause to glorify Christ. To take dominion is not to exert evil domination; it’s...

As you gather with your family this week, what are you thankful for? The truth is, it’s easy to “give thanks” when things are going our way. But Scripture calls us to “give thanks” in everything (1 Thess. 5:18), including our ups and downs. Our highest form of thanksgiving should not be for the food, family, and health God has blessed us with, but for God being who He...

If we followed the Bible alone, would we divide the church by age — or worship as families, with all generations together during corporate worship? The Scripture’s witness is clear: Whether gathering in homes, tabernacles, temples, or the open air, God’s people, of all ages, are called to worship together (Deut. 31:12; Eph. 6:1-4). Children don’t need entertainment; they ne...

How are weak and strong believers to treat one another in a local church? Paul’s charge to the strong is this, “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things” (Rom. 14:1). The church needs this message today. While there are certain non-negotiable truths, not every hill is one to die on. Strong faith ought to show itself in a tender heart toward t...

The most countercultural thing you can do today is to repent and believe in the gospel and teach your children to do the same. This reason is this—the true gospel doesn’t just save souls; it rearranges your whole life. That’s what happened during the Protestant Reformation, and it’s happening again now. When God’s Word is restored to its proper authority and repentanc...

Have you become passive in your faith and slipped into autopilot ? Cruising? Sleepwalking ? The truth is, the Devil wants you checked out. He’d rather you nap than wage war for the cause of Christ. That’s why Paul gives this charge: “[I]t is high time to awake out of sleep” (Rom. 13:11). So, get up, get dressed for battle, and clothe yourself with Christ. Put on His humilit...

You can pay off your taxes and mortgage, but you can never say, “I’m done loving you.” Love’s a debt we always owe. It’s the perfect fulfillment of the law which must be paid daily, without limit (Rom. 13:8-10). Every relationship in our lives—be it in our family, friendships, workplace, or the civil sphere—is built on this single debt. Why must we not com...

Crime calls for an avenger. That’s the civil magistrate’s role as God’s minister. He is not to rehab criminals, but to bear the sword against them as a terror to evildoers (Rom. 13:3-4). So, when a man commits murder, for example, his life should be forfeit (Gen. 9:6). And justice should be swift. When it’s not, lawlessness explodes, “Because the sentence against an e...

Young men—go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise (Prov. 6:6-8). The ant is self-motivated. She’s tireless, foresighted, team-oriented, resilient, and disciplined. She needs no boss. The sluggard, by contrast, has grand designs, but never carries them through to completion. He wastes time and money. He’s marked by procrastination, frivolous excuses, and distrac...

There's no teaching in the Christian life more unnatural to our human flesh than saying, “Bless those who persecute you” (Rom. 12:14), and do not repay “evil for evil . . . but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17, 21). Yet this is the calling of a Christian. Thankfully, we’re not simply given a new set of rules, but a new nature—and out of that new nature comes...

While evangelism takes many forms, the two most effective evangelistic tools are the home and church. Both are created by God and designed for maximum impact. The home is the first of these and is the place where, day-in and day-out, parents are commanded to diligently teach their children God’s Word “when [they] sit in [their] house, when [they] walk by the way, when [they] lie down,...