New Relationships, Day 4

By James Boice
Theme: Two More Shocking Truths
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
3.

3. The inescapable priorities of true discipleship. As soon as we talk of “good” in every situation or of personal sacrifice “in a specific situation,” we tend to relax, assuming that we are therefore off the hook and that the disturbing radical nature of true Christian discipleship need not affect us. This is a false conclusion.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

New Relationships, Day 3

By James Boice
Theme: Two Shocking Truths
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
1. The radical demands of Christ’s kingdom. Over the years that I have been in Christian work I have been asked to serve on a number of boards of Christian organizations, and to the extent that I have had time I have been glad to do so. I have done everything I am able to do for these organizations.

We think of most work as something that can be taken on and then later dropped (if it pleases us to drop it) with no great issues involved. But when Jesus presented the demands of His kingdom it was always as that which demanded the most radical commitment on the part of His followers. It was not something that could be taken up and then dropped. It was not to be a part-time occupation.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

On the Word "Heresy"

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 by Aimee Byrd on Housewife Theologian

a guest post by Liam Goligher

I am pleased to share another guest post by Liam Goligher, regarding all of the uproar over the word heresy:
 
Since my first posts on the reinvention of Trinitarian theology in the church I have had the opportunity to have personal discussion with two of the main players in the debate, Drs. Ware and Grudem. Both conversations were pleasant and helpful in clarifying our different positions. Dr. Grudem particularly agreed that public debate over publicly expressed positions was entirely acceptable. Publicly expressed error must be addressed publicly.

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Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

A Reply to Dr. Mohler on Nicene Trinitarianism

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 by Carl Trueman on Postcards from Palookaville

Further clarifications on the debate about the Trinity.

I am glad to see that Dr. Albert Mohler has entered the discussion of the Trinity and Nicene orthodoxy with a firm but measured and gracious piece on his blog.

 

Again, though, I believe some friendly clarifications are in order by way of response, in the hope that these will help focus and shape future discussion in a productive and amicable manner.

 

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.
Postcards from Palookaville
postcards-from-palookaville

When A Christian Feels Dry: A Simple Practice

by Jason Helopoulos • June 28, 2016

Every saint has known lackluster days in relationship with the Lord. God doesn’t feel close. You have His peace, but are not peaceful. You know His love, but are not enjoying His love. Your spiritual life isn’t dead, but it is dull. What is the answer? What is a Christian to do?

If you know life in Christ, you know languishing in Christ. We all go through dry seasons. The Christian life is never lived from mountain top to mountain top. Every saint has known lackluster days in relationship with the Lord. God doesn’t feel close. You have His peace, but are not peaceful. You know His love, but are not enjoying His love. Your spiritual life isn’t dead, but it is dull. What is the answer? What is a Christian to do? The answer lies at the very heart of our Christian faith.

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Christward Collective is a conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Christward Collective and the mission of the Alliance.

New Relationships, Day 2

By James Boice
Theme: Beyond Accounting
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
Yesterday we concluded by offering another way to understand our passage, which was that Jesus was speaking in hyperbole; that is, he was intentionally exaggerating in order to make a point.
 
But there are a number of reasons for thinking that this may be too facile a handling.
Yesterday we concluded by offering another way to understand our passage, which was that Jesus was speaking in hyperbole; that is, he was intentionally exaggerating in order to make a point.
 
But there are a number of reasons for thinking that this may be too facile a handling. For one thing, it is probably not a proper interpretation of the word “worthy” in Matthew 10. We take that word lightly. “No one is worthy of Christ,” we think, and we dismiss it. That is probably not what Jesus meant. When He said, “Anyone who fails to do so-and-so is not worthy of me,” He probably meant precisely what He said in Luke 14:26, namely, “he cannot be my disciple,” which means, “he cannot be saved.” 
 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

What I Saw at the 44th General Assembly of the PCA (1)

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2016 by Todd Pruitt on 1517

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

 
Last week I attended the 44th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). It was my third since transferring my ordination to the PCA three years ago. It was held in Mobile, Alabama which was lovely apart from the gulf coast humidity. I had the privilege of serving on the Committee of Commissioners of the Administrative Committee (more on that in the next post).

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

1517
1517
Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

New Relationships, Day 1

By James Boice
Theme: A Hard Saying of Jesus
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
Quite frequently, when I am conducting weddings, I point out that the family is the most basic of all human institutions.

What right-thinking Christian would not want to strengthen the family? What right-thinking non-Christian would not want to strengthen it? It is therefore something of a shock to study Christ’s words about discipleship and find Him saying what on the surface appears to be the very opposite: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). In this verse Jesus seems to be tearing the home apart rather than building it up.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Counting the Cost, Scene 5

By James Boice
Theme: Paying the Cost
 
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
 
What must I pay to be a Christian? I must pay the price of my own self-righteousness, no longer counting myself a good person but rather as one who has transgressed God’s righteous law and is therefore under the sentence of His wrath and condemnation.

What must I pay to be a Christian? I must pay the price of my own self-righteousness, no longer counting myself a good person but rather as one who has transgressed God’s righteous law and is therefore under the sentence of His wrath and condemnation. But when I pay the price of my own self-righteousness, I gain Christ’s righteousness which is perfect and imperishable. In that righteousness I can stand before the very throne of God and be unafraid. 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

The Silence of Our Friends

Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2016 by Aimee Byrd on Housewife Theologian

The Institutional and Theological Betrayal of Complementarian Women

We’ve been betrayed. This is something that has disturbed me, as well as a handful of other women writers, for a while now. We’ve tried to respectfully engage, and we have been ignored. Completely. So I put a few rocks in my snowballs and threw them out, hoping the sting would provoke some men to wake up and say something. Some have. That’s why I was so pleased to share Liam Goligher’s guest post.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.
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