Piper: Faith in Christ Jesus most fully explained as faith in his word.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7 ESV John Piper, in a sermon from 2 Timothy 4, “I Have Kept the Faith” The faith that Paul has kept is not faith in himself, or in any mere man. It is faith in Christ … More Piper: Faith in Christ Jesus most fully explained as faith in his word.

The importance of guarding the mouth

From the ESV Study Bible: Prov. 13:1–6 Headed by the call to be a wise son (10:1), these proverbs also utilize a play on words (cf. 10:6–32) relating to both speech (hears/listen, 13:1; mouth, vv. 2–3; lips, v. 3; falsehood,v. 5) and eating/desire (eats, v. 2; desire, v. 2; craves and richly supplied, v. 4) in order to assure those who seek to guard their mouth (v. 3) through righteousness … More The importance of guarding the mouth

Confession: personal, public, practical and particular

Nehemiah 10:28 speaks of “the rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand.” Pastor P. G. Matthew, of Grace Valley Community Church, … More Confession: personal, public, practical and particular

Piper: Everything hangs on God being different from this judge

John Piper asks: A widow comes to an unjust judge and pleads for help. She is being oppressed unjustly and wants him to use his authority to seek her relief. That’s us, the widow. Weak, poor, and no husband to speak up for us. Her only source of help, the judge. Our only source: God. … More Piper: Everything hangs on God being different from this judge

Ever the struggling skeptic?

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, … More Ever the struggling skeptic?

Don’t be stupid

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. Proverbs 12:1 No one really loves getting disciplined, at the time, but when we look back, we can see the benefits.  We learn much through the loving correction of others, whether our parents or faithful friends.  Proverbs says we are stupid if we … More Don’t be stupid