Sound Words
All Things to All Men—or—Be Ye Separate
Randolph Shaylor An important principle of the Word of God is separation from doctrinal and ecclesiastical compromise and from unrighteous lifestyles and practices. Yet we are inundated with publications and ministries that insist that we must attract people, especially young people, by appealing to contemporary desires. Paul’s statement “I am made all things to all…
Read MoreThe Preacher’s Charge Defined
Mark Minnick Nearly every preacher has his favorite definition of preaching. A thoroughly Biblical one comes from the phrase “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2). Taken literally, the expression might be explained as “heralding what God has already said.” Although “what God has already said” is not an exact translation of logos (the Greek term…
Read MoreWould You Like Some Wise Counsel? (2)
Mark Minnick Yesterday’s introduction: Every pastor occasionally feels the need for wise counsel. Unfortunately, he’s not always able to get it from a busy contemporary. But happily I’ve discovered that it’s often available at my leisure on the shelves of my library. For instance, how about an hour or so with John Newton?
Read MoreWould You Like Some Wise Counsel? (1)
Mark Minnick Every pastor occasionally feels the need for wise counsel. Unfortunately, he’s not always able to get it from a busy contemporary. But happily I’ve discovered that it’s often available at my leisure on the shelves of my library. For instance, how about an hour or so with John Newton?
Read MoreIsaiah 7—The Historical Setting of a Christmas Passage
Layton Talbert Most Christians are familiar with the virgin birth prophecy contained in Isaiah 7. Wander out of 7:14 into the surrounding territory, however, and the textual terrain bristles with peculiar terminology and thorny questions. For instance, what is 7:16 talking about? In the length of time it would take the child to cultivate a…
Read MoreWorth Reading — The Christian Ministry
Charles Bridges’ The Christian Ministry Mark Minnick In 1839, a saintly young Scottish pastor named Robert Murray M’Cheyne took up his pen to write to his dear friend, Andrew Bonar, about a trip to the Holy Land. The purpose of the six-month visit was to inquire into the state of the Jews in the hopes…
Read MoreStubborn, Ceaseless Civil War (2)
Mark Minnick In Part One, Dr. Minnick writes to us of the struggle of the spiritual life, instructing us of the Nature of the struggle and assuring us of the Normalcy of the struggle. The Enormity of This Struggle Though everything described thus far is the normal experience of all Christians, it isn’t their experience…
Read MoreStubborn, Ceaseless Civil War (1)
Mark Minnick All Christ’s followers, ministers or otherwise, are in one of three states of spiritual warfare: (1) some have given up battling almost entirely, (2) some are battling weakly but generally unsuccessfully, and (3) some are battling energetically and generally victoriously. But there is no such thing as a child of God who is…
Read MoreThe Blood of Their Witness
Chuck Phelps Endurance is the theme of Hebrews 12. (See vv. 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, and 20.) In order to encourage the Hebrew believers to “endure,” the author declares, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin” (Heb. 12:4). Because the battle for faithfulness is a battle fought in every era by…
Read More“Rightly dividing the Word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15)
Mark Minnick And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Second Thessalonians 3:14 Disobedience to Paul’s word by this epistle is grounds for separation from another Christian. But what word is Paul referring to? Does he mean only…
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