Most of us are concerned with our appearance. We like to look as nice as possible, at least around others. But how concerned are we about our dress or appearance in spiritual terms? This question is presented in Scripture. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve felt no shame in their nakedness. However,…
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If you had no knowledge of Scripture but simply watched popular evangelicalism, you might reasonably infer that the church is under some order to imitate the world as closely as possible. Every popular fad or movement soon has a ‘Christian’ counterpart. Every product logo will eventually be mimicked with a religious slant, silk-screened onto…
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As a teenager, I attended a church youth group called the ‘9:23 Club’. The name came from the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’. The message was clear enough: being a Christian involves suffering. In…
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In previous articles we have been looking at the importance of balance in the Christian life, following the lead of William Williams, Pantycelyn (1717-91) who wrote a letter at the end of his life in which he said, ‘I have come to see that true religion consists of three parts: first true light respecting…
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The term ‘practical holiness’ I do not understand. One half of the pompous phrases that now creep into pulpits will not bear the balance of common sense. Holiness can neither be fetched from the law of Moses, nor from a carnal heart; nor is it a thing to be put in practice by free…
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A prominent concern of both Old and New Testaments is that men and women should lead holy lives. God said, 'Be holy, for I am holy', a command given to Moses (Leviticus 11:44), and appealed to by Peter as the norm for the New Testament believer (1 Peter 1:16). This, essentially, is the concern…
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The Belgic Confession of Faith describes the church as a ‘holy congregation of true Christian believers, all expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed in his blood and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit’. This is based on the New Testament’s three-part description of the church’s holiness. Principle and practice 1. The…
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