The 2024 election is over. After years of campaigning, two assassination attempts, a change at the top of the Democrat party ticket, endless fact-checking, countless polls, and spending almost $16 Billion, Americans finally made their choice. That choice was to remove political power from the Biden-Harris administration and to return it to former president Donald Trump. That decision will create joy for some, and despair for others. Here are five ways every Christian can respond regardless of how you feel about the results. 1. Pray One of the few explicit commands in the Bible about political engagement is the demand to pray for our leaders. “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may...

Being a Christian means being a warrior. Living the Christian life means constantly living with a wartime mentality. Paul uses the image of a soldier to describe the life of a believer in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, and he calls the Soldier-Christian to put on the whole armor of God in order to stand firm against the schemes of the devil in these evil days (Ephesians 6:10-17). But what is this battle? Where is the war that Christians face? One of the battles that Christians must face is the one within. When it comes to temptation, the combat rages hottest inside our own hearts. In the book of James, we read, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin” (James 1:14-15). This verse paints the graphic picture that it...

Voting and Christian Morality One week away from an election of tremendous consequence, Christians face three logical options. First, they could vote for Kamala Harris. Some Christian leaders have encouraged this, with one stating in a now-deleted post, “Never Trump. This time Harris. Always Jesus.” Most Christians are unlikely to follow this advice, but some will. Second, they could disengage from the political process in some way. A number of ways exist to do this, which include abstaining from voting, refusing to cast any ballot for president, or selecting a third-party candidate. This option marginalizes your political voice but is an option for those with problems of conscience. Because it is a sin to violate your conscience, Christians must have great patience with their brothers and...

On October 31, much of our modern American culture will be focused on costumes and candy. The history and celebration of Halloween is complicated and controversial, but for Christians, especially Protestants (of which Baptists are included), we have something much more significant to celebrate every year on October 31. That date commemorates the start of the Protestant Reformation when, in 1517, Martin Luther, a German monk and theologian, posted his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. His act ignited what would become a movement of profound theological and ecclesiastical reform, forever changing the landscape of Christianity and the world at large. Historical Context: Why Was Reform Necessary? By the late Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had become the...

Communication Quarrels Christians fight about everything these days. Christian parents argue about how to raise the kids and spend money. Church members bicker about how to vote in the presidential election. Denominational leaders fight about the best way to pursue abuse reform. Even biblical counselors debate which practitioners are most infected with worldly thinking. All communication has at least two sides: the speaker and the listener. My words here are about the responsibility we all have to listen well. The Bible says we must “Be quick to hear and slow to speak” (James 1:19). This passage requires all Christians to slow down and truly understand what someone is saying before we respond and make matters worse. Here are five personal questions to help all of us be better listeners. 1....

Last week, thousands of biblical counselors gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, for the annual meeting of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). I was honored to be a speaker for this event, and First Counseling, the counseling ministry of First Baptist Church, hosted a booth in the exhibitor hall. Representatives from First Baptist gave away anti-zombie stickers to anyone who visited the booth. We gave away many hundreds of these stickers which were a tremendous hit. When I returned home from the conference, I received a very kind and thoughtful email from a brother in Christ who, though not at the conference, heard about the stickers, was concerned about them, and encouraged me to address the matter publicly. After thinking carefully about this, I have decided to heed his...

Introduction Beginning in September of 1887, Charles Spurgeon, pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, published a series of articles in his monthly magazine, The Sword and the Trowel, concerning the infiltration of liberal theology into the doctrine and practice of contemporary Baptist ministers with whom he had previously partnered.[1] Amid a growing influence of secularization in the church, Spurgeon saw the writing on the wall and recognized that this creeping tide of liberalism must be stayed if the church sought to uphold and defend the historical doctrine of the inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures.[2] Faith and practice derived from any other source Spurgeon declared to be a “downgrade.”[3] Spurgeon despaired that without the inerrancy of the Scriptures and the atonement...

[Heath Lambert recently edited a collection of biblical counseling essays that will be released in October as A Call to Clarity. This article is an adapted version of his introduction to that book.] Wishing Wells and the Word of God One of the most famous and funny accounts from the lore of the Lambert Family involved a debate over the existence of a wishing well. The conflict began when my daughter was just old enough to speak in choppy sentences. She insisted that there was a wishing well by the long, winding road that led to our house in those days. Her older brother thought she was full of beans and was bold enough to say so. He reasoned to his younger sister that he had been driving down that road longer than she, and he had never seen one. Furthermore, he assured her that wishing wells...

Disappointment and Disgust I learned of Steve Lawson’s “inappropriate relationship” the way I usually learn of news in evangelicalism: through text message. I was in a meeting when my phone started shaking with texts from friends all over the country. Those messages fit into the broad categories of disappointment and disgust. Some were heartbroken by the news of disqualifying sin in the life of a man who had meant so much to them. They know this creates pain in the lives of everyone involved and feel overwhelmed by it all. Others were angered by the latest black mark on the reputation of the church from a man who was not what he appeared to be. The nature of Lawson’s sin is unclear, but for many of us, these problems are starting to feel like an epidemic destroying individuals, families,...

I distinctly remember a time during college when I was with an open-air evangelism team doing some street preaching in New York City. As I was doing my best to explain the gospel – both the bad news of sin, death, and hell, and also the good news of Jesus, salvation, and eternal life – I was interrupted by someone passing by. He yelled to me and the small crowd that was listening, “I’m not worried about going to hell, all my friends will be there too, it will be one big party.” Sadly, I don’t believe that perspective on hell is an anomaly. So many today have no fear of hell if they believe it even exists. It’s either considered to be not that bad, or it’s reserved for only the very worst of humanity, which everyone assumes doesn’t include them. The flippancy by which many speak...