In Presbyterianism it is common to hear of church assemblies being described as church courts. Why? This terminology promotes legalistic thinking, and this is too commonly found in dealing with cases of conscience or cases of discipline. This legal thinking needs to be balanced with the biblical teaching about office-bearers in the Church of Christ: …
Category: View from the Pew
Hypercalvinism
It is not uncommon for Arminians to misrepresent Calvinism, not only with respect to doctrine but also by confusing Calvinism with hypercalvinism. American Arminians tend to confuse Calvinism with their misunderstanding of free will and divine election, from which they think that Calvinists do not preach the free offer of the Gospel. These topics were …
Reviving the Christian Church
How do we revive the Christian church? Many people can see the decline in the Christian church, although there are not so many that are able to diagnose the problem. There are two things that are urgently needed for the revival of the Christian church. The first need is exegetical preaching, with emphasis on both …
Evangelical errors
Evangelical Christians pride themselves in believing the Bible and in preaching the Gospel. However, this self-assessment does not completely stand up to scrutiny. I have heard many an evangelical preacher who is rather niggardly with the Gospel and sometimes I wonder if they know how to preach it. As for their biblical teaching, I have …
The nature of Christian fellowship
It might surprise you to consider these biblical passages about the nature of Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship is eternal and does not come to an end. What does this say about your relationships with other Christians, far less about your evangelizing zeal for the lost and perishing? If you don't know about Christian fellowship, how …
The usefulness of Bible exegesis
This is the second blogpost in my current series on Bible exegesis for beginners. You may want to begin at the beginning. The first blogpost was to help you load an essential Bible tool on to your computer, which you can consult at anytime even when you are not on the internet. I plan to …
Critique of the Church of England ‘at its best’
One may assume that the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip was the Church of England putting on its best display. The splendour and pageantry of the day, organised by the Duke while alive, easily eclipsed the offerings from the official ecclesiastics. Since I have often said that the national churches are failing …
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Failings in the Christian church
Thankfully, the Christian church acts as salt and light throughout the world but it could be more effective. The primary failure is in its leadership Eph 4:11-16, which fails primarily because of the lack of exegetical preaching. Nationally: the failure to witness to the nation Isa 56:10. The national churches have failed the UK nations. …
Biblical repentance
Roman Catholic doctrine continues to be seen in the presbyterian practice of repentance. Whereas presbyterians may preach biblical repentance, some presbyterian procedures involve Roman Catholic penance in practice. Whereas preaching may not be legalistic, practice can be. It reminds us of the Saviour's warning to do as officialdom says, but not to do as they …
Gather up the fragments that remain
Jesus said to His disciples: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." John 6:12 Jesus said this after feeding 5,000 people on the Galilean hillside. He was teaching His disciples about more than being tidy. In this same chapter Jesus taught "I am the Bread of Life" Jn 6:35,48,51 and He gave …
Donald's Thoughts 