John Donne – Poet of Grace and Comfort In 1623, when a sudden illness brought the poet and preacher John Donne close to death, he expressed his lament with words that may sound relevant during our coronavirus pandemic: “Variable and…
If we shared our testimonies with one another, we would find that they are as individual as we are. We were saved at different times in our lives and in very different circumstances, but there is one thing we all…
To know how to act, we need to know what story we are in. Without suggesting that anyone wants to create a false narrative about the corona virus, the media can lead us to think we are in a short…
Betsey Stockton and Her Love for God’s Image-Bearers Whatever Betsey had imagined her foreign mission to be, it was not this. The group of Hawaiian men who came rowing toward her ship in their canoes was frightening: “Their appearance…
One of my favorite Peanuts cartoons opens with Linus and lucy staring out the window. Rain is pouring down outside. Lucy, in a rare moment of weakness, confesses her fright to Linus. She is worried that if it continues to…
Joel R. Beeke, Knowing and Growing in Assurance of Faith (Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus Publications, 2017). 202pp. Paperback. Being assured that we belong to God in Christ and that his Spirit dwells in our hearts is vitally important. Assurance…
In 1995, I took a doctoral seminar class with Dr. Richard Gaffin in historical theology. Like the other students, I had to present my term paper in class. With great trepidation, I delivered my work on John Calvin’s position on…
Let me close this series on assurance (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) with some cautions about using the “signs of grace” to gain assurance. First, be careful how you define the marks of grace. On the one hand,…
Every born again child of God who places true faith in Jesus Christ will struggle with assurance in various degrees over the course of their lives. It’s in this context that what we call “the signs of grace” are so helpful…
In discussing the practical doctrine of assuance (see parts 1, 2, and 3 in this series), one careful distinction we must make is between assurance and presumption. The reason is that a false assurance is the worst delusion and spiritual insanity,…
