What does it look like to apply the Ten Commandments?

In his magnificent work, A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel, John Colquhoun has a chapter titled, “Rules for Rightly Understanding the Ten Commandments” (pp 85-98), which is similar to Question 99 of the Westminster Larger Catechism, “What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the Ten Commandments?” I highly recommend all …

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Should government punish false worship or coerce true worship?

To frame the issue more precisely, the question is not whether a society or nation ought to worship the one true God rightly. Societies should certainly worship the one true God according to His commands. Furthermore, the question is not whether false worshippers deserve punishment. God will certainly punish them temporally in this life as …

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Does the gospel threaten believers with condemnation?

Is part of the “good news” of Jesus Christ that He threatens His blood-bought people with an eternity of hell's torments if they don't believe and repent and keep on believing and repenting? To be clear, there is no question about whether the law as a covenant threatens anyone who does not believe. If you …

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Are the Ten Commandments distinct from other Old Testament law?

Are believers in Christ required to obey any part of Old Testament law, or is all Old Testament law abolished? Both Dispensationalists and proponents of New Covenant Theology simply say that believers are under no obligation to any Old Testament law. In their view, the laws of the Old Testament are fulfilled and abrogated in …

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What are some essential aspects of pastoral ministry?

Much of what passes for pastoral ministry today is nothing other than the application of philosophies and methods of corporate America in the church. Too many pastors think of themselves as doing their jobs, and they don’t think of themselves as God’s men who are called to a whole-life pastoral ministry among God’s beloved people. …

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