Sanctification & Growth
Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference: beauty demands to be noticed [...]
The focus of this issue of MR is eschatology, living in what the Bible calls “these last days” between the already and the not yet. When it comes to our own lives or the global challenges the church faces [...]
“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5) The book of Job has been described as beautiful because of its artful structure and elegant poetry—but not often because of its stark display of terrible […]
I remember being introduced to the articulate and passionate gospel work of Modern Reformation and White Horse Inn while at college. It was a formative time for my faith, which I had only recently begun to take seriously. Michael Horton and crew helped me discover the beautiful truth of the reformational gospel—so much so that […]
Just as the work of Christ is predicated on human incapacity to earn our redemption, the work of the Spirit is predicated on human incapacity for holy living and spiritual formation. The nature of Christian ethics is that the demands it makes on the Christian are more than what one can fulfill in one’s own […]
After declaring some hard teachings about God’s sovereignty in salvation, which provoked many of his followers to abandon him, Jesus in John 6 asked his closest disciples if they would also leave. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you […]
In the marketplace of American religion, most people are looking for something practical: a religion that will improve their lives, enable them to become more self-sufficient, or leave a mark on society. Whether it’s getting fit at SoulCycle, becoming more mindful through meditation, or partnering with Jesus to renew all things, Americans love religion because […]
Many of us were raised on the idea of salvation from this world—whether it was the drama of a rapture and apocalyptic destruction, or the traditional hope of bright lights and streets of gold, salvation was less about this world redeemed than about “I’ll fly away.” Then the pendulum swung in the other direction. Salvation […]
In the evangelical 1980s, regular appearances of “The Power Team” at local megachurches were great opportunities for desperate youth pastors to connect with bored young men. In the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, team members would take turns performing feats of strength. It was all designed to remind the […]
When our associate editor was in seminary, one of her professors used an illustration (seen to the right) to explain the popular perception of both Reformational and mainline Christians. It was meant to be a joke, and like all jokes, it was funny because there is a sense in which the caricature is true (on […]
For a series of philosophical, theological, and practical reasons, the medieval church came gradually to think that our justification (that is, our acceptance by a righteous God) is progressive. What the confessional Reformed and Lutheran churches call sanctification (that is, our gradual conformity to Christ), the medieval church came to think of as justification. This […]
We’ve all heard of people in witness protection programs or defecting from another country who have had to assume new identities”killing off’ their old selves’for reasons of personal safety. Paul appeals to this sort of language when he says, How shall we who have died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you […]
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, […]
Do you ever feel like you’re more sinful today than you were yesterday or the day before? Me too. Perhaps you feel like your spiritual life never changes, that you’re stuck in neutral and not making any progress. For most Christians, staying still feels like you’re moving backwards. It’s like you’re treading water in a […]
Perhaps someone should write a book titled Silliness and Sanctification, because, sadly, church history is replete with examples of strange and silly suggestions about the pursuit of holiness. In the ancient church, pillar saints led an ascetic life living alone on a platform built on top of a column. In the contemporary church, Spirit-chasers pursue […]
