Moralism is a terrible substitute for Christianity. We need gospel-fueled obedience, not a “grit your teeth and do it” obedience. We should actively pursue a moral life, but it should flow from the gospel. And really, this is the only way that we can sustain real Christian morality. We must run the race with endurance, “looking unto Jesus… seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). 

We’ve recently gotten into tapes at my house. And yes, when I say tapes, I mean the things we used to fast-forward and rewind in order to listen to music. My wife and I both grew up on tapes, and we recently inherited a bunch of old nostalgic radio programs and albums from our parents. And my boys love it. They love that they can start and stop it at will. My wife and I love it because we can let them listen without worrying about weird commercial breaks or hidden agendas. But one thing that comes out in these old tapes from the 90’s is a weird amount of moralism. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all about teaching good morals to my kids, but a lot of the Christian kid’s programming from that era had a lot to say about what was right and wrong, but often lacked the gospel. As an adult, I’m realizing that those programs needed some more robust gospel underpinnings. But this type of moralism was not unique to the 90’s or unique to kid’s programming. Honestly, I’m seeing it now more than ever. And moralism is a poor substitute for Christianity.
Moralism Today
Today, we have replaced the moralistic tales of church kid’s programming with the intellectual, political commentaries of the modern Youtube influencer. People who hold to Judeo-Christian values are, rightly, calling foul on the culture. But so often, people begin to think that that is what Christianity is all about.
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No one is forcing us to do anything. Only God has the authority to command us, and we must follow Him. Christ has saved us, not to live for ourselves, but, “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor 5:15). So the next time you’re tempted to think that you must do something that violates your conscience to be a good parent, just remember that you don’t have to do anything.

“You have to let your kids watch/do/experience that! It’s so iconic. They’ll totally miss out!”
No. No they won’t. I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but parents, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. There is literally no one mandating the things that your kids must experience to be a full human being. Let me say it even more clearly: There is no movie that your kids must watch in order to function properly in society. There is no music your kids must listen to in order to really thrive. There is no destination that your kids must visit in order to really fit in. No one is forcing you to do any of those things. And while the world is trying to convince you that there are certain things that you must do for your children, I want to talk about the real imperative for all Christian parents.
Christian Parents Are Bound to Obey God
Christian parents have a duty to God, and God alone, in raising their children. “Each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12). God is the One who guides our parenting choices. If we know that we will give an account of our parenting to Him, why would we let the world have any say in what we do? We are commanded to, “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4).
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I want to be honest about my sin and shortcomings, but I also want to be honest about my God. He has not left me or forsaken me. He is accomplishing all that He has promised. I say with Joshua, “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Josh 21:45). I will be humble, but I will not lie about God. 

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
1 Cor 15:10
Christians, rightly, strive to be humble. We know that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We follow our Lord, who was the mighty King of heaven, God the Son, who humbled Himself to the position of servant, and even humbled Himself to take on death for His enemies (Phil 2:5-8). We are the blessed meek (Matt 5:5). But in our attempt to be humble, it can be tempting to lie about God.
What do I mean? In an attempt to be humble, I can be guilty of only speaking of the ways in which I’m not perfect. I don’t want to exalt myself, so I end up downplaying my sanctification and highlighting my imperfections. I am acutely aware of how far short I fall from God’s glory….
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On a Sunday, the pastors are feeding souls with good songs. They are also responsible for keeping the songs biblically balanced. Does the church sing too many songs about God’s grace and nothing of God’s justice? Or is there too much wrath and no mercy? Are the songs all joy and no lament, or all lament and no joy? These are questions that the pastor must answer in order to shepherd well.

Songs are shepherding tools. We think of the word preached as a tool of the shepherd, and it is. We think of prayer as a shepherding tool, and it is. We think of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as shepherding tools, and they are. But do we think of the songs as shepherding tools? When God gave Moses the commandments, He also gave Him a song. He told Him to teach the people the words from the mountain, and He told Him to write a song. He tells Moses that, while they might forget His covenant, “this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring)” (Deut 31:21). With this in mind, I want to exhort pastors and music leaders to remember that there must be oversight in the musical ministry of the church.
The Importance of Music
As the music coordinator of our church, and not a pastor, I’m not looking down on the non-pastoral music guys out there. I try my hardest to love God and to love our people by faithfully preparing each Sunday to lead the musical worship. But too often the responsibilities of Sunday morning song selection are delegated out to someone who is not a pastor. And unfortunately, not only “not a pastor”, but sometimes someone deeply disqualified to lead in God’s church. This person might be the most talented musician around, but musical talent is not a mark of spiritual maturity. And when this shepherding tool is not wielded well, there can be serious consequences.
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In all of the evil and unpleasantness of living in a world stained by sin, for the Christian, God never intends any of it for evil. Isn’t that such a comfort? That our God is able to take all of those things that we wish most to avoid, and mean them for our good. We can trust that, even in the real evils of the world, God is always intending them for good. So you have this great calamity that has befallen you. Do you trust that God is keeping you from all evil?

The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life (Psalm 121:7).
As I read these words, I looked around at my weak, sick, coughing children, and my miserable wife. We had been battling something not exactly the flu, but close enough, for about a week. We all felt terrible and some of the kids were running some pretty scary high temperatures. I was trying to conduct the most enthusiastic family time I could muster. “The LORD will keep you from all evil,” I said again. “But what about us? What about our sickness? Why didn’t the Lord keep us from this?”
We can just glide right past these words, appreciate the poetry and beauty of the thought, but really not be paying attention. Will He really keep us from all evil? Then why all of this… evil? Why the sickness and the sadness? Why the death and decay around us? I asked the boys why we were sick, and my oldest, quicker than I’m ever ready for said, “Adam.” Great answer. Adam sinned and plunged the world into all of this death and sickness (Rom 5:12). “But God said He would keep us from all evil. Did He fail to keep His word?” “No!” they shouted emphatically. “So why are we sick?” I’ll tell you how I answered them.
Just because we love Jesus and are saved, does not mean that bad things won’t happen to us.
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Who is like our God who speaks with perfect clarity? Who speaks with such wisdom and truth and faithfulness. Who can thunder with a voice like His in total authority? Only our God has words like this. And every single word of God is true. 

As I was listening to the radio the other day about current events, I found myself asking, “I wonder how much of this is true?” It’s an unfortunate fact that you can’t believe everything someone tells you. Not only are there obvious biases in every conversation and purposeful misdirections, but also sometimes people just have their facts wrong. Even the most careful and well spoken individuals sometimes fall into innocent miscommunications and unintentional misrepresentations. What blew me away as I was thinking about this report on the radio was that I never have to ask that question when I read God’s word. Really let this sink in: Every word of God is true.
When God speaks, it is absolutely perfect. Perfect in its delivery, perfect in its content, perfect in its timing. He always speaks with proper soberness and weightiness. He’s never too harsh or too soft. His words are not only true, they are truth (Psalm 119:116). Which means that when I hear from God on any subject, I can take it to the bank. There is not one chance that He has said the wrong thing. Sure, I can misunderstand, but it’s not because the content is faulty. “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Prov 30:5). Every. Single. Word. Amazing.
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Hold a high standard for faithful exposition and really value when your pastors faithfully expose God’s word, even when the style may need some polishing. God uses these means to encourage His saints, so may we tune in every time God’s word is opened, ready to be encouraged.

What’d you think of that sermon?
An innocent question with zero ill intent, but one I’m trying to avoid. Sunday by Sunday, pastors all over the globe take God’s word and attempt to deliver a faithful exposition to His church. Through these men, in their own weak but faithful way, God graciously equips His church for the work of ministry. When we ask that question it has at its root some bad assumptions, and it often leads to negative takeaways for the person asking and the person answering. Not to say that critique or criticism is always wrong, because surely we need to hold our pastors to a high standard. But when we make our topic of conversation about the style of the sermon and not the content of the sermon, I believe we are making a crucial mistake. I want to exhort you to work hard to be encouraged.
The Sermon Is Not A Performance
The first problem with this question is that it assumes that the sermon was delivered as a performance for us to critique. Often our critiques revolve around sermon length, delivery, style, almost at the exclusion of the actual content of the sermon. Again, while we should hope that our pastors are constantly working to improve their delivery of the precious promises of God, their sermon is not a performance. They are taking God’s word and saying to His people, “Thus says the Lord.”
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I need a view of heaven in every situation. I need to be reminded of heaven in my relationships with Christians. I need to see eternity in regards to my finances and my job. I need to remember that heaven is coming when I make choices about my family and my friends and my enemies. What a shame it will be when we give an account to God for the grudges that we kept, for the good we refused to do, for the godliness we refused to walk in. These surely must be some of the tears that will need wiping away on that glorious day.

Moses asked God to teach us to “number our days” (Psalm 90:12). David prayed that God would make him to know his end and to “let me know how fleeting I am” (Psalm 39:4-5). James reminds us that we are “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Takeaway: Our life is short.
Jesus understood this truth and reminded his disciples often. He said things like, “For the Son of Man is going to come” (Matt 16:27), or “for the Son of Man is coming” (Matt 24:44). The Apostle Paul would go on to speak of “the Day” revealing and disclosing the secrets of the heart (1 Cor 3:13). Takeaway: Heaven is coming.
Based on these two truths, how then should we live? I have been burdened by these thoughts. Life is short and heaven is coming. We have 70, or by reason of strength 80 years on this earth, and then we walk into eternity.
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Such is the Christian life. Full of love and full of longing. Graciously receiving all good gifts from our good Father, and looking for and hastening the coming of the Lord Jesus. Let us look to Christ with contentment and expectation.

This was originally written before the birth of our fourth son. Now that we are expecting our fifth in a month or so, I’ve decided to share again. I’m still living in the loving and longing.
We are expecting our fourth son within a week, and I’ve been filled with thankfulness and excitement as the day draws near. I’ve been reminded that God fills our life with good gifts. James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). I love these good gifts from God. Yet I know that these good gifts are temporary. My wife, my house, my children, my job. Each one of these could be taken from me in a moment. Each one of these could bring me happiness or grief. And often that is how it is: the thing that once brought the greatest joy, brings also with it the greatest heartache. So on the cusp of the birth of my fourth son, I’m torn. Torn between loving and longing.
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Please tell me the gospel again. I want my heart warmed by His grace. I need to remember the awful cost of sin. Tell me that His wrath burned hot against me, but the Savior came to save a sinner like me. Tell me how He drank the cup of the wrath of God and drained it to the dregs (Psalm 75:8). Remind me that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). I need it. I love it.

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
Phil 3:1
I’m gonna tell you the gospel again. I know you’ve heard it. I know you’ve heard it from me even. But I’m still gonna remind you. Why? Because you need it. You need to be reminded. I know you’re a Christian. I know that you’ve already repented and believed this gospel, but I’m gonna share it again.
You have not thought deeply enough about Christ. You have not plumbed the depths of “unsearchable riches” (Eph 3:8). You have not figured out the love of Christ “that surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:19). So I’m gonna tell you the gospel again. I will remind you of how He died for sinners. I will remind you that He rose in victory on the third day. I will remind you that He now sits at the right hand of God, reigning as King forever, ready to receive all who trust in Him.
You are too prone to forget. The matter of first importance (1 Cor 15:3) is sometimes back of mind (or even out of mind). You can get busy. You can get distracted. You can get sleepy. But I’m here to tell you the gospel again. I want to wake you up to the reality of sins forgiven. I don’t want you to be shortsighted, forgetting that you were cleansed from your former sins (2 Peter 1:9). I don’t want you to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. So I’m going to encourage and exhort you through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.
And yes. Even you, the Christian, need to hear the gospel again. This is the message that saves you, sanctifies you, strengthens you, and sustains you.
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