Can "Conservative" Churches Be Liberal?

Ray Ortlund thinks so. And explains how here. 

Here is a portion of that post:

The liberal churches I’ve known are not openly hostile to the Bible. They like the Bible. They want their preacher to use the Bible. They have home Bible studies. What makes them “liberal” is that the Bible alone is not what rules them. They allow into their doctrine, their ethos, their decisions, other complicating factors. The Bible is revered, in a way. But it is not the decisive factor. It is only one voice among others.

This lack of clarity allows unbiblical ideas and behavior to get traction. In a liberal church no one stands up, with an open Bible in his hand, and says, “Hey guys, we just don’t say/do things like that around here. It isn’t biblical.” That simple clarity just doesn’t exist in such a church. There is no authority towering over all else, rallying the people to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Only the Word of God, received with meekness, can prevent a church from sinking lower and lower into mediocrity, irrelevance, conflict and sheer boredom.

The Power of One View

"One spiritual view of the divine goodness, beauty, and holiness, will have more efficacy to raise the heart unto a contempt of all earthly things than any other evidences whatever."

—John Owen, The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded (vol. 7 in The Works of John Owen; ed. William H. Gould; Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1994), 359.

A Glorious Christmas Visual

Owen's Little Finger Full of Theology

J. C. Ryle:

I am quite aware that Owen's writings are not fashionable in the present day. . . . Yet the great divine . . . [has] more learning and sound knowledge of Scripture in his little finger than many who depreciate him have in their whole bodies. I assert unhesitatingly that the man who wants to study experimental theology will find no books equal to those of Owen.

—Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, as cited in Sinclair Ferguson, The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen (Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust, 2014), 43.

Nothing Less than a Heart Transplant Will Do

Stephen Dempster:

Even though the prophets were preachers of repentance and social reform, it is wrong to think of them as the ancient equivalents of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Their shared dream of a better society was not based on an optimistic reading of human nature. Rather, they saw human beings as fundamentally flawed, with sin engraved on the tablets of their hearts (Jer. 17:1). Just as Ethiopians and leopards could not change the colour of their skins, so human beings could not change their sinful nature (Jer. 13:23). . . .  

Jeremiah and Ezekiel shared the conviction that human effort could never suffice to save Israel; its heart was too corrupt. What was needed was a heart transplant, the gift of a new heart which had Yahweh's Torah written all over it (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:26–27). Nothing less than a transformation of human nature was required.

—NDBT: 124–125.

The Goal of Gifts

"The gifts of the Spirit serve diverse means for a single end: to make visible the lordship of Jesus Christ as crucified and raised, and to build up the whole community" (A. C. Thiselton, NDBT: 301).

Caesar Is Not Lord

"Mark's opening verse makes the Gospel's purpose clear: 'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God' (Mk 1:1, ESV). The evangelist has very carefully chosen his language, for it deliberately echoes the language of the imperial ruler cult, as seen in the Priene inscription in honour of Caesar Augustus: 'the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning for the world of the good news'" (C. A. Evans, NDBT: 269).

The Mark of the Disciple

Vos: 

This reliance of faith is not confined to the critical moments of life, it is to be the abiding, characteristic inner disposition of the disciple with reference to every concern. To trust God for food and raiment is as truly the mark of the disciple in the kingdom as to depend on him for eternal salvation (Matt 6:30).

—Geerhardus Vos, The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church (New York: American Tract Society, 1903), 183.

New Birth and the Supremacy of God

"In the new life which follows repentance the absolute supremacy of God is the controlling principle. He who repents turns away from the service of mammon and self to the service of God."

—Geerhardus Vos, The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church (New York: American Tract Society, 1903), 174–175.

The Fallout of a Lack of Love for God

"Where the love of God is absent, there an idolatrous love of the world and of self enters, and a positively offensive and hostile attitude towards God results."

—Geerhardus Vos, The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church (New York: American Tract Society, 1903), 173.

A Large Echo Chamber

"The Academy is a very large, self-authenticating plausibility structure, with the words Echo Chamber stenciled on the door."

—Doug Wilson, Seven Reasons Why BioLogos Is a Threat to Classical Christian Education

A Homeless Refugee with a Price on His Head

"The gospel of Jesus the Messiah was born, then, in a land and at a time of trouble, tension, violence and fear. Banish all thoughts of peaceful Christmas scenes. Before the Prince of Peace had learned to walk and talk, he was a homeless refugee with a price on his head."

—N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone: Part One, Chapters 1–15 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 14.

Hold Your Peace

Bad to the bone Bible. Bad to the bone pastor. Bad to the bone band.

Bad to the bone 

Bad to the bone

B-B-B-B-Bad

B-B-B-B-Bad

B-B-B-B-Bad

Bad to the bone 

Head over to Canon Press for some background to this b-b-b-b-bad to the bone video. 

One in Three, Three in One

"I cannot think about the One without being instantly surrounded by the splendour of the Three, nor can I discern the Three without being immediately drawn back to the One" (Gregory, On Holy Baptism, Oration 40.41).