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Michael Horton

What is the Reformed Faith?

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  • Michael Horton

What is the reformed faith? This article points to the sovereignty of God, man's sinful nature, the work of Christ, election, justification and the Christian life as distinguishing aspects of the reformed faith.

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Why Should I Believe that Jesus Rose from the Dead

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  • Michael Horton

Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Many people deny the historicity of the death of Jesus and his resurrection. This article discusses the facts of his resurrection and what that means for you now and on the last day.

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What Are You Afraid Of?

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  • Michael Horton

Many people fear anything that threatens their health, job, or security, but they do not fear God. This article provides two reasons why the downgrading of the fear of God is misguided.

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What You Need to Understand about Taking Up Your Cross

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  • Michael Horton

What does Jesus mean when he calls his disciples to take up their cross (Mark 8:34-38)? This article explains that cross-bearing is sharing in the suffering of Jesus.

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How to Engage the Culture without Losing the Gospel

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  • Michael Horton

Through questions and answers, this article discusses the challenging question of how the church can engage the culture without losing the gospel.

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Is Faith What We Do to Be Saved?

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  • Michael Horton

Many believe that the act of faith is that which saves instead of faith in Christ. The article clarifies how anyone can truly be saved, so that you can rest in Christ.

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The Work of the Spirit That Anticipates the Future

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  • Michael Horton

Why was it for the disciples' advantage that Jesus go away and send the Holy Spirit as helper (John 16:7)? This article explains that the Spirit would come to work in the church through the Word, to bind the church to the Christ of the past and the future.

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How Is the Holy Spirit Our Helper?

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  • Michael Horton

John 16:7 tells us that the Holy Spirit is our our helper or comforter (paraclete). This article reflects on what this means for the church.

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Six Things You Should Know about Faith and Mental Illness

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  • Michael Horton

What is the relationship between faith and mental illness? Many in the past did not believe mental disorders were real. This article raises six points for consideration concerning faith and mental illness.

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The Crucial Difference Between Law and Gospel for the Christian Life

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  • Michael Horton

Should Christians be driven by the law of God or the promises of God? While the law has its appeal to us, the Bible teaches that we ought to be driven by the promises of God. This article discusses two Scripture passages to help to address this matter: Genesis 15 and Romans 4. 

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Did Jesus Preach the Gospel to People in Hell during the Two Days He Was Dead?

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  • Michael Horton

Does 1 Peter 3:18-22 teach that Jesus descended into hell and preached to the dead there? There has been an ongoing debate over the years about whether Jesus went to hell and proclaimed the gospel or his spirit went to the Father upon his death (Luke 23:22, 26). The article discusses one of the views that is widely accepted concerning what happened to Jesus between the crucifixion and resurrection.

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Can the Devil Control Your Thoughts?

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  • Michael Horton

Are you living in fear of Satan controlling your thoughts? Scripture teaches that while Satan is unable to dictate what we think, he is able to tempt people to sin by false teaching. Scripture also teaches that the only way to stand against the devil, and to distinguish between the voice of God and of Satan, is by studying the Scriptures and putting on the shield of faith in Christ.

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What Is the Most Biblical Way to Evangelize?

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  • Michael Horton

Believers tend to struggle with how to do evangelism well. This article explains that having a good grasp of the gospel and its storyline is of great help in evangelism.

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To preach the Bible as "the handbook for life," or as the answer to every question, rather than as a revelation of Christ, is to turn the Bible into an entirely different book. Michael Horton
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The Bible Is More Like a Library Than a Book

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  • Michael Horton

How should you go about reading the Bible? This article encourages you to start by seeing the Bible as a library rather than a book, since it was written by different authors, from different perspectives.

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The Bible Is a Ruling Constitution

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  • Michael Horton

How should you go about reading the Bible? This article explains that each testament has its own constitution around which all of the writings within it fit.

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The Bible Is Not a Code Book

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  • Michael Horton

Reading the Bible can be challenging. How should you go about it? This article calls us to realize that the Bible is not a code book but a story with Christ at the centre.

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How to Read a Book

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  • Michael Horton

Reading the Bible can be challenging. How should you go about Bible reading? You should start by seeing the Bible as a book. This awareness means that the grammatical and stylistic rules that went into composing the Bible books must be understood in order to interpret them.

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I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting

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  • Michael Horton

The belief in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting has implications for the Christian life today. This article explains the relationship between the resurrection hope of the body and the daily life of the Christian.

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Why We Need a New Reformation

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  • Michael Horton

Do we need another reformation? This article explains what was unique about the first Reformation, and goes on to indicate that since the church today is in a worse state, there is a need for a second reformation.

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Why You Should Avoid Stoicism and Fake-Happiness When Suffering Hits

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  • Michael Horton

How should Christians respond when suffering hits? There are two responses they must avoid and one response to embrace. This article explains how the gospel shapes the way Christians face suffering.

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Should Christians Pray for God to Judge Their Enemies?

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  • Michael Horton

How should Christians pray for their enemies? This article looks at the imprecatory Psalms and their place in the Christian life in relation to the spiritual warfare.

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Hell Is Not Separation from God

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  • Michael Horton

What makes hell horrible? What makes it horrible is ultimately one reason alone: not that God is absent, but that he is present, in judgment.

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"Am I My Brother's Keeper?": Christians and Social Justice

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  • Michael Horton

What kind of social justice should the church be involved in? This article explains the call for Christians to simply take up their responsibilities wherever God has called them, and show love to the neighbour in doing so.

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How to Talk to Atheists and Skeptics about Jesus

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  • Michael Horton

How do you communicate the truth of the resurrection of Christ to someone trapped in atheism or skepticism? This article provides three ways for doing so.

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How the Church Gets Justice Wrong (and How to Begin Getting It Right)

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  • Michael Horton

How should the church think about the matter of social justice? This article explains that the way to start thinking rightly about the subject is by exploring the relationship between the Great Commission and the great commandment.

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The Root of All Godliness

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  • Michael Horton

How do you pursue godliness? This article explains that the root of all godliness, of true piety, is faith in the gospel.

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What Does the Spirit Do Today?

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  • Michael Horton

What is the work of the Holy Spirit today? This article answers questions related to the Holy Spirit and Christian experience, the voice of God today, the location of the work of God today, and where we can see signs and wonders.

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God Doesn't Help Those Who Help Themselves

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  • Michael Horton

Do you believe that God helps those who help themselves? This article explains why that is problematic. The author raises the context of the Reformation and the discovery of the five solas, and why these needed to be rediscovered today.

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Four Tips for Reading the Bible When It's Difficult

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  • Michael Horton

Reading the Bible is at times difficult. This article provides four considerations for keeping in mind in your Bible reading.

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God Is Not Your Co-Pilot

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  • Michael Horton

Why is preaching the gospel essential to the church? Gospel preaching truly reveals the place of God and of man.

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Four Ways to Seek the Good of Modern-Day Babylon

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  • Michael Horton

From Jeremiah 29:4-9 this article shows four ways in which Christians are called to seek the good of the city.

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The Making of a Heretic

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  • Michael Horton

This article discusses the matter of what exactly is a heresy, and how the Scriptures are the final authority on what is and is not heresy.

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Confusing Faith with Taking Big Risks for God

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  • Michael Horton

How should we think about the promises of God? God's promises should be received by faith. However, this article explains the difference between living by faith and taking risks.

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If the Creeds Aren't Infallible, Why Use Them?

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  • Michael Horton

What role should creeds, confessions, and catechisms play in the church? It is this question that this article deals with.

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What Every Christian Needs to Know about Evil and Suffering

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  • Michael Horton

There are two things that Christians should know about suffering and trials: God has a purpose for them, and we are not able to figure out what that purpose is in the moment.

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The Power Crisis

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  • Michael Horton

The apostle Paul, with all the problems he experienced in Corinth, wrote that the power of the gospel lies in preaching Christ crucified. The church has always needed to hear about sin, judgment, grace, and redemption.

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How Can We Know God?

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  • Michael Horton

What does it mean to know God? What is the key to the knowledge of God? These are the questions that this article attempts to answer. Central to the answer is the divinity of Jesus Christ. The author also observes the effect of philosophical developments through time on the church's faith in the deity of Christ.

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John Calvin on the Role of the Pastor

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  • Michael Horton

This article presents John Calvin's understanding of the role of the pastor. It also points out that the pastor may not stand in the way of Christ alone having the dominion in his church.

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Outsourcing Our Job Description: A Please to Fellow Ministers

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  • Michael Horton

Essential to the calling of the pastor is the work of preaching and teaching. This article makes an appeal to pastors not to outsource this responsibility.

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How Can We Know God?

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  • Michael Horton

From John 8:19-24 Jesus shows that the revelation of God is in him. This article argues this by pointing to the biblical evidence that the key to knowing God is knowing Jesus Christ.

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The Disturbing Legacy of Charles Finney

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  • Michael Horton

Charles Finney can be known as the father of altar call. This article examines Finney's views of salvation and shows how his view of man's nature and salvation distorts the biblical view.

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Was Geneva a Theocracy?

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  • Michael Horton

Was Geneva a theocracy and was John Calvin its pope? To answer this question this article looks at the involvement of John Calvin in Geneva and in the execution of Servetus.

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Reformed Theology Vs. Hyper-Calvinism

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  • Michael Horton

This article attempts to address some misunderstandings about Reformed theology by comparing it to different theologies, particularly Arminianism and hyper-Calvinism.

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A Tale of Two Pieties Reformational Holiness

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  • Michael Horton

The emphasis on having a relationship with Jesus Christ at the expense of church membership has produced a false dichotomy in piety. This article shows that true holiness is personal but also finds its expression among God’s covenant people.

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Communicating the Claims of Easter

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  • Michael Horton

Did Christ really rise from the dead? This article looks at the claims against the resurrection of Christ, concluding that there is no other explanation except that Christ rose.

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What about Bob?: The Meaning of Ministry in the Reformed Tradition

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  • Michael Horton

What does it mean to be involved in a ministry? This article shows that the modern definition of the word 'ministry' is sometimes inaccurate. The priesthood of believers should not be confused with the call to ministry, which is limited to the ministry of the word and the administration of sacraments.

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How to Read the Book

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  • Michael Horton

Do you know how to read the Bible (interpretation of Scripture)? This article discusses the connecting theme of the covenant throughout the Bible, and other hermeneutical rules that help us to interpret the Bible's message.

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Christless Christianity: Getting in Christ’s Way

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  • Michael Horton

What is Satan's biggest strategy? This article shows that it is keeping people from seeing Christ (Christ-centredness). Christless Christianity is the challenge that is facing the church today. This challenge can be traced back to the Sadducces and the Pharisees. Christ is denied through the teaching that the gospel does not include the wrath of God, but only His love.

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A Defense of Reformed Liturgy

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  • Michael Horton

Is it important to have a reformed liturgy? This article shows that there is a relationship between theology and liturgy, since the one leads to the other. Here the history of reformed liturgy is given, showing that reformed liturgy seeks to be biblical and God-centered.

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Church shouldn't be a place where the old self is revived for another week, but where it is killed and buried and the new self is created in the likeness of Christ. Michael Horton
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Finding a Church

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  • Michael Horton

"How can I find a church where I will hear Christ preached from his Word? Where is his glory not camouflaged under lots of fluff and distractions?" We can appreciate the concern and even frustration that accompanies the search for the right place to worship. In the first place however, as with product labels, it is important to recognize what church labels mean and don't mean.

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Beyond Culture Wars

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  • Michael Horton

It is an error to identify the gospel with any particular system or culture. A problem with the church being identified with the culture wars is a basic one: Christianity is not a culture. It is a faith centered around a person who has a real life, a life of significance because he is God incarnate and rose from the dead as he promised and is alive in heaven.

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2 Corinthians 11:4-6 - Corinthian Distractions

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  • Michael Horton

In Corinth the simplicity of the gospel was undermined. Silver-tongued speakers made promises about the keys to success and happiness. Because they made at least some appeal to Christ, the super-apostles convinced some of the Corinthian believers that they were still bringing the gospel. However, for them the gospel was not enough. They wanted to make Christianity relevant in a pagan commercial center like Corinth.

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Why Did God Become Man?: The Megashift Debate

  • Semi-Technical
  • Michael Horton

The question of Anselm, "Why did God become man?" is not answered in a uniform way by Evangelical Christians. There used to be more of a consensus, more so than there is today. What did the atonement actually accomplish? There are basically four views held by Protestants.

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Resolutions for Roman Catholic and Evangelical dialogue

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  • Michael Horton

This article suggests important issues if there is to be a serious discussion between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. This is a reaction to the document "Evangelicals and Catholics together".

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Beyond Style Wars

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  • Michael Horton

This article is about the style of worship, seeker-oriented worship services, worship and evangelism, and God-oriented worship.

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Who Saves Whom?

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  • Michael Horton

In this article the author offers a few responses to the common objections concerning the doctrine of election. He states, "If one does not believe in the doctrine of unconditional election, it is impossible to have a high doctrine of grace."

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Be natural in the spiritual, and be spiritual in the natural Rienk B. Kuiper
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