John Owen and John Calvin knew more theology than John Bunyan or Billy Bray, but who would deny that the latter pair knew their God ever bit as well as the former? (All four, of course, were beavers for the Bible, which counts for far more anyway than a formal theological training.) If the decisive factor was notional correctness, then obviously the most learned biblical scholars would know God better than anyone else. But it is not; you can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct. The reason is that the former will deal with God regarding the practical application of truth to his life, whereas the latter will not. (J.I. Packer, Knowing God)

by Richard Shin

And we’re back! It was another action-packed week. Here we go:

• Christianaudio.com has a free audiobook out by C.J. Mahaney called Don’t Waste Your Sports. Download it now before it’s too late.
• A new discovery of a piece of papyrus caused a storm this past week. Why? Because it suggested that Jesus was married. There have been a lot of responses. I’d like to point you to a few: Michael J. Kruger’s, Al Mohler’s, and Thomas White’s.
• Two people could argue until their teeth fall out on whether or not the gift of tongues has seized to exist with the close of the canon. Regardless, Scripture is abundantly clear on how and with what purpose one ought to speak in tongues. Josiah Grauman as a cessationist shares how one ought to engage in these discussions in two parts: part 1 and part 2.
• How do you define morality? One might argue that immorality is anything that harms other people. But is this true? In this video, Tim Keller and Al Mohler discuss whether this definition of morality suffices. For your information, I’m hurt by that definition.
• Mike Lee gives four reasons we as Christians do not burn things down when Jesus is mocked.
• I’m sure some of you can benefit from this graphic.

Can you believe we’re almost in the fourth quarter of the year? Neither can I. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Coram Deo