Ligonier Ministries Blog

1. A Letter to a Discouraged Pastor

   Your letter struck a raw nerve with me. I felt a sense of déjà vu. My mind snapped back to my own seminary days and subsequent early years of ministry. The first memory it sparked was of occasions as a young man when I expressed my frustrations to older men who responded to me by saying, “You’re too young and idealistic to understand these things. Wait until you get more experience.” That type of answer only fueled my frustration. I wanted cogent answers and sound arguments, not patronage from my elders. My seminary experience was much like yours. I had professors who openly attacked the doctrine of Christ’s substitutionary atonement, the deity of Christ, and ridiculed anyone who believed the Bible was God’s Word. I experienced shock, hurt, and anger. When I expressed these concerns to older people in the church, they added to my dismay by insisting that I must be mistaken and that I was being a troublemaker. Day after day in seminary classes I was exposed to a rigorous skepticism toward everything I held sacred. Fortunately (I should say providentially), I had one professor who brilliantly defended the biblical faith and who supported me in my trials. I really don’t know what I would have done without Dr. Gerstner. There were two simple passages from the Bible to which I clung tenaciously. The first was from Psalm 37:1: “Do not fret because of evil men.” That hit home with me because I was doing a lot of fretting and it wasn’t helping my spiritual life. The second passage was from Jeremiah. When the prophet complained to God bitterly and threatened to quit because false prophets were undermining his ministry, God rebuked him and said, “Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has My word speak it faithfully” (Jer. 23:28). The application of those words to my life was simple. I realized that God was not going to hold me accountable for what other ministers said or did. Rather, He was going to hold my feet to the fire for what I say and do. I had my marching orders, and so do you. When I hear your anguish, I have two conflicting responses in my heart. On the one hand I want to rush to your side and offer you whatever encouragement I can. I want to weep with you as you weep. On the other hand, as a battle-scarred veteran, I want to kick you in the pants and give you a “Pattonesque” bop on the chin. I want to say, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” The ministry is no place for cowards. You know as well as I do that this all goes with the territory. When was it ever any different? We are called to serve a Master who was despised and rejected of men. We join a company of those whom the world hated and slew. I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, its easy to put up with the hostility of the world. We expect it. It’s getting shot in the back from within the church that is hard to take. Even then we tend to rise to the occasion when the issues are big and important. It’s the pettiness that wears us down. Again, mature faith requires that we be willing and able to absorb petty slights and insults. How does it go for you on Sunday mornings? You stand at the door to greet your flock and fifty people tell you that they appreciated your sermon. Then one person expresses a criticism. What do you remember for the rest of the day? Right . . . me too. You tell yourself that you’re supposed to be able to handle criticism, but it still wounds. Chances are, if the person knew how much they wounded you they would be horrified. Most of the petty hurts we endure are unintentional. Understanding that can go a long way to salving the wound. But there is a bigger issue to be dealt with from your letter. It involves our understanding of the church itself. You need to understand that the church is the most corrupt institution on earth. It’s more corrupt than the government. It’s more corrupt than the cosa nostra. Surely I exaggerate? By no means. I am rating corruption according to a standard of giftedness. God says that to whom much is given, much is required. No institution has been invested with more divine grace than the church. Here is where both grace and the means of grace are particularly concentrated. Again, no institution on earth has such a holy vocation. If the church is the most corrupt institution in the world, it is because it is the most important institution in the world. All things being equal it is nowhere near the actual corruption of government or of the mafia. But judged by its gifts and its sacred vocation, relatively speaking its corruption grows in proportion. Because the church is so important, it is the central target of hell. The devil doesn’t have to work up a sweat to induce the mafia to evil. Junior-grade demons can plunge a government into decadence. But the church—the bride of Jesus, the family of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit—that institution invites the unbridled assault of hell at every point. This isn’t a simple problem of wrestling with flesh and blood. It is a struggle with principalities and powers. We know that there have been periods in history when the church was more or less pure. But it has always been what St. Augustine described as a corpus per mixtum, a mixed body. Our Lord described the church as an institution that included both tares and wheat. Sometimes the tares gain the upper hand and lead the church into apostasy. Some churches have degenerated to such a low degree that they cease being churches at all. But no church in any age has been utterly pure. It was the clergy who gnashed their teeth in hatred of Jesus and plotted His death. It was the church that condemned Luther, banished Calvin from France, and dismissed Edwards from Northampton. It was during the century of the Great Awakening in our land that Gilbert Tennant wrote The Danger of an Unconverted Clergy. The sheep have always suffered at the hands of wolves cleverly disguised as sheep themselves. But will not God vindicate His elect who cry unto Him day and night? You gotta love the church. You can’t love Christ and despise His body. You can’t reject His bride. He has promised to present His bride to the Father without spot or wrinkle. Right now we may be discouraged. Her wedding gown has been torn to shreds as if by a wolf. But the groom will surely take care of all that. He will remove every spot, mend every tear, and smooth every wrinkle. Remember, it is we who are the spots and the wrinkles. If we despise them we despise ourselves. Now it is time to gird up yourself like a man. Stir up the gift that is within you and look to the Author and finisher of your faith to rekindle a fire in your bones. It’s worth it. Love as always, R.C.

2. Husbands, A Warning Against Bitterness

   Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. (Col. 3:19, NKJV) One of the great temptations a husband faces is to be bitter toward his wife. Bitterness and love are, in Colossians 3:19, opposite ends of the spectrum of how a husband might treat his wife. The Temptation of Bitterness Bitterness is the most sensitive of the tastes, and most of us find it harsh, unpleasant, and disagreeable. Case in point: Unsweetened cocoa. Do you remember the first time you discovered the shockingly harsh taste of unsweetened cocoa? It blows the mind of young children that anything bearing the brown Hershey label could taste so bad! You never find children sneaking cocoa…more than once. Identifying relational bitterness is not as simple as a taste test. A harsh or bitter man will rarely admit it. He will call himself firm, melancholy, sober, principled or any number of pseudonyms for bitter. Here’s the reality: Most men treat their wives’ harshly. If men did not struggle with harshness God would not waste his time commanding against it. Unless you have been sanctified beyond the norm you regularly sin against your wife by bitterness. If you are unconvinced, here are a few diagnostic tests: Does your wife enjoy spending time with you? Does she feel encouraged by you? Do you make her feel safe, physically and emotionally? Is she proud to name you as her husband? Negative answers likely have bitterness to blame. Expressions of Bitterness One deadly form of the special sin of husbands is secret bitterness–an underlying attitude of intense displeasure toward another. Secret bitterness can be related to the failures of the wife. Virtually every married man has had a pity party over his wife’s sins, whether real or imagined. For some men, these pity parties are ongoing: “She has stolen my freedom. She’s not the woman I married. I try so much harder than she does.” Because of this attitude they fail to treat their wives with a love that expresses appreciation to God for his unique gift. Then there is overt bitterness. Harsh men “persuade” their wives through physical, mental, or verbal strength rather than through love. They use harsh language with their wives. They treat them with a severity that others would find offensive if they could see it. This bitterness clearly fails to reflect the tender and faithful affection with which Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25–30). Men, you and I need to repent of our bitterness. We need to trust more fully in Christ, who as our covenant head does not treat us with the bitterness our sins deserve.

3. Always Ready: Join Us in Atlanta

   What does it mean to be a Christian today? Teenagers hear many answers to this question—but are they the right answers? If our children are to follow Christ in a confused world, it is vital that their faith rest on the right foundation. Not on the opinions of online influencers—or even the authority of their parents—but on the immovable foundation of God’s Word. Join churches and youth groups on October 17, 2026, in Atlanta, GA, for Always Ready. This youth conference invites hundreds of Christians ages 12–18 to hear biblical teaching on the core truths of the Christian faith. SESSIONS: Bigger Than You Think Why This Book? Who Am I? Why Am I Here? Panel Discussion: Faith in the Real World Panel Discussion: Unfazed in a Strange New World Q&A: Got Questions? During this full day of biblical teaching and fellowship, we’ll explore who God is, why we can trust the Bible, and how the gospel of Jesus Christ shapes our whole lives. Register today for $35, which includes a welcome bag, lunch, and admission to all sessions. A 20% discount is also available for groups of ten or more. Invite your youth group, family members, and friends to join you.

4. Who Was Cyril of Alexandria?

   Cyril of Alexandria (c. AD 376–444) isn’t often listed alongside greats like Athanasius and Augustine, but he probably deserves to be. His preaching and writing profoundly shaped the way the church thought about the person of Christ, and especially the glorious salvation He brings to His people. Early Years In 412, Cyril became archbishop of Alexandria. The city was known for frequent rioting and unrest, and Cyril’s early years as archbishop were marked by conflict. He weighed in on tension between Christian groups as well as tension with the Jewish population, and he had a longstanding feud with the city’s governor. Infamously, a pagan philosopher named Hypatia was brutally murdered by a mob at this time, and some ancient writers attempted to lay the blame at Cyril’s door. He has been easy to villainize as a result, and a rather inaccurate portrait of him as a power-hungry bully became very popular among modern liberal scholars. The truth is that Cyril spent the majority of these years doing the ordinary work of a bishop: preaching, leading worship, and writing biblical commentaries. His emerging reputation as an intelligent scholar of Scripture was about to be road tested. Stepping into Controversy In 428, a popular Syrian preacher named Nestorius became archbishop of Constantinople, taking the most influential pulpit in the world. Almost immediately, Nestorius sparked controversy because of the way he would speak about the person of Christ. Nestorius began preaching against a title traditionally given to Mary: theotokos (“God-bearer” or “Mother of God”). The title was designed to capture the extraordinary reality of the incarnation: A young woman had given birth to God the Son in human flesh (John 1:14). But Nestorius felt this was the wrong view of Christ. The baby born of Mary—naked, crying, and dependent on her for feeding and washing—could not be the eternal, unchanging God. Mary, he reasoned, was the mother only of the man Christ, not the Son of God. In other words, there had to be a clear dividing line between the man born of Mary and the divine Son of God. He spoke of Jesus as though He were a man uniquely joined to, or partnered with, the eternal Son rather than God the Son Himself come in human flesh. He preferred to speak of Mary as Christotokos (“Christ-bearer”). Nearly seven hundred miles south in Egypt, Cyril was alerted to all this. He had spent years studying the Trinity and writing biblical commentaries, and he knew he had to engage. Cyril saw clearly what Nestorianism meant. If the One born of Mary and who later hung on the cross was not God Himself, then God had not come down to save us. Nestorius’ “Jesus” was a human man being raised up—a supercharged moral example, the ideal patron saint of those who intend to win salvation for themselves. Getting Christ Right Cyril was called to chair the Council of Ephesus in 431, where church leaders gathered and agreed to oppose Nestorius and his teaching. There was only one Lord Jesus Christ, and He could not be split in two, for our salvation had to be wrought by God Himself. A human empowered by divine assistance was no Savior. This meant that the person in action throughout Jesus’ earthly life—whether walking on water or falling asleep in a boat, whether healing the sick or suffering crucifixion—was none other than God the Son in the flesh. This was the identity of the baby born of Mary. The Council of Chalcedon in 451, seven years after Cyril’s death, crystalized all this further. God the Son had an eternal divine nature, and, to this, He added a true and full human nature in the incarnation. These two natures remain distinct in Jesus, but they are not separate persons or different sons, as was the consequence of Nestorius’ teaching. There was only one person working for our salvation in all the blood, sweat, and tears—the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. God with Us Cyril’s great contribution was not so much about getting the terminology right. He believed that the Jesus we imagine deeply shapes our view of God and the salvation He offers. Like Paul, Cyril saw that a distorted Jesus goes hand in hand with a distorted gospel (2 Cor. 11:4). Whereas Nestorius had a preconceived view of God and struggled to fit Jesus into it, Cyril started with Jesus Christ and allowed Him to unveil the Father and His heart. The God revealed in Jesus was pleased to draw near to sinful humanity in person (Col. 1:19–20)—not at arm’s length, nor through a proxy, but personally. God the Son came to us, clothed in our humanity, laid down His life, and took hold of us when we could not save ourselves. In Jesus, God truly loves sinners, up close and personal. The One who holds the world together is the same One who wept at the tomb of Lazarus, who grew tired after a journey, and who shed His blood on the cross for our redemption. He is Immanuel, God with us. We have Cyril of Alexandria to thank for steering the church to worship and wonder at so great a salvation.

5. 4 Tips for Engaging Kids with the Bible

   It is an unspeakable joy to be able to hold the very words of God in our hands and read them in our own language so we may know how to walk obediently. As Jesus Himself said in Luke 11:28, “Blessed . . . are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” May the Lord give Christian parents diligence to both model and teach a love for God’s Word. The stakes could not be higher. Here are four tips that may help Christian parents engage kids with the Bible. 1. Lead by example. Children should know that you love the Bible and that reading it is a vital part of your day. They should see you reading it or hear you talking about what you read today. Instill in them what a high privilege it is to have God’s Word accessible to us. God speaks to us through His Word and we must be eager to learn from it every day. Children may be studying the Bible as part of school or church curriculum, but reading the Bible on their own is in a separate, vital category. As soon as your children are old enough to read, secure a personal copy of God’s Word for each of them so they can begin to treasure their own Bible and read it daily. Reading through the Bible is a worthy goal when children reach a certain age but establishing the habit of daily Bible reading early on is key. This is not to be relegated to a chore list so that it becomes simply a matter of checking another box along with making one’s bed. Don’t underestimate how the Lord will use a child’s reading of even a few verses a day on their own. 2. Develop a sense of wonder. As you explore the Bible together, emphasize that it is not like any other book. Using age-appropriate words, explain how it is infallible, inerrant, sufficient, and eternal. Pray that they will grow up with an increasing sense of awe that God carefully preserved His very words for us for over two thousand years. Teach them the fascinating story of how the Bible was preserved and translated and how many brave men and women lost their lives in the process. 3. Memorize the Bible with them. Children’s brains are like sponges. They can memorize easily. The more God’s Word is hidden in their hearts, the better it will serve them throughout their lives. Choose short verses to start, and soon you will have an arsenal of learned passages. If a child is having a particular struggle with fear or anxiety, for example, memorize key passages with him so that he can easily call God’s truth to mind at any time. Some families enjoy memorizing whole chapters or even whole books together as they work on it one verse at a time for however long it takes. Once memorized passages have successfully moved into our long-term memories, there is no limit to how the Lord will use His words to aid us in calming our own hearts and being able to speak the truth to those who are hurting and in need of the gospel. The Bible we hold in our hands does not just contain the word of God—it is the Word of God. This may be a helpful passage to begin with for memorization: > All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16–17) 4. Cultivate conversations that connect the Bible to life. This can be done in limitless ways on any given day. Perhaps in your own Bible reading you cover the account of Balaam’s talking donkey—that would make interesting breakfast conversation! However, other passages deal with topics your child does not need to know about yet. Help them to realize that they will not understand every passage they read, and neither do you. Even the most learned scholars cannot understand it all. We must not be frustrated by that nor let it diminish our genuine love for God’s Word. The Lord will reveal truth to us as we genuinely seek to understand how He is at work from Genesis to Revelation to the praise of His glory. Remember, the world wants your children to think the Bible is an old, irrelevant book. We know better. And we must continually be in conversation with our kids at every stage to eagerly show them how the Bible is indeed not only relevant but truly “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.”