William Boekestein

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Articles

You Already Work a Christian Job

Nov 25, 2024 | thegospelcoalition.org | William Boekestein

As a teenager, I didn’t know about the Christian doctrine of vocation. I believed some people did important things—my pastor was working for God; others, like missionaries, doctors, and high-level leaders, were changing the world. I never imagined the work familiar to me (farming and construction) could be a calling from God or make a significant difference. You may have a similar outlook. You want your life to mean something. You crave significance.
Can I Submit to My Elders Thoughtfully?

Oct 4, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

We must all grow in true Christian teaching lest we be “carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). But we should use Scripture, and especially the preached Word, not as ammunition for disagreement but as a means of grace to strengthen our faith in Christ. Instead of looking for the preacher’s shortcomings (see Luke 11:54), we should listen like prospectors eagerly panning for gold, examining what we hear with Spirit-generated charity.
Can I Submit to My Elders Thoughtfully?

Sep 22, 2024 | thegospelcoalition.org | William Boekestein

When you read in Scripture that church members must submit to their leaders (e.g., Heb. 13:17), do you cringe, imagining servile compliance to even unbiblical demands? When you hear Luke praising the Bereans for fact-checking Paul’s preaching (Acts 17:11), do you hear an endorsement for church members independently evaluating which parts of pastoral leadership they’ll respect? Both those responses are wrong. Yet Scripture does require us to be both submissive and thoughtful.
What Is God’s Calling for Me?

Sep 16, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

Vocation is another word for “calling.” Each of us must learn to “lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (1 Cor. 7:17). God has called you to do something special. And, while you don’t have to know exactly what that is, there is much you can do, right now, to get ready to flourish in that calling. This week the blog is sponsored by Reformed Free Publishing Association.
WCF 29: Of the Lord’s Supper

Sep 10, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

The Eucharist is a true participation in Christ’s body and blood (1 Cor. 10:16). So to fake communion with Christ while having no saving interest in him is sacrilegious. We must examine and judge ourselves, respecting church leaders who either invite us to the Supper or insisting that, for now, we abstain (1 Cor. 11:28, 29, 31). Scripture requires us to heed warnings about the Lord’s Supper. But we mustn’t only focus on the negative.
WCF 28: Of Baptism

Sep 9, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

God wants his people to know that we are part of his body. This is true even for the youngest members of Christ’s church. Long before they publicly profess their faith those baptized in infancy are part of Christ’s church and covenant. Baptized infants aren’t future church members but actual church members. In places with a Christian heritage the weightiness of baptism can easily be underestimated. Many people get baptized, or baptize their children, out of impulse, or as a matter of custom.
WCF 30: Of Church Censures

Sep 7, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

Every true Christian agrees with the goals of God’s plan for discipline. We believe in rescuing sinners, protecting the congregation, maintaining a holy communion, preserving the honor of Christ, and preventing the wrath of God. We believe in church discipline. God wants us to believe in it so fervently that we would insist on being members in churches where discipline is affirmed and practiced. My brothers and sisters need it. But so do I.
WCF 27: Of the Sacraments

Sep 6, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

Sacraments are not magical. They aren’t a quick and easy replacement for sincere faith, and spiritual devotion. But by the power of God they sincerely promise “benefit to worthy receivers.” Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are central to God’s program for our spiritual growth. Let’s use them to think about Jesus and his benefits, to believe that by faith we have a saving relation to him, to walk differently. Has the church has missed God’s plan for spiritual growth?
WCF 32: Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead

Sep 5, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

There are no other options besides heaven and hell. Purgatory is a baseless medieval invention. It is true that following death the wicked and the righteous will enter what is called the intermediate state, an in-between stage. The righteous will eagerly anticipate the redemption of our bodies; the wicked, like fallen angels, will enter a sort of “gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6). But the time of testing is now. Death seals our fate forever.
WCF 31: Of Synods and Councils

Aug 19, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | William Boekestein

Councils may and do err because human leaders “stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). Even the apostles made poor decisions (e.g. Mark 10:13–16; Luke 9:49, 50). The conclusions of assemblies “are to be received with reverence and submission” only “if consonant to the Word of God.” There is some tension here.