10 Most Popular Articles in 2018

1

What Is the Mark of the Beast? (Revelation 13)
Thomas R. Schreiner

The numeral 777 represents perfection, but John says 666 is the number of a man. The numeral 666, then, represents what is anti-god and antichrist, all that is in opposition to the one true God. If 777 represents holiness and perfect goodness, then 666 signifies the enormity and totality of evil.

2

10 Things You Should Know about Sex
Paul David Tripp

God in his great wisdom, for his glory and our good, has chosen to place us in a world where sex is a significant part of the human experience. The issue of sex is important and unavoidable because God, in wisdom and love, chose it to be.

3

How Suffering Reveals Your True Self
Paul David Tripp

When the thing you have been trusting (whether you knew it or not) is laid to waste, you don’t suffer just the loss of that thing; you also suffer the loss of the identity and security that it provided. Weakness, can, however, be an instrument of God’s grace (see 2 Cor. 12:9.)

4

10 Things You Should Know about the Presence of God
J. Ryan Lister

To overcome man’s sin and ensure his purposes, the Creator becomes covenant Redeemer. Through his covenant promises, the Lord restores what Adam failed to do. God makes a people and a place through the covenant all the while keeping his promises to humanity. God does all of this so that he can be our God and we can be his people.

5

What Does It Really Mean to Take the Lord’s Name in Vain?
Kevin DeYoung

What exactly is forbidden by the third commandment? The word vain (as it’s rendered in the ESV) can mean “empty,” “nothing,” “worthless,” or “to no good purpose.” We are forbidden, therefore, from taking the name of God (or taking up the name or bearing the name, as the phrase could be translated) in a manner that is wicked, worthless, or for wrong purposes. This doesn’t mean that we have to avoid the divine name altogether.

6

10 Things You Should Know about the Garden of Eden
Nancy Guthrie

Eden was bright and beautiful, and we tend to think of it in terms of perfection. But rather than thinking of Eden in terms of perfection, we should think of it in terms of potential. Certainly, Eden was pure and pristine, ordered and filled, but the Eden we read about in Genesis 1 and 2 wasn’t yet everything God intended for his creation. It was unsullied but incomplete.

7

5 Myths about Marriage
Paul David Tripp

Marriage really is just a long-term exercise in gardening. If you’ve done any gardening you know there simply aren’t any shortcuts. When you drive by that house festooned with gorgeous flowers of a wide variety of colors and kind, tell yourself that what you are looking at is hard work. Gardens begin with hard work.

8

2 Simple (Yet Profound) Questions to Ask Someone at Church This Sunday
Edward T. Welch

How do we get beyond just discussing the weather or the upcoming football game when talking with other believers on a Sunday morning? How do we express our love and affection for another person without being creepy or awkward? What does it look like to strike up an intentional conversation aimed at deepening our relationships?

9

10 Crucial Archeological Discoveries Related to the Bible
John D. Currid

While archaeological findings don’t prove the truth of Scripture, they do have the potential to enrich our understanding and draw us into the world of the biblical writers. Learn more about the ten important discoveries that have been made that have given us even more insight into the ancient world behind the living Word of God.

10

5 Myths about Depression
Michael S. Lundy

Depression can be quite as fiery a trial as any other. The good news is that God does indeed hear the cry of the afflicted, and is near to those who suffer. Be encouraged by the reminder that Christ shares in your suffering and cling to the sure hope of the gospel.