Would God redeem sinners at the cost of His own Son’s blood, then cast those same blood-bought believers aside? Having brought us to salvation at so great a price, would He then withhold any grace from us? Won’t He finish what He started? Romans 8:32 provides us with a clear and emphatic answer.

Why do bad things happen to good people? The fundamental problem with that common question is that it’s back to front. The right approach is to ask why good things happen to bad people. That question reflects an accurate reading of Scripture and an honest evaluation of ourselves.

Election is the highest expression of God’s love to sinful humanity. Some people hate this doctrine. They fight against it, try to explain it away, or claim it’s not fair. Some even claim it is a form of tyranny, or that it is fatalistic, or that it violates the human will. But in reality the doctrine of election is all about the eternal, inviolable love of God.

"God told me." "The Holy Spirit laid it on my heart." "The Spirit is compelling me." Those phrases and others like them are frequently thrown around the church today without giving many people pause. In fact, it seems the Holy Spirit’s primary role is laying burdens on believers and compelling them to deliver specific, timely messages to the church.

We’ve all had strange dreams from time to time. Sometimes the details are so confused and convoluted you can scarcely believe your mind concocted them in the first place. And no matter how vivid the dream appeared, you likely wouldn’t base something as insignificant as your lunch order—much less your life—on those bizarre mental images. Sadly, the same is not true for many professing believers in the church today.

You have undoubtedly heard people say things like, “God is calling me to the mission field,” or “God led me to attend this college,” or “We feel God wants us to get married.” Perhaps you have even said such things yourself. Christians who use expressions like those often mean they have had an impression or a strong feeling that they interpret as a disclosure of the divine will.

If God is still speaking to His people today—particularly through mental impressions and premonitions—how can believers exercise discernment when it comes to interpreting and applying these divine messages? Put simply, how is following the private, subjective “leading” of the Lord any more reliable than gazing into a crystal ball?

From the very beginning, the battle between good and evil has been a battle for the truth. The serpent, in the Garden of Eden, began his temptation by questioning the truthfulness of God’s previous instruction.

“Preach the word!” (2 Timothy 4:2, NKJV). To the church today, those words may sound unusual as a pastor’s primary job description. We are used to all kinds of other “ministry” endeavors fighting for position in a long list of pastoral responsibilities. Even for those who affirm the primacy of preaching, the kind of preaching they want is purely practical—thus, doctrine (which is presumed to be utterly impractical) is the mortal enemy.

Grace is not merely poured out in the moment of salvation; it is evident throughout His eternal plan of redemption. After all, He chose those whom He would save before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Theologians refer to this precious truth as the doctrine of election, and it has been a major point of debate and division in the church.

In Ephesians 3:16–19, Paul prays that believers would be “strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man” in order that they might understand the “love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.” In other words, it takes a lot of Spirit-supplied strength for us to catch even a glimpse of God’s love—and when we do, we’ve only scratched the surface.

We often skim quickly over the introductory parts of Paul’s epistles, but they are usually pregnant with meaning—and in the case of his letter to Titus, profoundly so. In his seemingly simple salutation, Paul gives us some vivid insight into how the plan of redemption started.

From heaven’s perspective, the ultimate end of election and the ultimate purpose behind God’s grace poured out on us is the eternal glorification of the Son. But to understand God’s individual purpose in electing His people for salvation, we need to consider Romans 8:29: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”

“In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33, NKJV). Those words from our Lord are almost a truism—something so obvious it need not be stated. We are all intimately acquainted with the troubles of this life. On a personal level, we physically decay with each passing moment, even if we’re healthy (2 Corinthians 4:16). On a societal level, we see the effects of sinful decisions all around us. John MacArthur observes, “We are watching our country [America] freefall into godless darkness, sexual perversion, gender insanity, crime of all kinds, the breakdown of law and order, family destruction, and above all, the constant flood of lies and efforts to silence the truth.” In light of this individual and institutional decay, even Christians may be tempted to despair.

The problem of sin isn’t fundamentally external. It’s most visible in our actions, but our actions are merely the manifestation of a corruption that comes from within.

The doctrine of man’s depravity, of all the cardinal biblical truths should never need to be defended. The empirical evidence for man’s sinful nature is irrefutable and ubiquitous. It is the inescapable reality of life.

All false religions lie to us about man. While most of them concede that man has not reached perfection, they refuse to acknowledge the bare sinful facts of life and history. They insist on offering a system of human achievement that can please God. Only God’s Word tells us the painful yet loving truth.

We no longer have confidence in politicians, health experts, social activists, academics, or the media—all of them have lost credibility by pursuing agendas over honesty. Even religious leaders have shown a knack for doublespeak and outright deception when it suits their purposes. We have been lied to so routinely that we treat every claim as dubious. Living in that constant state of doubt and suspicion is both exhausting and exasperating.

When it comes to man’s fallen nature, Scripture is clear about the depth and breadth of its defilement. The apostle Paul delivers a blunt assessment of man’s sinful corruption in his epistle to the Romans.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has delivered quality education to children in crisis “against all odds,” ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif said at the United Nations today. “And you can imagine the odds. We are seeing more armed conflict, a growth of climate-induced disasters and the biggest refugee movement since World War 2.”  Education Cannot Wait’s […]

Amid unprecedented global challenges and a growing list of countries in crisis, there is an existential threat to decades of development gains—with the global community marked by intensified armed conflict, forced displacements, and the debilitating effects of climate crises. One in five children worldwide lives in or flees from conflict. The number of crisis-affected children […]

Parliamentary representation by women in Pacific Island countries remains stubbornly low at 8.4 percent. Yet women leaders across the region have been meeting every year for the past four decades to discuss goals and drive action to address gender inequality and the most pressing development challenges in the Pacific. One of the critical issues discussed […]

Sarah Strack is Forus Director

Women in Afghanistan have continued to advocate for their rights and have called on the international community to not only stand in solidarity but to take decisive action to prevent the erosion of their rights and presence in public space. On Monday, the New York missions of Qatar, Indonesia, Ireland and Switzerland, with the Women’s […]

Climate change is driving a mental health crisis and accelerating eco-anxiety. Dr. Emma Lawrance is leading Climate Cares, Imperial College London, a centre dedicated to research on climate change in mental health. The researcher spoke to IPS about the need to address this growing concern.

The struggle for women’s right to decide in Latin America and the Caribbean, for their access to legal, safe and free abortion continues in the region, with some countries fully criminalising it, others with severe regulations, and a few guaranteeing better conditions, while threats of regression persist. This Saturday 28 September marks, as every year, […]

Last week, UN member states adopted the Pact of the Future – and its two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations. These action-oriented documents are envisaged to counter emerging threats to development and acceleration of progress on Agenda 2030. Nonetheless, there remains little political prioritization of reproductive justice on this agenda. […]

Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, calls prostitution a “system of violence” that does not benefit society at all, especially the women and girls forced into this system. Alsalem spoke at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute in New York on Wednesday, October 2, to discuss her special report […]

Over the past few months, the escalation of gang violence and mass displacement in Haiti have been of great concern for humanitarian organizations. Severe levels of armed violence have resulted in significant instability, with food insecurity, sexual violence, civilian casualities, and restricted freedom of movement plaguing the nation. Displacement cases have risen sharply, to the […]

When I joined CIVICUS in 2019, I came in with two decades of work on influencing and monitoring public policies through grassroots and global activism. Joining CIVICUS as Secretary-General felt familiar, like returning home after a period of separation. My first international role in 2006 – as Campaign Director of the Global Call to Action […]

The 15 August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan devastated the lives of millions of Afghans. But the rights and freedoms of women and girls in particular have been progressively trampled by a series of edicts that have created a virtual system of gender apartheid.

On October 11, the United Nations (UN) and its affiliated organizations hosted a conference discussing the increasingly dangerous and exploitative environment that plagues the internet and what can be done to protect children from being exposed to it. Speakers at this conference detailed the developing technologies that threaten children, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which […]

  CIVICUS discusses Afghanistan’s system of gender apartheid with Shaharzad Akbar, Executive Director of Rawadari, a human rights organisation founded by Afghans in exile. Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban have banned women from all education beyond primary school and most jobs. They don’t allow women to travel without a male guardian or […]

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

  Our world has witnessed unprecedented levels of economic development. The advance of our technological capabilities continues unabated. Our financial resources continue to grow. Yet, as of last year, an estimated 750 million people live in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $2.15 per day. Roughly 60% of the world’s […]

Social development in a global context shows the risk of trending downwards and not recovering if countries do not minimize the long-term impacts of multiple crises and work towards building up their resilience. As much as this will require national political will, it will also need global cooperation for it to be possible. The United […]

At a rally to mark International Youth Day on August 12 in Tanzania’s southern Mbeya region, John Mnyika stood with a determined expression, addressing his supporters. The air was charged with anticipation. Mnyika, the Secretary-General of Tanzania’s opposition party, Chadema, was preparing to speak about the upcoming elections when the chaos erupted. Without warning, heavily […]

Global warming has far-reaching effects, and certain countries, particularly those with low lying coastal regions, are more vulnerable than others. Bangladesh, the largest delta in the world, is at the forefront of the global warming crisis. Its coastal areas are increasingly exposed to rising sea levels, natural disasters, and salinization, all of which have devastating […]

Until recently, Margaret Natabi would never have dreamed of taking her anti-corruption fight on the streets of Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Natabi, 24, is a University student. She has first-hand experience of how corruption affects marginalized groups, especially women and girls. She was orphaned during childhood. Her mother died while giving birth to one of her […]

Due to worsening political instability, escalating gang violence, and a lack of basic services, Haiti is in the midst of one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. According to a 2024 ACAPS report, gangs have seized 85 percent of the nation’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, resulting in over 700,000 displaced persons. Many of the […]

Gang violence has ravaged Haiti, causing thousands of civilian deaths, displacements, and violations of international humanitarian law. Turmoil is expected to escalate following the removal of Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille from office on November 11. On November 10, the Haitian government announced plans to replace incumbent prime minister Conille, with entrepreneur and former senate […]

Azerbaijan's commitment to diversifying its economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions mirrors similar aspirations in Africa

Online gambling platforms are always open, meaning you can gamble when you feel like it

The new Trump administration is bad news for American civil and human rights and brings uncertainty for the rest of the world

A British business person is keeping the skeleton of the dilapidated R20 million Upper Constantia house, but has to replace the roof and the interior

Inadequate controls on hazardous chemicals contributed to the death of the six children in Soweto

Wonka is based on Roald Dahl’s book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'Timothée Chalamet starrer, Wonka, which turned out to be a commercial success in 2023, will now be getting a sequel.Director Paul King confirmed the new entry of the family-musical in an interview, where he also...

Simon Cowell gets candid about 'punching' 90's popstarRecord executive, Simon Cowell has spilled shocking details about indulging into a physical fight with one of the biggest boy band stars of the 90s.The revelation was made in a newly released documentary Boybands Forever, featuring renowned...

Yale University introduces Beyoncé course: Deets insideBeyoncé’s fans are in for a surprise as Yale University has announced a new course centering on the singer and her iconic legacy.According to Yale Daily News, the new students will “dive deep” into...