Ben Zornes, Author at Ben Zornes

What Hell Is

by Ben Zornes · Jul 15, 2025

The world is fundamentally broken into two sorts of people: those who starve themselves by unbelief and those who are fed by faith. Adam reached for the forbidden fruit prematurely, and brought about a curse upon the land, such that food was only obtained by severe hardship and toil. Esau craved the stew which his younger brother had cooked up, and he found himself cut off from the blessing of the firstborn. Israel was given manna from heaven, but by their greedy hoarding found the heavenly bread inedible due to worm infestation.

In one place David likens the wicked to lions prowling for a feast of the righteous: They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey (Ps 17:11-12). In response to this, David cries out “Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down!” Such men have their portion in this life. They are colorfully described in one place as being “inclosed in their own fat.”

So then, if you insist on feasting on the delicacies of worldliness, if you insist on devouring those that are righteous to gratify your insatiable lusts, you’ll soon find yourself eternally hungry. After all, that’s what hell is: eternal un-satisfaction. Quenchless thirst. Weariness with no rest. Desire with no fulfillment.

But that isn’t what’s upon this table. Find here death that’s actually life. Self-denial that blossoms into everlasting gratification. You are brought here to be fed by the Hand of God with the Life of God. Those devour everything in their path end up starving. However, those who humble themselves to be fed by God, never suffer lack. Here is an everlasting storehouse of desire satisfied. Here is an everlasting fountain of pure water for your thirst. Here is life Himself. Here is Christ.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…

Helping Sons Think Vocationally

by Ben Zornes · Jul 14, 2025

As a father you must not restrict your duty to be a provider merely to putting food on the table. Provision literally means “to see before” (pro + videre). You should be training your sons up in the ways of the Lord, and a large part of this is to remember that in 15-20 years that little baby boy in diapers is going to be entering the workforce. What sort of worker will he be? That’s your job to instill in him the sort of work ethic that is industrious, diligent, creative, and productive. You also are his primary counselor in discerning which career path to take. Here are a three ways to begin guiding your sons (regardless of their current age) towards productivity for Christ’s Kingdom when it comes to their eventual vocation.

Teach Him Wisdom

First of all, teach them wisdom. This of course has applications beyond what career they choose. Thus it is fundamental and foundational to teach your son to be wise. The book of Proverbs informs us that your son will either be a great joy to you, or a great grief. He will be a joy if he be a wise son, and he’ll be a grief if he is a foolish son. That is the binary reality of raising sons. He will either make you proud, or be a shame to you. Not much middle ground. Think of a notorious serial killer’s parents. Imagine them checking out at the grocery store, “Oh your last name is Kohberger, any relation to that lunatic murderer?” Again, a foolish son is a great grief to his parents.

So then, a few things we should note about the term “wisdom”. The book of Proverbs makes it quite plain that wisdom is not principally about deep philosophical musings. It doesn’t evade such deep thoughts, but that is not the primary application of heaven’s wisdom. It does equip us to think high thoughts. But first of all the wisdom which comes from above (not from within as the stoics and philosophers often assumed) equips men to rule, to govern, to exercise dominion over the earth. Look at the preface to Proverbs and it is given for a royal son to learn to administer justice and judgement in this world of dust, sweat, blood, and tears. Our first father was a farmer, not a philosopher. Yet, as a farmer he produced lofty poetry, that was ponderously deep.

Teaching a son wisdom enables him to be a discerning man. This is plain in the choice set before the young man in Proverbs between Lady Folly’s Seduction and Lady Wisdom’s Education. This will be applicable when he gets to the age where he’s needing to make decisions about college or trade school, and what careers are dead ends as opposed to opportunities that are ripe for great gain. He needs to be able to discriminate between hype and truth. He needs to be discerning about how crowds can flock to some new thing, only to be left high and dry. Teach him this across the board in his youth, so that he will be able to apply it in all directions when he brought to rule his own family and business ventures.

Give Him Missions

Secondly, fathers need to give their sons missions. Your son should have lots of quests and adventures that you assign him. When they’re really young this can easily be done with things like cleaning up their toys, pulling weeds, feeding the dogs, running up that hill, throwing that rock across the creek at the big stump, etc. Make sure that along with these missions to often add rewards and consequences for success and failure. In one sense, you want to set up a lot of failure for your son. Better to teach him how to fail and recover as a 7 year old, instead of getting a call that he wrapped his car around a tree because he was drunk driving.

As he ages, you must not treat him like he’s an impediment to your household chores. Parents can sometimes grow exasperated that their kids don’t perform the chores perfectly, and so they opt for a fine-I’ll-do-it-myself attitude. This just cultivates in your kids a sense that they aren’t needed or wanted. This is a petrie dish for growing awkward insecurities and feelings of inadequacies. Instead, teach them to work excellently by being honest about what you expect, how they did in accomplishing what you expect of them, and then give opportunity to do it again. Again, you want them to fail with you right there to pick them up, praise them, and then point them back at the task again.

As they get into their teens years you need to counsel them about how the world works when it comes to vocations. Some careers have a low floor but a high ceiling. Some careers are lawful and some are not. Some require long years of study at a university, others, like the trades can begin in the late teens and you can have them get on the job experience. Teach your son that he can’t have it all. Saying yes to one thing is saying no to another. That’s ok. That’s how life works. Begin to give your teen son missions to accomplish, mostly on his own. One idea would be to give him $100 and tell him to see if he can turn that $100 into $500. Tell him that if he can turn it into $500, you’ll add another $500. Help him brainstorm ideas and see how he executes it. As he gets even older, you might be willing to add some zeroes to that investment.

These sort of missions don’t always need to be career oriented, necessarily. Sports can be really conducive to cultivating a good work ethic. It also might show types of skills he needs to develop or talents that were not readily apparent. He might be an excellent tennis player and thrives when he must put the world on his shoulders. Or he might absolutely love being with fifteen other buddies on a Rugby pitch. Other ideas might be to reward him if he completes John Calvin’s Institutes; or, like one dad I heard about, he gave his son an old sports car once the son could successfully take it apart entirely and rebuild it and it still ran! In one respect, you want to allow him to try his hand at a variety of things. This helps you begin to see what he’s good at, what he enjoys, and whether he thrives with an entrepreneurial “go-it-alone” vibe, or if he does better in a team setting.

Exemplify Gratitude for Him

Each son will have a peculiar set of gifts which God has given him. Think of these gifts as a set of tools. They can either grow rusty in storage, or be put to good use. When you receive a great gift, you must show gratitude for it. Then, you need to put it to good use. He needs to know that God has given him abundant gifts; gifts like family wealth and reputation and connections, his own talents and intellectual abilities, and other such gifts. Those gifts are all to be received with gratitude, and then before God’s face to use those gifts for His glory. Your son’s talents and interests should be in consideration. However, behind that talent and interest is an immovable command for him to be fruitful in his work, regardless of his talent or passion for it. If you were to ask your great-grandpa if he was passionate about his career, he’d give you a blank stare. In other words, don’t make talent or interest the only factor in job seeking. He needs to be content with whatever opportunities God brings along, and stay ambitious in developing productive skills that will grow more opportunities for him in the longer term.

All this ties back in with my first point about teaching your son wisdom for dominion. This means teaching him how to take all his gifts and use them rightly. Of course, included in this are his gifts of natural talent, but it is not limited to it. Help him think about the gift of wealth/money according to Proverbs. Consider what Proverbs 13 teaches:

There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. – Pro 13:7 KJV

Riches can be an optical illusion, which is why Solomon begins by reminding that righteousness is greater than riches. You can get rich, but really end up with nothing (think of Dickens’ character Scrooge). Generosity, humility, sacrifice all lead to true wealth. Don’t view wealth merely materialistically. Make sure righteousness is prioritized in your pursuit of wealth.

The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. – Pro 13:8 KJV

This is a “more money, more problems” lesson. The poor often are overlooked when invading plunderers ravage the land. So, remember that gaining wealth brings about a new set of challenges.

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. – Pro 13:11 KJV

This is a warning, as we have seen before, against get rich quick schemes. In a recent NFL game, the Ravens were favored to beat the Browns by 20 points; one fellow was convinced that that was easy money and bet $500k on the Browns to be able to cover that +20 spread. But Vegas would only let him bet $200k; he took it anyway, convinced he had made the easiest bet of his life. Instead the final score was Ravens 35-10. The best way to increase wealth is through labor. Matthew Henry makes a great comment on this: That which is won ill will never wear well, for a curse attends it which will waste it, and the same corrupt dispositions which incline men to the sinful ways of getting well incline them to the like sinful ways of spending.

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. – Pro 13:12 KJV

This Proverb can be applied in a lot of directions, but given the immediate context/theme of pursuing wealth we can see that it is important to make sure that our desires are set upon the things of God. Wealth can come and go, and if you’ve set your heart upon that business deal coming through, or that bet hitting, or that crypto-coin going lunar, you will at some point be blasted with the grief of disappointed hope. Whereas desires set upon Christ and things of righteousness will never fail to be satisfied.

Conclusion

In summary, teach your son wisdom for dominion. The first area of dominion is himself: body, soul, spirit. Then give him missions; make them difficult but attainable. Guys thrive on competition, so use that to your advantage. See which of you can do the most push ups, or some physical challenge.

Lastly, let gratitude for God’s gift to him be deep in his bones. To accomplish this you should often put your hand on his head and tell him, “I’m so glad that you are my son, God gave me a good gift when he gave you to me as a son. I love you and am proud of you.”

Landon & Chloe

by Ben Zornes · Jul 11, 2025

The purpose of our gathering here should not be lost on us. You didn’t come to admire floral decorations, exquisite lace, or to further your interest in boutonnières and the affixing of them. You’re here to witness this man and this woman joyfully and solemnly covenanting to be united as husband and wife until death. What they are vowing to do really is remarkable. So I want to zero in on what a covenant is, and what it means in the grand scheme of things.

One helpful definition of covenant is that it is “a solemn bond between two or more parties, sovereignly administered, with attendant blessings and curses.” The text I just read (Jer. 31-31-36), describing God’s covenant of grace with the church, contained all those elements. So let me take that definition bit by bit and then make a few observations and applications.

First, as a solemn bond, a covenant means more than just signing up for a rewards program at your favorite coffee shop. It is a solemn thing, which is to say, a matter of weighty significance. Solemnity is fitting because the parties involved are being bonded together by the vows they are taking. To break such a bond is to make truth-telling unnecessary. Either our vows are meaningful or they aren’t. If they aren’t meaningful every business deal, every treaty, every household is in jeopardy of being torn to shreds by deceptive promises.

Secondly, a covenant differs from merely a personal commitment. I can commit to forgo chocolate for a year––and what a sad year that would be. But I’m not involving anyone else in that commitment. However, a covenant must be between two or more parties. Given the misguided nature of our current culture I should underscore that when it comes to a marriage covenant it is naturally only a vow between one man and one woman. Whereas other covenants can involve more than two parties, like a treaty between several countries. A covenant brings two separate entities into a new relational bond, which necessarily precipitates a new way of conduct for the once separate entities.

Thirdly, such a covenant is to be sovereignly administered, which means that we as people make such vows not as little despots of our own destinies. Rather, all our “yesses” and “nos” are made before the face of the God who sees all things at all times. It is God, in the vows about to be exchanged, who will unite this couple into one flesh. Thus, it is right and good for a minister of the Gospel, as a representative of Christ, to administer these oaths, and for us all to gather together as Christian witnesses of these holy vows. All of us will be made to give an account for how we prayed for and supported these two in remaining faithful to their marriage vows.

Lastly, every covenant we find in Scripture is accompanied by an important feature: blessings for faithfulness, and curses for unfaithfulness. In keeping a covenants there is always blessing. Think of the business deal where two parties covenant to share the profits depending on each party delivering their promised work. There is material blessing that arises from such covenant faithfulness. However, when a culture embraces deception and oath-breaking, then up becomes down, and laws become optional, and lawlessness abounds. But enough about Washington, D.C. To keep a covenant is to share in the agreed upon blessings of that covenant, to break that covenant is to invite the shame and disaster that is involved in the curses of that covenant. We don’t need to think to long about all the misery that arises from broken marriage vows: children tossed between parents like a bargaining chip, loss of trust, hard hearts towards God, financial uncertainty, and emotional turmoil.

All of this has been a methodical exposition of a biblical definition of covenant. But we ought not to treat this explanation as if it were the IKEA assembly instructions that can be easily dismissed. Rather, understanding covenant is more like the concrete slab upon which a house can be built. If this couple, and more broadly if we as a culture, neglect to understand what the marriage covenant is, we are inviting upon ourselves the madness of a culture of covenant breakers. Which is to say, a low trust society, where everyone keeps their finger close to the trigger. This is because God Himself, as we saw, in our text earlier, is in covenant with mankind. The world was made by a covenanting God, and while Adam’s fall into sin produced a cataclysmic introduction of rampant evil, Christ came to restore man to covenant fellowship with the Triune God. In Christ, we are brought into the life and joy of God Himself, and this is only because God has covenanted with us to forgive our sins because of Christ’s shed blood, and to give us everlasting life because of Christ’s resurrection.

This all being the case, I’d like to directly exhort both Landon & Chloe in turn. Landon, you are the initiator of this marriage covenant. It is fitting for you to ask her to marry you and not the other way around. This is because God has ordered the world in such a way that, as the Apostle Paul teaches, the husband is the head of the wife. You are a watchman on the walls, and you must not fall asleep at your post. To be a covenant head is to be a target. You are the quarterback and the opposing team is pinning back its ears, eager to absolutely cream you. You must not begrudge this duty, or try to sneak to the end of the metaphorical bench, as if the coach won’t notice that his quarterback is playing water-boy instead. You must stare down all the threats which are staring you and your bride down, and say with the Psalmist, “I will not fear though 10000 encamp against me.” Regarding your covenant with Chloe, you are obligated to fight for it to the death.

Chloe, your soon to be husband is about to make a vow to you to love and cherish you throughout the rest of his life. He is making you a stunningly glorious promise. You are to receive that promise and make his promise a continual joy. He initiated this covenant, and by returning his vows with your own, you are acknowledging that his leadership of you is most gladly received, his love for you is not taken for granted, his cherishing you is returned to him a hundredfold. This is your great privilege and duty. To receive his covenant obligations to you and turn them, by your own covenant faithfulness, into a household of beauty, full of children, rich with warm affection, spilling over with laughter, dancing, and feasts well spread is your duty as a Christian bride. As Landon is called to imitate Christ’s covenant love for the church, you are called to imitate the Church’s joyful reception of and reciprocation of the great covenant love of God.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Benediction

May this newly formed household be fastened by the strong cords of the covenant love of God. Where there is sin expel it. When there is lack provide. When there is sorrow bring them joy in Christ and through each other. Grant unto them children and children’s children, all of whom rejoice in Your covenant mercies all the days of their life. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, and for the glory of the Father. Amen.

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The Whole Story on the Table

by Ben Zornes · Jul 10, 2025

The Gospel really is staggering, and the Gospel is what you feed upon here. This table is a feast of all the stories of Scripture. The stories of creation and flood, patriarchs and plagues, the prophetic warnings and the psalmists’ strains, the life, death, resurrection, and conquest of Christ, and the apostolic witness are all plated on this table.

We see this principle vividly in the plagues which we’ve recently been considering. God struck down His only-begotten Son, in order that you might be redeemed. God sent darkness upon Christ on the cross, in order that you might walk in the light. God mocked all the idols of Egypt in order to show to you their utter impotence. God showed how hard-hearted an unbelieving tyrant’s heart can be, in order to certify to you that saving faith in God is absolutely and entirely a gift of sheer and undeserved grace.

All the wonders done in Egypt were undertaken by Jehovah for one reason: God has freed you that you might worship Him rightly. This is why He made you, and this is why He redeemed you.

Every story of the Bible leads you to this very point: worship God alone. You cannot serve Him if you are a rebel. You can’t worship Him if you’re wearing the chains of another master. You cannot please Him if you harden your heart to His invitation to the feast. You cannot render praise to Him if you lift your hands to Dagon, or Baal, or Ra, or Zeus, or a Golden Calf.

The whole story of the Bible is here on this table. You were damned by your sin, but God has made a way for you to join Him at His banquet. And that way was made by the broken body and spilled blood of Christ. He is the story of the Bible.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…

The Me & the We

by Ben Zornes · Jul 9, 2025

Cultures tend to overemphasize one of two things: the “me” or the “we”. You currently live in a highly individualistic culture that emphasizes the me. Everything revolves around you as an individual. But this hasn’t always been the case. Even other modern cultures heavily emphasize the “we”. Think of the regimentation of Chinese military parades. The individual is lost in a sea of people. Historically, this is what the royal “we” intended: the populace summed up in one monarch.

Democracies are heavy on the me, while communism insists absolutely that there must be no “mes” only we. Both suffer from a defective understanding of the me and the we.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but in Biblical church government we find both the me and we perfectly ordered. You aren’t an isolated individual, nor are you indistinguishable from the rest of the host of saints. Our heavenly Father promises us each a new name––there’s the me––but together we form an innumerable host of redeemed saints––there’s the we.

I want to apply this to church government as we continue this congregations formation as its own particularized church. Each family has a variety of members. Each family has a head. That head speaks on behalf of the various me’s of the family in things like elder and deacon elections. Further, within an elder board, each elder labors to represent those under his care as he joins the other elders in deliberations. He functions as a me, and then once the elders vote, the result is “we have decided.”

Presbyterian polity is not a dry academic topic. Rather, it’s how each “me” in the congregation finds their voice represented; it ensures the we does not swallow everything up. However, it also fends off rampant individualism as it allows us, as one body to say things like, “We confess, we believe, and we proclaim.” In this way we hear personal responsibility harmonized with corporate unity.

Birth & New Birth

by Ben Zornes · Jul 7, 2025

Consider how scripture compares & contrasts birth and new birth. You exist, not by your own will, but by a choice of your father. This applies also to your spiritual rebirth; as James puts it, “Of the Father’s own will begat he us with the word of truth (Jas 1:8).” Further, earthly birth is marked by labor’s blood and water. While the new birth is also marked by water representing Christ’s atoning blood, Jesus expounds that it is marked by water and the Spirit.

Put all this together. The new birth isn’t the work of your own will. It’s Your Father’s pleasure to beget you. Baptism is a mark of the Father’s will to beget. Nevertheless, the water must not be alone. The Spirit must blow. The Spirit blows in the preaching of the Word. He blows as parents discipline their child in true faith. He blows in our psalms sung in sincere hope. God blows as He pleases. Therefore, we trust that He is also pleased to blow here, at baptism’s waters.

So welcome our brother to Jesus Christ…

Everyone is a Hypocrite

by Ben Zornes · Jul 2, 2025

Every human is a hypocrite. Say you were to stand outside a busy shopping mall in order to survey the broad population about their moral framework. Ask people what they believe to be right or wrong, what their primary moral guidelines are, and what they believe evil to be you would certainly get a great deal of variety. However, if you followed up that survey with a question about whether they have perfectly kept their own moral framework, every honest participant would need to admit that they broke their own moral code.

Culturally, we live in a world governed by rules and regulations. Some of these laws are better and more biblical than others, but we are surrounded by a dense forrest of litigiousness. But though we have our rules, we commonly break those rules while insisting we are keeping the spirit of those rules.

Yet if we really took a long and honest look at ourselves, we not only are breakers of the letter of the law, we are breakers of the spirit of the law. Our hypocrisy is deep and wide. It transcends lines of liberal and conservative, male and female, and national borders. It is the condition of man. He holds up standards for others that he himself does not attain to. You are, on your own, blackmailed by your own moral inconsistency.

This is why the new birth which is offered to us in Christ is of absolute necessity. The Christian is one who acknowledges their great sinfulness, but not to bemoan it or wallow in it, but to confess it, be rid of it through the forgiveness which the Father gives, and to overcome it by the Spirit’s power at work in us. Only by honest confession is the blackmail of your moral hypocrisy rendered powerless.

Ben Zornes

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