4 Ways Jesus Fulfills Every Old Testament Promise
Truly every promise in Scripture is “Yes” in Christ. In him God secures every blessing for believers.
God’s promises are often associated with life or death and conditioned on whether his covenant partner obeys….Representing Abraham and Israel, Jesus actively obeyed and secured Old Testament promises for all who are in him. Four Ways Jesus Makes Every Promise “Yes” When Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Law and Prophets, he is actualizing what... Continue Reading
What Happened to the Asbury Revival?
A year later, it looks like what happened at Asbury was a fad, not a revival.
I hope the people who supposedly had a powerful encounter with God at Asbury aren’t chasing after signs and wonders (Matthew 12:39). I hope they’re not chasing for a new high. Though the churches near Asbury haven’t been impacted by the “revival,” I hope somewhere, at a church, they’re listening to ordinary preaching that produces... Continue Reading
Putting Suffering in its Place in Consecration to God
We often struggle with embracing and doing God’s will, especially if it includes suffering.
The apostle Peter found victory over his fear and insecurity in God’s grace. He learned to trust the Lord on the journey of being like Jesus, consecrating himself to God. Is there a closet, a door in your heart that has been closed to God, locked, an area of your life, a fear, that you... Continue Reading
Who Ought to Read Scripture in Public Worship?
The Westminster Divines believed that the weightiness and importance of public scripture reading meant that not just anyone could do it.
Who may (or ought to) read scripture in public worship is severely limited by the words and implications of our standards and even sanctified common sense. And I hope PCA officers will consider that our fathers in the faith may have been right about these things. The reading of scripture in public worship is... Continue Reading
Deadly Familiarity
When you craft a Jesus that looks just like you—don’t be surprised when you get bored.
Familiarity of the tender variety persists in reminding you of the gospel and deepening your communion with Christ. But if you’re not careful, cold-hearted familiarity will betray you with kisses, poison your wineglass, and watch impassively while your life slips steadily away. You might not even realize it’s happening. Unexamined familiarity will prevent you from... Continue Reading
An Excerpt From Stephen Wellum’s Systematic Theology, Volume 1
From canon to concept.
The good news of Jesus Christ—who he is and what he accomplished by his death, resurrection, and exaltation—is simply incoherent unless certain structures are already in place. You cannot make heads or tails of the real Jesus unless you have categories for the personal/transcendent God of the Bible; the nature of human beings made in... Continue Reading
The Sabbath was Created for Man
Proponents of Sabbath “recreations” nonetheless have a duty to give rest to others and not unnecessarily require others to work to support their “recreations,” entertainments, and pleasures.
While many presbyteries will grant an exception to the Westminster Standards to a man who believes worldly recreations are permissible on the Sabbath, are presbyteries granting exceptions also for worldly entertainment and commerce on the Sabbath? And are candidates and officers in the PCA stating the full extent of their differences? A difference with the “recreations clause”... Continue Reading
Why Did Paul Publicly Rebuke Peter? (Galatians 2)
It is possible to communicate through withdrawal from or neglect of those who differ from the majority that the gospel is really only for people who are like most other people in the church.
Jews often associated with Gentiles, especially in Antioch (Josephus, Jewish War 2.45, 463). Cephas, however, seems to have started to “live like a Gentile” (Gal. 2:14), probably in the sense that he had ceased to observe Jewish dietary restrictions. In response to a heavenly vision (Acts 10:9–16; 11:4–10), he had tossed out an important Jewish... Continue Reading
Are Human Rights a Fantasy?
As the West loses touch with its Creator, let’s remember how Christ gave us (back) our dignity.
If there is no one to endow human rights, how can everyone be expected to honor them? There remains widespread agreement that genocide, terrorism, and slavery are wrong, but by what authority will we continue to agree? Glenn Scrivener offered the best answer to these questions. “Rights indeed belong to all,” he says, “—that’s the... Continue Reading
Your Wife Craves Heart Intimacy with You
To most women affection symbolizes warm care, security, protection, safety, and love. To neglect this command of God is to rob them of the constant source of reassuring love they are designed to need.
Paul continues his instructions for husbands in Eph 5:19: Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but NOURISHES and CHERISHES it. Here, Paul goes to the world of tender care for infants for an analogy, using two words loaded... Continue Reading
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