Because Satan’s true aim was even more sinister than leveling a charge at the word of God. Behind the simple question the fork-tongued liar was leveling charges against the character and nature of God. What came off like a question was really an accusation. The charge against God’s Word was really a charge against God’s character.... Continue Reading

When you pray, you pray about you, your family, your concerns, and those in your church and life for which you are concerned. At the end of the day, you are spiritually responsible for a limited group. When your pastor prays, he has all the same concerns as you in terms of normal life. However,... Continue Reading

The connection between theological education and the Christian life is essential. We must love God in order to know God and we must know God in order to love God. Hovey’s warning that the failure to comprehend the ways of God will test our faith should not be lost. The difficulty of theology and the... Continue Reading

Once we Western interpreters recognize the influence our individualistic bent has on how we read biblical law, we can discover the moral values it expresses. Unimpeded by our biases, we can recognize Old Testament law’s humanistic quality. Or, as one scholar described of Deuteronomy, its “progressive and protective attitude to the legal status of women.”[5]... Continue Reading

The Gospel book splits into two halves. Chapters 1–11 narrate seven miracles of Jesus that John calls “signs.” Each sign signifies that Jesus does the works of the Father so that readers might identify the Son with the Father (John 10:37–38).   The Gospel of John aims to persuade readers that “Jesus is the Christ,... Continue Reading

David’s childlike trust in God as his protector led him to earnest prayer: “I cried aloud to the Lord” (v. 4). And God answered. He provided sleep for the rehabilitation of David’s weary mind and body. God will do this for you, too. If you follow David’s example of earnestness in prayer, his testi­mony can... Continue Reading

The love that God demands of husbands and wives is a love that goes far beyond mere emotions and feelings. It is a love that willingly takes up its cross and carries it—as Jesus did—even unto death (Philippians 2:8). That kind of selfless and sacrificial love is beyond the capability of any man or woman... Continue Reading

Luke constantly appeals to the Jews—perhaps even the same Jews who now accuse Paul before Caesar—to find the very hope they seek (Acts 26:6-7). But to find it, they must stop doing what they are doing (Luke 3:7-8) and receive cleansing on the inside from the mighty one (Luke 3:15-16).    Upon analyzing Luke’s treatment... Continue Reading

Trusting Christ as the Rock of our salvation, the Living Stone as Peter calls Him, we also become living stones fitted together in His holy temple as we abide in union with Him. As the Father sacrificed Christ for us, we are in turn to offer sacrifices to Him in thanksgiving. God’s Word often describes... Continue Reading

To appreciate the Canons’ teaching on unconditional election, it is important to remember that they were articulated in a specific historical context. The Synod of Dort was convened to address the controversy that broke out in the Reformed churches of the Netherlands in response to the teaching of James Arminius (1560-1609) and his followers, the... Continue Reading