A question arises. How much was Thomas a ‘career academic’, dedicated to establishing ‘the truth’? And how much was his mission to serve God in and through serving the church? Thomas of course would distinguish these tasks while not separating them.   Thomas’ early life was one of riches to rags. Born to nobility in... Continue Reading

In late July 1546, he sent the manuscript—the only copy of the manuscript—by way of a courier to Strasbourg. It was handwritten. No backup. It was typical for a copy to be made, but Calvin did not want to waste the extra time to making a copy. That was likely a miscalculation. Not long after... Continue Reading

Even when people die who weren’t religious and didn’t have a life committed to Christ—it’s common to hear their close friends and family reassuring everyone that their loved one is in a better place now. Heaven is real, but hell has been relegated to a mythological land fit for the story books. The culture that... Continue Reading

Ceremonial laws were given to Old Testament Israel as a system of types and shadows pointing to New Testament fulfillment (Acts 10; Heb. 10:1–10). Judicial laws supported the theocracy of the Old Testament that expired with the Israelite state (Ex. 21:1–23:19). Moral laws were rooted in creation, summarized in the Ten Commandments, and continue as... Continue Reading

The mission God assigned to human beings could not be accomplished by male alone. Just as God’s image was only fully displayed in male and female, God’s will could only be fully completed by male and female. Moses, who wrote Genesis, left us a little editorial note here to explain what happened when the two came... Continue Reading

C.H. Spurgeon deals with Ecclesiastes 7:21–22 quite helpfully in a chapter from his Lectures to My Students titled “The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear.” Spurgeon says, “You cannot stop people’s tongues, and therefore the best thing is to stop your own ears and never mind what is spoken.” When false accusations and destructive criticism... Continue Reading

In Romans 3:21-26, Paul announces that law-logic can only announce the righteousness that God is and which therefore condemns us who have failed to conform to it. Then we arrive at chapter 4. The question that throws law and promise into a sharp contrast is this: How does one obtain the inheritance of the heavenly... Continue Reading

Christ-centeredness—that looking to Christ for his own salvation to the very last words in the pulpit—was really what defined Spurgeon’s ministry and why I think Spurgeon is so profoundly useful and relevant for today. We have a tendency to distract ourselves from Christ towards many good things, doctrines for instance, that might take away from Christ.... Continue Reading

Pastors have a myriad of responsibilities, but none can replace the preaching of the gospel. In fact, all other activities must be permeated with the gospel message. Doing what matters most, and the only thing that ultimately matters for eternity is possible for every single preacher. Relentlessly preaching the gospel is not dependent on budgets,... Continue Reading

Rosalind had been put in charge of the women’s outreach work that year, and she had a great yearning in her soul that the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power would be experienced in her life and ministry endeavors. While they traveled along she bowed her head and cried to God to fill her with His... Continue Reading