Dead and Buried
The very idea of a crucified god was a joke in the first century.
Has a more terrible way to die ever been devised by man’s cruel imagination? Yet the early Christians not only admitted that their founder Jesus had died in this contemptible manner; they also boasted about it. The apostle Paul says, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ.” Indeed, this... Continue Reading
The Ten Commandments: The First
The supremacy of God must permeate all of life.
The first of the Ten Commandments towers as a sentinel and shines as a sun: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7). As a sentinel the commandment guards the exclusivity of the living God. As a sun the commandment shines down upon the totality of one’s life, leaving nothing hidden... Continue Reading
3 Reasons People Ignore Church History (But Shouldn’t)
Many of the reasons behind this attitude are based on myths or misunderstandings.
In the mind of many Protestants today, the church kept on the right path for a few years after the Book of Acts, and then followed a long road of deterioration and corruption until Luther brought back the light. This is a very simplistic way of looking at history, which follows the Enlightenment interpretations of... Continue Reading
Salvation: Our Death With Christ Has Freed Us From Bondage To Sin
The glorious good news of the gospel is that, by virtue of our faith-union with Jesus, we have died, and so we have been freed from our sentence to live a new life.
The strange facts of this case do point to the wonder of our salvation in Christ. As sinners who have rebelled against our good creator, God handed us over the ruling power of sin in our lives, which the present manifestation of his just wrath against us (Romans 1v18-32). We are subject to a life-sentence... Continue Reading
Tried With Fire: Chastening
All who are genuinely God’s sons can expect to receive chastening.
The courtroom metaphor provides a powerful and glorious picture of the salvation God applies to His people. Magnificent as it is, however, it is only one of several metaphors, and it must not be pressed beyond its limits. How might that happen? I can give an example. We must beware of mixing the metaphors... Continue Reading
The Difference Between the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Jesus loved to draw contrasts in order to drive home kingdom principles and truths.
The irony of this parable is that both of these men were going to the Temple to pray. On face value both of them seemed to be praying to the same God. Both men came to the same place of worship. Both were members of the same covenant community. Both were men of the working... Continue Reading
A Christian Vision for Sexuality (Ephesians 5:3-5)
The biblical view of sexuality is not just true. It’s also better.
Father, help us to not live in column a: sexual immorality and coarseness, which leads to exclusion from your kingdom. Help us to move into the beauty of column b: sex as a subject of thanksgiving, sex as something that draws us closer to you. Thank you for all your good gifts including sex. Thank... Continue Reading
4 Ways to Respond When Christians Hurt You
The hurt that occurs between believing brothers and sisters in Christ serves as a platform for the gospel to be at work.
Jesus taught us to “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:28). If this is true with regard to our relationship to our enemies, how much more of our relationship to an offending brother or sister? When someone does something to hurt us, we should pray that God would grant... Continue Reading
“The Word Did Everything”
It is the Word of God that does not return void or empty, but always accomplishes the purposes for which God sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
So what was the secret of the Protestant Reformation’s success? Luther himself writes, “I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philipp [Melanchthon] and [Nikolaus von] Amsdorf, the Word so... Continue Reading
3 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Kinsman Redeemer
Jesus is also the kinsman redeemer who sets his indebted brethren free.
The particular duty of the kinsman that is highlighted in the Book of Ruth dealt with property. There was a threefold duty of the kinsman—to respect the blood of his relative, the liberty of his relative, and the property of his relative. If for some reason the property or the land was forfeited by the... Continue Reading