There’s Martha – the doer – tending to the Lord, wanting to make this a special visit for him. This was, no doubt, a big moment for her; and everything needed to be perfect! And yet, Luke tells us that her service for Jesus was actually a distraction from Jesus. One popular Greek lexicon defines... Continue Reading

Rather than drawing attention to himself, the Sprit has always delighted in shining the spotlight upon the Son, to the glory of the Father. And this is precisely why, as Joel Elowsky has wisely noted, any discussion of the Holy Spirit is fraught with particular difficulty as the church seeks to define and understand Someone... Continue Reading

As a discipline devoted to studying and teaching holy Scripture, systematic theology seeks to give heed to the full scope of biblical teaching. Systematic theology does not content itself to focus upon a single biblical author—say, Isaiah or Paul—or a single biblical theme—say, the doctrine of justification. Systematic theology is a discipline that devotes itself... Continue Reading

We must remember that any examination of God and the teaching about Him recorded in Scripture must be done in the context of devotion. The words of Leviticus 10:3 provide the context for our study: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be... Continue Reading

Chances are that you’ve been asked you if you are “born again,” but it’s probably unlikely that anyone has asked, “Are you resurrected?” This second question might seem kind of odd to ask someone, yet the Bible uses both the metaphor of rebirth and Christ’s resurrection as ways to describe the start of the Christian... Continue Reading

But Christian experience, though it cannot make us Christians whether Jesus rose or not, still can add to the direct historical evidence a confirming witness that, as a matter of fact, Christ did really rise from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures. The “witness of the Spirit” is not, as it... Continue Reading

For Jesus, being the Christ meant that He so closely identified with His people that whatever can be said of Him can, at least in principle, be said of them. For Christians (both Jews and Gentiles, see Rom. 9:4–8), then, this means that they participate in God’s covenant, becoming by faith heirs of His promises,... Continue Reading

The resurrection of Christ, therefore, is not merely a remote historical fact, like the Revolutionary War or fall of Rome. Rather, the resurrection of Christ is the ground upon which we hope that Christ’s work on our behalf has succeeded and been ratified by God himself. Christ claimed to be our sin bearer. By raising... Continue Reading

I’ve had ups and downs in the Christian life and have experienced both the rich treasure of  diligence and the bitter fruit of neglect as it comes to paying attention to God’s Word. Jesus’ words from Mark 4 and Ryle’s comments encourage me to give my all to hearing, loving, and obeying God’s Word. I... Continue Reading

For Biologos to base their argument on the authority of Scripture opens them to the mockery and ridicule of a skeptical world, the very same they are trying to avoid. This seems, rather too much, like having one’s cake and eating it. One cannot, with any credibility before the believing or unbelieving world, cite Scriptural... Continue Reading