Immutability and Pastoral Ministry
Christ makes all the theological abstractions concrete; he brings all the prodigal speculations back home.
We cannot remain in the luminous ether of God’s infinite plentitude, but we don’t need to because in the revelation of Jesus Christ all the fullness of God is pleased to dwell. When no one could see God and live, the incarnate Son made God known. Christ makes all the theological abstractions concrete; he brings... Continue Reading
Pardoned and Glorified
God sees the end from the beginning, and in His immutable decree all future events are comprehended and certain.
If we trust the One who was bruised for us, then we have already died in Him, and we are already redeemed for eternity, which is not yet a reality to us in real space and time but is nonetheless a reality to God. For those He has declared just He has also glorified (Rom. 8:28–30).... Continue Reading
The Church-State Conflict: 20 Ways Persecution Is God’s Way To Shepherd Us
For the church, without spiritual warfare, there is no daily shepherding.
The greatest benefit of the church-state conflict is our union with a Christ who himself was judged. Caesar’s focus was not whether you believed in Jesus (as they often said, “We do not care if you believe in Jesus,”) but whether you believe Jesus is “the king.” Persecution forces us to answer the world the... Continue Reading
Comfort My People
The incredible truth of the gospel is that Jesus not only bore our guilt, but He also endured our shame (Heb. 12:2).
People are filled with shame for what has been done to them and for what they have done. They’re hiding, hoping that others won’t see them. They might hide in reclusiveness, but are just as likely to hide in perfectionism, success, activism, or even brazenness. But like Adam and Eve, who after the fall tried... Continue Reading
The Controversial Birth of Jesus
Though the New Testament is replete with miracles surrounding the person of Jesus, none seems more offensive to modern man than the virgin birth.
If any law of science is established as immutable and unbreakable, it is that human reproduction is not possible without the conjoining of the male seed and the female egg. We may have developed sophisticated methods of artificial insemination and “test- tube” intrauterine implantations, but in some manner the reproduction process requires the contribution of... Continue Reading
The Miracle of the Virgin Birth
"You will hear people say, 'The early Christians believed that Christ was the son of a virgin, but we know that this is a scientific impossibility'.
‘The thing is scientifically impossible’, he would have said the same: the thing always was, and was always known to be, impossible unless the regular processes of nature were, in this particular case, being over-ruled or supplemented by something from beyond nature. When St Joseph finally accepted the view that his fiancée’s pregnancy was due not to... Continue Reading
The Whole Gospel in the Songs of Christmas
Jesus did not come to be a sweet child but as the Word made flesh, the bruised and broken sacrifice, the conqueror of death by death, and the ascended Lord at the right hand of the Father.
Sadly, when artists record popular versions of carols or when publishers add Christmas songs to hymnals and songbooks, too often they excise the core gospel message in exchange for sentimentalism. As the radio plays Christmas music 24 hours a day, it is not unusual for us to hear altered lyrics or simply the first verse... Continue Reading
He Held the Stars in Place
“Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the incarnation.”
We might get a sentimental feeling when we hear “voices singing ‘Let’s be jolly!’” but nothing will comfort and encourage us more than singing about the Word-made-flesh. It’s a reality we will never fully plumb, not even in a million carols. Words fail us. The mystery is too great. No Christmas story will ever... Continue Reading
The Incarnation of Truth and Love
The opening of the gospel of St. John deliberately parallels that of the opening of the book of Genesis.
Christians are still familiar with the doctrine of creation. Creation from Nothing. But the question of why God would create is still one that gets raised time and again. John’s gospel, then, also gives an answer to the question of creation and, in so doing, gives the template for man’s glorious destiny. “In the... Continue Reading
“Fear Not, Then,” Said the Angel, “Let Nothing You Affright…”
God does not want us to live in fear; indeed this is part of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
“Fear not.” It’s a refrain that echoes over and over again in the pages of Scripture, a command given by God to His people. He said it to Abram when Abram wondered when he would see his promised heir. He said it to His people as they looked at the odds stacked against them in... Continue Reading