For the Joy set before Him
As the One to whom Moses ultimately pointed, Jesus supremely chose deliberately to eschew the pleasures of this world for the perfect joys and pleasure of the coming world.
There is a translation issue bound up with this verse that has a bearing on how it should be interpreted. It concerns the Greek word anti which can be taken either as ‘for’ or ‘in place of’. In his commentary on Hebrews, Calvin prefers the latter option. And he explains why: ‘for he [the author] intimates, that... Continue Reading
Obscene, yet Beautiful
What is the meaning of the passion of Christ?
The people who witnessed Christ stumbling toward Golgotha, who saw Him delivered to the Romans, and who watched His crucifixion, understood the significance of this event in a variety of ways. There were those present who thought that they were viewing the just execution of a criminal. Caiaphas, the high priest, said that Christ’s death... Continue Reading
Preaching: The Abuse of Redemptive-Historical Preaching, Part 2
The sermon becomes not unlike the magician’s performance, except at the end of the act instead of a rabbit, the preacher pulls out Jesus to everyone’s surprise.
To miss the new covenant realities of the story of King David, would be to miss the main point of how Jesus is the son of David and the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises concerning God’s preservation of David’s throne. Yet, just as the Old Testament Scriptures are not only exemplaristic (which they are, see 1... Continue Reading
The Meaning and Purpose of a Godly Help Mate
In God’s design, God meets our needs with himself, yet often through other people.
Can God give extraordinary grace so that a person can survive without a church? For instance, in prison for the gospel’s sake? Yes. Can God provide extraordinary grace so that a person can thrive without a spouse? Certainly. The very word “extraordinary” reminds us that this is not God’s ordinary way of working. God has... Continue Reading
Our Beautiful God
The idea of the beauty of God has been all but eclipsed in our contemporary culture, both in the secular community and in the church as well.
Some Christians reduce their concern for the things of God purely to the ethical realm, to a discussion of righteousness or of goodness with respect to our behavior. Others are so concerned about purity of doctrine that they’re preoccupied with truth at the expense of behavior or at the expense of the holy. Rarely, at... Continue Reading
The Glorious, Life Altering Difference Between Grace and Mercy
God’s mercy is NOT giving sinners what they DO DESERVE. And God’s grace is POSITIVELY GIVING sinners what they DO NOT DESERVE.
See the difference? In his mercy God withholds WHAT WE DO DESERVE; in his grace God heaps upon us infinite blessings WE DO NOT DESERVE. In mercy he withholds what we DID MERIT – eternal wrath; and in grace pours out upon us what we COULD NEVER MERIT: Eternal life, infinite joy, being one with... Continue Reading
More Than a Love Story
Adam’s need for Eve went beyond that of a warm body and a uterus.
When God made a corresponding part for Adam, he completed something that was incomplete (Genesis 2:23). And that completion reaches beyond Adam to humanity itself. Male and female are made in God’s image (Genesis 5:2). Eve was not composed of spare parts. She was an integral part of humankind. Yes, she was Adam’s wife. But fulfilling her... Continue Reading
Jesus: Yahweh in the Flesh
Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Yahweh cannot make it any clearer that it will be Him and Him alone that receives all worship! But then Paul says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Well, do the math: if there’s no God and no Savior apart from Yahweh, and Jesus is the God and... Continue Reading
Preaching: The Abuse of Redemptive-Historical Preaching Part I
Flattening the Scriptures in such a way – where every passage says exactly the same thing – obscures the richness of God’s Word and stunts the spiritual growth of God’s people
If the point of every sermon is “just believe the Gospel” and this is the only exhortation of the message week in and week out, then there is actually very little room for application. What more could one say with such a message? I suppose that there is some nuance on how precisely a person... Continue Reading
He is Risen Indeed. Hallelujah!
The gospel is the good news of God who defeated death through the atoning death of Jesus and his miraculous, non-mythic resurrection, which happened in time and space.
That gospel is the good news we all need. God stepping into our world, and defeating death through the atoning death of Jesus and his miraculous, non-mythic resurrection, which happened in time and space. It is a bodily resurrection that we will also know, if we are in Christ. May you be given power and... Continue Reading