Angels, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare
Be alert, be prayerful, be equipped, be wise and be assured.
The devil and his demons are real. There is a war on. We have our part to play, especially by prayer. Even so, God’s people need to keep a sense of proportion. Christ is victor and the demonic is on borrowed time. Christ must always be in the foreground of thinking and living and not... Continue Reading
God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility
To say that God is sovereign is to express His almightiness in every area.
Some people object to the idea that God knows all events in advance of their happening. Such a view, some insist, deprives mankind of its essential freedom. Open theists or free-will theists, for example, insist that the future (at least in its specific details) is in some fashion “open.” Even God does not know all... Continue Reading
Jesus in the Gospel of John—the Light of the World
He entered our darkness because that is where we were held captive.
Light and life go together. When Jesus declares Himself to the light of the world, He does so against the backdrop of darkness. “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying,... Continue Reading
The Most Popular Bible Verse Among Unbelievers
If you are one of these people that isn’t afraid to turn the light on in a dark room, don’t be surprised if the person living in the room reminds you of the first verse of Matthew chapter seven.
Exegetical errors will abound if you isolate this text and try to give meaning to it; you have to read the text in its context and understand the verses before and after the text you are studying in order to come to a proper conclusion. For years, John 3:16 was the most popular Bible... Continue Reading
Ridley, Latimer, And Cranmer: The Oxford Martyrs
"We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
All three men were brought before the commissioners and each was told he had been proved wrong and was given opportunity to recant. Each refused. They were condemned as heretics. One of the most interesting bits of Oxford history is the story of the Oxford Martyrs and the statue by which they are remembered.... Continue Reading
Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions: The Image of God
The image of God seems like an obvious and already agreed upon foundation for talking about race.
We ought to reject any narrative that tells us that “those other people”—black, white, Hispanic, Asian, cops, protesters, Muslims, Christians, Jews, atheists, rich, poor, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals—are as bad as the worst people of their kind. We should not curse people made in the likeness of God. More than that, we should have a... Continue Reading
The Sounding Of The Gospel Trumpet
When the great trumpet of jubilee sounds in the soul, when it listens to the notes, and comes obedient to its call, it is to worship the Lord in His holy mount at Jerusalem.
The great trumpet had not been blown, the jubilee had not come, the chains had not been knocked off, the shackles not loosed, and the prison-gates not thrown open; they could not therefore worship God freely, fully and calmly, with liberty of access and freedom of spirit. But where do they worship Him? “In the holy... Continue Reading
Secret Pride Makes a Man Fragile
God stabs at our tired and proud hearts with a question: Are you awakened to the hope of amassing great honor for yourself?
With Baruch, our egos subtly, slowly make us brittle. Self-importance becomes the small crack in the hull to gradually drag us under. God heard Baruch’s prideful whimpering, his mumbled prayers, his sighs, his drooping scribbles. He saw his head shakings, his slowness to rise for the day, his lightening grip on the plough. And behind... Continue Reading
The Rest of the Story
Rest isn’t just ceasing from working; it is also ceasing from worrying.
Are we resting in the finished work of Christ? The most faithful Sabbath keeper will in the end be the most joyful Sabbath keeper. Sabbath, in the end, isn’t something to be observed but something to be celebrated. And we celebrate not merely a day off from work. We celebrate the victory of our King.... Continue Reading
A Worthy Goal
The Puritans believed that the family was perfectly designed and ordained by God for the pursuit of this great end: Glorifying the Triune God.
This is the foundation of the Puritan family: A harmonious unit set up by God for the pursuit of his glory; an institution founded by God in Paradise designed for joy in the shared worship of God. It was the Puritans who lifted the family up to the highest level after centuries of abuse by... Continue Reading