Paul now sees another earlier typological fulfillment of the promise in Abraham when the Lord brings life from his body, “which was as good as dead,” and “the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (4:19). It was not Abraham’s doing that would bring forth life—such would be impossible for him as one residing under death’s influence—but believing in God alone who could do it.... Continue Reading

I rarely hear believers talking deeply about holiness today. Sin and worldliness seem to be missing words in Christian chit-chat. In our zeal to win the lost there appears to be more focus on being trendy – on conforming to expectations of the world so as to be as similar as possible. As I come to... Continue Reading

Is this not what we see when Satan blinded all of humanity to God’s word? His temptation to Adam and Eve was to have them stand over and against God’s word, tempting them to know good and evil according to their own judgments, rather than submitting to God’s word. And in that fateful posture, what... Continue Reading

Most Christians learn what theology they know from the preaching and teaching of their pastors. For some churches in the Reformed tradition, this has been accomplished by expository preaching in the morning service and catechetical preaching in the evening service. Expository preaching moves through books of the Bible, explaining and applying the teaching of the... Continue Reading

Every week, I stumble across memes and posts on social media in which someone expresses to someone else the idea that they are “wonderful,” “beautiful,” “special,” and “loved” (oftentimes, with the adverb “so” prefixed to the verb “loved”). When I read such sentiments, my mind immediately turns to the SNL sketch in which Stuart Smalley gives... Continue Reading

Through his Word God enlightens minds in order that hearts might be healed and won to himself. Preachers, therefore, must avoid vacuousness in their preaching, and they must avoid heartless intellectualism. The object of all true preaching, after all, is the heart, and preaching has failed “unless it makes men tremble, makes them sad, and then anon... Continue Reading

Try as the media might to convince us that marriage is just another means for our own happiness—and one in which individuals can set their own rules and independent bounds for—we know the truth. God created this union, among many reasons, to eventually give us a fuller understanding of his relationship with the church—his holy... Continue Reading

How can there be “a perpetual movement of the divine essence from the first Person to the second, always complete, never completed”?[4] Calvin seems to have found “this conception difficult, if not meaningless.”[5] To put it another way, how can there be a continuous act of generating when the three Persons have existed from eternity?   While... Continue Reading

Friday morning was the memorial service for Irene Morrison. A couple hundred people attended the event which was held in a little country church a hundred miles from nowhere, and open to anyone who knew and loved her. In the pews were children, farmers, nannies, retirees, and even a blogger—a B-list of normal and unknown people.  ... Continue Reading

Here is how we cultivate hope and put fear to flight. The key is to “call to mind” the truth about our God. We must call to mind the fact that God’s steadfast love for us NEVER ceases. We must call to mind that his mercies to us NEVER come to an end. We must... Continue Reading