The Difference Between the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Jesus loved to draw contrasts in order to drive home kingdom principles and truths.
The irony of this parable is that both of these men were going to the Temple to pray. On face value both of them seemed to be praying to the same God. Both men came to the same place of worship. Both were members of the same covenant community. Both were men of the working... Continue Reading
A Christian Vision for Sexuality (Ephesians 5:3-5)
The biblical view of sexuality is not just true. It’s also better.
Father, help us to not live in column a: sexual immorality and coarseness, which leads to exclusion from your kingdom. Help us to move into the beauty of column b: sex as a subject of thanksgiving, sex as something that draws us closer to you. Thank you for all your good gifts including sex. Thank... Continue Reading
4 Ways to Respond When Christians Hurt You
The hurt that occurs between believing brothers and sisters in Christ serves as a platform for the gospel to be at work.
Jesus taught us to “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:28). If this is true with regard to our relationship to our enemies, how much more of our relationship to an offending brother or sister? When someone does something to hurt us, we should pray that God would grant... Continue Reading
“The Word Did Everything”
It is the Word of God that does not return void or empty, but always accomplishes the purposes for which God sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
So what was the secret of the Protestant Reformation’s success? Luther himself writes, “I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philipp [Melanchthon] and [Nikolaus von] Amsdorf, the Word so... Continue Reading
3 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Kinsman Redeemer
Jesus is also the kinsman redeemer who sets his indebted brethren free.
The particular duty of the kinsman that is highlighted in the Book of Ruth dealt with property. There was a threefold duty of the kinsman—to respect the blood of his relative, the liberty of his relative, and the property of his relative. If for some reason the property or the land was forfeited by the... Continue Reading
Discussing God’s Attributes
Looking at the attributes of God is simply looking at the God who has revealed Himself and asking "who is He? What is He like?"
Thinking through the attributes of God is precisely a biblical exercise, and the Scriptures themselves guide us in this. When Isaiah stands against the idols of Babylon, he dives into the character of God. Who is like Him? Who declares the end from the beginning? Who made all things? He describes God as self-sufficient, self-sustaining,... Continue Reading
The Nunc Dimittis: Messianic Hope In The Gospel of Luke
This song foreshadows the fulfillment of the gospel story.
In Luke 2:22–35, we have the famous song of Simeon, what the Anglican Prayer book calls Nunc Dimittis. In the Anglican tradition, this liturgical text speaks “of a sense of completion and fulfillment which culminates the movement from the praise of” another liturgical text, O Gladsome Light, “to the thanksgiving for God’s activity in all... Continue Reading
John Owen on Conversion
That Gospel consists largely, in the preaching of it, of the declaration of Christ crucified and exalted as the only Saviour.
Owen suggests that there are, however, two things in general which precede the consummation of conversion work: — the first is a conviction of sin that makes the individual conscious that he is under the curse of the law; the second is a realisation that there is no other way of salvation for him than... Continue Reading
3 Destructive Effects of Comparison
We lose sight of the mission; lose sight of grace; and, maybe most ironically, lose sight of other people.
It’s God’s will for all of us that we are actively engaged in His mission in the world. Our day to day lives are filled with opportunities to extend the kingdom of God both in word and in deed. When we are engaged in the practice of comparison, though, we quickly lose sight of the... Continue Reading
A False Sense of Assurance
It is frightening, but possible, that we may have false assurance.
There are two groups [of people] who possess assurance of salvation, but only one of those groups actually has salvation. So if someone has assurance of salvation, how can he be sure that his assurance is genuine, and not the false assurance of the hypocrite and the unbeliever? And how can people who are not... Continue Reading