Tried with Fire: A City That Hath Foundations
Suffering teaches us by practice that even the good things of this world are very transient.
Life itself is a vapor. Each good thing that we own comes to own a part of us, for with possession comes the stewardship of maintenance and right use. Hence the maxim, bon pa dire—good don’t last. The better we learn this lesson, the greater will be our legitimate detachment from earthly things. On the other... Continue Reading
Is It Vain to Serve God?
Walk by faith and not by sight, and never buy in to the lie that it is vain to serve God.
It may not always be obvious now, but on the day of the Lord the distinction between the righteous and the wicked will be abundantly clear. On that day, “all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it... Continue Reading
But There are Many Interpretations!
We can come to the right understanding of Scripture because God does not leave His people alone in our sin to interpret the Bible.
We prefer to live our own way rather than the way that God wisely and lovingly created us to live. As a result, when we read Scripture, our sinfulness will affect our understanding. We all have beliefs, assumptions, and biases which impact our interpretation of the Bible. As long as we remain in sin against... Continue Reading
Who Is Lord: Christ or Caesar?
When the question is put to us, Caesar or Christ, may we be among those who don’t shrink back.
Caesar or Christ? The truth is that question is always there. It is always before us, before the church in every age of the past. The question is before us in our time today, and it will be in front of the church in the ages to come. Who is Lord? When the Apostles and the... Continue Reading
How the Kingdom Arrives in Matthew’s Gospel
The king took the sins of the people lay them on his shoulders and heaves them up on the cross.
If the Jews were expecting a red carpet to be rolled out for the new Davidic king, then they have not been paying close attention to the story of David’s kingship. David’s journey to his kingship is anything but smooth. The journey of the King is one of deportation and distress. This specific movement, this... Continue Reading
Is Discouragement Always an Enemy?
Knowing that God has not failed us, and we are still dismayed should be an indication that we have misplaced our trust.
If God’s plan for us was to reach a point of discouragement, doesn’t that mean that God is causing us to sin? The problem is that this way of thinking is too simplistic. The disconnect is in failing to realize that we are already sinful. The fact that the Lord allows us to face situations that... Continue Reading
Definite Atonement at Dort and the Unity of the Trinity
Put Down TULIP and Pick Up the Canons of Dort
Today, when we consider the extent of the atonement, we should remember that the Synod of Dort wrote a biblically-saturated and pastorally-useful statement that stands above anything written in the last four centuries. Rather than stressing what Christ did not accomplish in a limited atonement, the second canon of Dort edifies the believer as it... Continue Reading
Sanctification and Union with Christ
It is in Christ where our obedience is found and the Spirit of Christ where that obedience, which God prepared beforehand, is worked out in our lives.
The whole warp and whoof of Paul’s theology (including his theology of sanctification) is grounded in his understanding of who he is (and thus, who we are) in Christ. It is his doctrine of union in Christ that pulsates like a great melodic line running through the entirety of Paul’s thought. He’s a theologian of... Continue Reading
Paul’s Conversion
Jesus met and changed Paul on the Damascus Road.
Facing men who seek to undermine his ministry, Paul describes the events surrounding his conversion to prove the Judaizers are liars for making accusations that Jesus never directly called him to be an apostle. He reminds us that he persecuted the church before meeting Christ. Such an explanation provides a powerful contrast with his new... Continue Reading
Are You Hearing or Understanding?
Could it be that a counter-cultural Christianity in a world of non-stop talking simply looks like a person willing to sit down and listen?
In a culture marked by talking heads, Christians, in particular, need to be marked by a desire to listen and understand. Rather than turning people into arguments that need to be defeated, believers should take time to listen with patience and genuine concern. If you were to turn on the cable news, you would... Continue Reading