To be sure, there are aspects of mystery in the Christian faith, but the Christian faith cannot be all mystery or else there would be nothing to call “the Christian faith.” Moses wrote that “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our... Continue Reading

Here are four main ways that I see us reading Scripture to grasp its meaning. By looking at each, we can grow in our awareness of how we read the Bible and hopefully become more skilled at reading Scripture through this knowledge.   When we read the Bible, we intuitively get its meaning. If we... Continue Reading

The Holy Spirit comes to apply the finished work of redemption to the souls of those for whom Christ died and rose again. The work of the Spirit, post the resurrection of Jesus, is a work of glorifying the risen and reigning glorified Son.   I well remember many discussion with friends, as a young... Continue Reading

While civil magistrates, courts, denominations, and congregations may legislate the certification, regulation, and licensing of domestic unions, partnerships, and friendships, even “defining” such unions as true “love” or “marriage,” only God Himself actually defines love and marriage by the covenantal decrees in His Biblical revelation.   It is God who has established, sanctified, and ordained... Continue Reading

The influence of the OT is also seen in the use of type-scenes in NT narratives. Type-scenes constitute a form of repetition in biblical narrative, an episode composed of a fixed sequence of motifs, often associated with recurrent themes. They reiterate similar events—say, the announcement of birth or the trial in the wilderness—by drawing on... Continue Reading

To finish well will cost us something.  It may cost us everything. Just ask anyone who has ever run a marathon or competed in a triathlon. Starting is easy. It is finishing that is hard. It is finishing that requires blood, sweat, and tears.  It is finishing that requires courage.   The race really does... Continue Reading

What we read in newspaper reports or online articles is often only part of the story (other relevant figures are sometimes omitted) or are not completely accurate reports of the findings (such as ambiguity about the wording of questions actually asked). It is therefore important to look for the original source of the statistics.  ... Continue Reading

The truth is, giving to the poor is nearly always impractical. Try as you might, you cannot control others, you can’t make them use the money the way that you want them to. You can’t make the medicine work, or the surgery to take, and even when it does, you can’t make people stay alive.... Continue Reading

“It was, therefore, to the apostles a period of training, that fitted them eminently for the great work to which they were called in preaching the gospel to all nations. Like the forty days that preceded the public ministry of the Lord, it was designed and adapted in an eminent degree to furnish preparation for... Continue Reading

Pastors would do well to engage with Calvin not because Calvin was so great in himself but because he sought to surrender himself to God in all his motives, thoughts, and actions, for God’s glory and not his own. That is our vocation—surrender to God.   When I first discovered Calvinism, I utterly despised it.... Continue Reading