Dear friend, are you already saved? Then keep not back from union with the Lord’s people. Neglect not the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. You may be of a timid disposition, but you must strive against it, lest it lead you into disobedience. There is a sweet promise made to those who confess... Continue Reading

Christian, the Lord knows you are not an asset to the organization. He knows what a tangled-up knot of anxiety, incompetence, and faithlessness you are. He knows exactly what a big fat sinner you are. He knew exactly what he was getting into. Eyes wide open, and arms too, he comes to embrace you. He’s... Continue Reading

The Resurrection involves justification in both senses of the Greek term. First, the Resurrection justifies Christ Himself. Of course, He is not justified in the sense of having His sins remitted, because He had no sins, or in the sense of being declared righteous while still a sinner, or in the Latin sense of being... Continue Reading

What our parents tell us could be wrong.  But, this is missing the point. The issue is whether it is reasonable to believe those we trust (and have good reasons to trust) when they tell us certain things are true.  And Timothy had good grounds for trusting his mother and grandmother. The only alternative is to doubt... Continue Reading

God’s will is to be gracious to every person who turns to him in faith. And that’s really what repentance is, it’s a turning to God, away from our sins. God is for repentant sinners. But don’t assume that you can live in unrepentant rejecting the gospel and that you’re going to meet a gracious... Continue Reading

One tithes faithfully, so he frequently speaks about the widespread lack of giving in the church at large. One serves in various capacities in a local congregation and so he begins to complain about how others are not serving to the same degree. When we speak in these ways, we can be sure that we... Continue Reading

God hath so ordered the matter of the believer’s sanctification, that sin is left to be active in their souls while here, for their farther humiliation. They are hereby taught to bear low sails all the days of their lives, and, with “Hezekiah,* to go softly all their years in the bitterness of their souls.”... Continue Reading

Between the Gospels and Peter’s epistles, there is a change. After he was restored in John 21:15–19, he burst on the scene of the early church giving bold witness to Christ. What is more, in his letters, he is no longer the fumbling Apostle—he’s a mature believer calling other believers to maturity.   A pair... Continue Reading

Everyone — wise and foolish, rich and poor alike — everyone goes the way of all flesh. No man can ransom another from the power of Sheol. No amount of wealth or riches can suffice to keep us from the place of the dead. Death comes as a shepherd, and all of us are his... Continue Reading

In the New Testament, there are a few references to God being immortal and invisible (1 Tim. 1:17), but nothing is said directly about whether he is impassible. On the other hand, the ancients often linked suffering to mortality, as in the Nicene Creed, where Jesus “suffered and was buried,” the implication being that his... Continue Reading