The Seed of the Woman
In the three curse-speeches given in Genesis 3:14–19, the plotline of history is sketched out.
The intensity of these speeches can be traced as follows. At its height, a curse is given directly to the serpent: “Cursed are you” (v. 14). With Adam, there is a slight mitigation: the ground is cursed because of Adam, but he is not cursed directly as the serpent was (v. 17). Finally, with Eve,... Continue Reading
Why You Don’t Have to Obey All the Rules in the Bible
Even Jesus said he didn’t come to abolish the Law (Matt. 5:17), so it has got to be important, right?
The laws in Scripture are a beautiful reflection of the holy God we worship. I have found however that many believers are confused about the role of the rules – especially those Old Testament laws we find in places like Leviticus, that seem so foreign to us. The hundreds of exhortations in Scripture might lead... Continue Reading
Canons Of Dort (8): There Is Only One Kind Of Election
As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Synod of Dort we should recognize, however, that the impulse that animated the Remonstrants still exists.
Arguably, the Arminius of our day is Norman Shepherd, who, like Arminius, sought to revise fundamentally Reformed theology from within as a minister and as a professor in a Reformed theological faculty. Like Arminius, Shepherd gave birth to a movement, the so-called, self-described “Federal Vision” theology. The movements associated with Norman Shepherd remain important examples of this... Continue Reading
Are Brokenness and Sinfulness the Same Thing?
My sense is that the Bible doesn’t use the language of “brokenness” for the human condition the way we do.
While the words “broken” and “brokenness” resonate with us all and have some explanatory power, they’re not enough to describe the human condition, and don’t deserve to be our dominant go-to vocabulary for it. In fact, I’d go further and say that if “broken” and “brokenness” become our dominant vocabulary, we will lose gospel clarity and effectiveness,... Continue Reading
Eternalizing The Old Testament
Can we defend the inerrancy of Scripture when we fail to see continuation of these "everlasting" things mentioned in the Old Covenant period of revelation?
Everything in the Old Testament Scriptures is fulfilled in Jesus. This is how the Apostle could say, “all the promises of God in Him are ‘Yes,’ and in Him ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:20). Jesus takes all of the shadows, ordinances and promises of the Old Testament, fulfills them in His... Continue Reading
A Children’s Sermon
In this sermon, Davies clarifies what he means by “coming to Christ” from Mark 10:14.
A humbling sense of your own inability to save yourselves by the merit of your own best endeavours. I do not mean, that you should neglect your best endeavours; or that you should not exert your utmost strength in every good work, and in the earnest use of all the means of grace: for you... Continue Reading
Why Christians Should Think More About Heaven
Believers are not as heavenly minded as they should be.
May I challenge you today? Defy the stereotypes. Buck the trends. Bust the curve. Start thinking more and more about heaven. Let your mind drift pleasantly to God. Take a walk outdoors—with no devices. Breathe the cool autumn air. Think about God. Think about heaven. Think about the world of love that awaits you. ... Continue Reading
Canons Of Dort (7): God Graciously Chose His Elect Out Of The Mass Of Fallen Humanity
Thomas Aquinas taught unconditional election and even the doctrine of reprobation in his Summa Theologica.
Election was the shared doctrine of the magisterial Protestant Reformers. It is not an exotic doctrine but a basic doctrine. That so many have come to see it as the unique possession of “the Calvinists” (as though the Reformed invented the doctrine of election) only illustrates how historically and doctrinally impoverished they are. The... Continue Reading
The Mystery of Iniquity
If God allowed evil to enter into this universe, it could only be by His sovereign decision
“To this date, I have yet to find a satisfying explanation for what theologians call the mystery of iniquity. Please don’t send me letters giving your explanations, usually focusing on some dimension of human free will. I’m afraid that many people fail to feel the serious weight of this burden of explanation.” It has... Continue Reading
What Is Necessary For a Christian to Believe?
The Christian faith has objective content that must be believed
The Reformed answer to the question, “what must a Christian believe?” is not minimalist, but neither is it maximalist. We don’t ask Christians to believe everything possible. We ask them to believe all that is necessary. There are limits to what may be set as a condition of salvation. There is a hierarchy of beliefs.... Continue Reading