Themes in Puritan Theology: Covenants
God is determined to have a people for himself, a people in a living relationship with him by way of a covenant.
God made a second “covenant of grace” to deliver perishing sinners through a Redeemer, Jesus Christ, by free grace and according to unconditional election (WCF 7.4, WSC, Q&A 20). Still, while there existed grace in the covenant of works, the covenant that followed manifested “grace” to fallen sinners through the strict merit accomplished by Christ as the... Continue Reading
Idolatry Begins When Truth about God Is Exchanged for a Lie
Wrong ideas about God don’t just lead to idolatry; they are idolatry.
Let me summarize Paul’s words as best as I can: Behind every act of false worship, there is a false idea about God. Tozer states, “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind and may be present where no overt act of worship... Continue Reading
Where Pietists and Presbyterians Differ on Christian Freedom
Understanding freedom as a spiritual reality.
Before Christ, all we had to modify our behavior was law — and the carrots and sticks that come with following and breaking laws. But Paul teaches that the law cannot stop us from wanting to sin. Only faith in Christ can make us righteous in God’s eyes (Gal 2:16) and start to change our... Continue Reading
We Are Not In Eden
“I think, Court, you want to live in a place that’s never impacted by the fall. That place doesn’t exist.” Ouch.
It’s a gift to live in a society where we can keep bugs and rodents out. We should be thankful to God for these blessings (which really are first-world problems and blessings). But it’s also a curse, because it dulls us to the reality that we will never truly be free from the brokenness of... Continue Reading
Your Rod and Your Staff, They Comfort Me
The rod and staff can be broadly categorized as tools of protection and guidance, respectively.
As the shepherd-made-king David places himself in the role of a sheep, his fears of every evil are quelled by a glimpse of Israel’s true Shepherd-King. David compares God’s governing care of His flock—His providence—to a rod and a staff, a sight that ought to quiet all fears and assure the flock of the care... Continue Reading
Practical Repentance
Every time I tried to answer the question of practical repentance, we ended up drifting into what looked and felt a lot like legalism.
We tend to teach the gospel, then quickly reach for our spiritual checklist (money, marriage, family life, etc.) and teach it as if it had nothing to do with knowing and loving Jesus personally—nothing to do with the Bible. We lay down God and his word before we pick up our list. But unless we... Continue Reading
Worse Than An Unbeliever: Provision in 1 Timothy 5:8
Is the idea of men providing a cultural or biblical idea?
Authority and responsibility go hand-in-hand—Adam’s authority over Eve was not for his own self-indulgence or pleasure, but for the glory of God and their mutual good. ‘Provision’ is not simply defined in terms of material necessities—a man who supplies social and economic security for his family does very well, but that’s not the sum total... Continue Reading
7 Things You Need to Know About the Formation of the New Testament
These realities should comfort us, not only in knowing why we have the books in the New Testament that we do, but that our translations and copies are reliable and trustworthy due to the overwhelming internal and external evidence.
The New Testament books are the earliest writings we possess regarding Jesus. The New Testament was completed in the first century. This means the writings include testimonies from eyewitnesses and were written within fifty years of the events, which cannot be said of any of the apocryphal literature often discussed in the news. 1.... Continue Reading
What Do You Feed Your Eyes?
Our eyes will be drawn to what our hearts desire, but they also often hold sway.
Our eyes are not neutral. They influence and even drive our hearts. If we feed them what is true, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, our eyes can grow our faith, heighten our love, and intensify our happiness. But where the eyes wander, the heart quickly follows — and falls. How many of... Continue Reading
The Lord Is My Shepherd; I Shall Not Want
Jesus knew that, ultimately, He Himself was “the good shepherd” who “lays down his life for the sheep.”
What looks at first like a shepherd’s lessons from shepherding turns out to be the confidence of a believer based on the truth of the Word of God and the revelation of His character. Perhaps this is less David the pastor thinking of caring for sheep and more David the expositor applying God’s Word to... Continue Reading