Jumping the Shark and the Trajectory of Sin
The slow, degradation of characters is actually a microcosm showing us the trajectory of sin.
Sin always promises to taste good, and there’s some truth in its promise. Eve saw that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil “was good for food . . . a delight to the eyes, and . . . to be desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). Yet, what looked good and... Continue Reading
“For the Sake of the Gospel”—The Apologetic Speeches of the Apostle Paul in the Book of Acts (Part One)
I think it important to have a biblically based and carefully honed apologetic methodology in place before confronting both the learned and not so learned paganism of our age.
It is from Luke’s record of the ever-extending reign of the risen and exalted Christ, that we are given a clear picture of how the Apostle Paul sought both to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and defend the Christian truth claim (2). Paul does so not only in the synagogues of the major cities... Continue Reading
The Smallest Stage
The drums and trumpets resound in our hearts and the magnetic pull of the larger, public stage draws us away from the glory of God in the smaller, secret stage.
There is both fruitfulness and sinful desire in our engagement on the larger, public stage of vocation and opportunity. Some desires are driven by God-glorifying desire. Other passions are propelled by a vain attempt to soothe our souls with what will ultimately leave us unsatisfied. Therefore, if we are to navigate these various stages in... Continue Reading
Jesus: Baptism Is Death
What is there about baptism that lends it to being used as a figure for death?
Circumcision was an illustration of our inability to save ourselves. We need God to save us. We need bloodshed to save us. We need a new (circumcised) heart. We need a new life. Only God gives new life, true faith, the Savior, and salvation. Baptism illustrates those very same truths. We do not baptize ourselves.... Continue Reading
‘Where Two or More are Gathered’ Doesn’t Make a Church
The context has everything to do with how the church operates – but not in the sense it is often conveyed.
What people want this verse to say is that any time two or more Christians are gathered, there’s a church, because Jesus is in their midst. On a closer examination of the whole passage, we find this text to specifically deal with the practice of church discipline. I can’t recall the number of times I’ve... Continue Reading
Do You Struggle With Unbelief? God Has Good News For You…
Do you struggle with unbelief? Ask Jesus for more faith! He’s just waiting to give it to you.
All of us have to fight the good fight of faith. That’s the Christian life. Most of us struggle to have faith at times. We have an enemy who challenges our faith every day. We need to cling to God’s word and humble ourselves, cast our anxieties on Jesus and ask him for more faith.... Continue Reading
Thinking Like Jesus
The world has never experienced such sound thinking as was manifested in the mind of Christ
“I do not think for a moment that any of us, as long as sin is in us, will never become perfect in our reasoning. Sin prejudices us against the law of God for as long as we live, and we have to fight to overcome these basic distortions of the truth of God.” ... Continue Reading
The Apostle’s Creed: The Third Day He Rose Again From the Dead
“Progressive” Christians who deny the Resurrection deny the gospel and do not confess a true faith
“If the resurrection is part of such a brief presentation of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, then it also stands, systematically, that it is key to our understanding of who Jesus is and what He did while on earth: our Christology.” The Apostles’ Creed has long been admired, memorized, and confessed in worship... Continue Reading
Themes in Puritan Theology: Creation and Providence
Let’s open up the external work of God in creation and providence, respectively, according to the Puritans
First, God made all things out of nothing and all very good. William Ames (The Marrow of Sacred Divinity, 1627) observes that creation “respects the whole world, that is, whatsoever doth exist besides God.” He created, notes Thomas Watson, ex nihilo, “without any pre-existent matter . . . out of the womb of nothing” and... Continue Reading
Reading The Word
One of the surest ways to misinterpret a document is to disregard the background in which it was written
“The main thrust of WLC 156 is not the limitation on who can read Scripture publicly, but the duty of all to read Scripture privately and with their family. Here, again, we see that the historical background to the Westminster Assembly provides insight into why this portion of the answer is given such prominence.” ... Continue Reading