Confessing the Triune God: Retrieving Nicene Faith for Today’s Church- RTS Houston
Eternal generation establishes the distinction between the Father and the Son and preserves equality within the Godhead. The Son (and Spirit) are equal in power and glory with the Father (WLC Ques. 9). This equality of power and glory is lost when eternal generation is replaced by an eternal relationship of authority and submission. Proponents... Continue Reading
18 Prayers to Pray for Unbelievers
While we can and must pray for matters related to their lives and circumstances, the emphasis of our prayers must always be for their salvation
Pray that God would grant them repentance. Unbelievers cannot repent without the enabling grace of God. So pray that God would grant them repentance, that this repentance would lead them to a knowledge of the truth. Pray as well that they would come to their senses and that they would escape from the devil’s snare.... Continue Reading
Learning From The Judges
The grim history of Israel’s sin in the period of the judges goes against what the people pledged
“The people of God relived the cycle of relapse, retribution, repentance, and rescue over and over again throughout biblical history. And, dare I say, the church has seen a similar cycle over the past two thousand years as well. But we have a tendency to think such things cannot happen in the life of the... Continue Reading
The Almighty and Ever Present Power of God
As children of our heavenly Father, divine providence is always for us and never against us.
Whatever of your hopes or fears come true, God will never be untrue to those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. He will always lead his people, always listen to the brokenhearted, and always love his children. God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. If we can’t... Continue Reading
When God is Silent
God always comes through for his people. And can you not recall many examples of God’s goodness to you?
David was sure he would praise God for his goodness in the future, because God had been good to him in the past. He who did not spare his only Son but gave him up for us all will give us all the grace we need to glorify him. God has not brought you this... Continue Reading
Keep a Close Watch on Yourself!
A person does not simply wake up one morning and decide to deny the faith or to affirm something utterly contrary to the Bible
Crumbling behavior and crumbling beliefs, a shipwrecked life or a shipwrecked faith, both result from a lack of vigilance. This is why it is your responsibility to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16). This is why God charges elders to “pay careful attention to yourselves and to all... Continue Reading
Four Implications of Martin Luther’s Theology
What do the sovereignty of God, salvation by grace, justification by faith, and new life in union with Christ mean for the living of the Christian life?
Fourth, the Christian life is marked by assurance and joy. This was one of the hallmarks of the Reformation, and understandably so. The Reformation’s rediscovery regarding justification—that, instead of working toward a hoped-for arrival at it, the Christian life actually begins with it—brought stunning deliverance, filling mind, will, and affections with joy. It meant that... Continue Reading
The Little City Delivered: Christ in Ecclesiastes
Keeping the wisdom literature in its canonical and redemptive-historical setting is one of the more difficult challenges for the student of Scripture.
Many have interpreted the Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes atomistically under the guise of faithful commitment to a grammatical-historical reading of Scripture. However, this is not how Jesus and the Apostles interpreted the Old Testament. For them, everything is related to Creation, fall and the promise of redemption in the coming Redeemer. Jesus declared that Abraham... Continue Reading
Will Beauty Save the World?
The cross of Christ may not be pretty, but it certainly is beautiful
In one sense, the Bible begins and ends in beauty. In Genesis, Moses repeatedly emphasizes that God’s verdict on His creation is that “it was good,” even “it was very good.” But this statement has a deeper meaning than our English word “good.” Instead the Hebrew also carries the connotation “beautiful.” Sometimes persistent questions... Continue Reading
Mentoring Others
Let’s thank the Lord for the mentors we have had and pray that God would give us more opportunities to mentor others
“In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul speaks of his being gentle among the Thessalonians, like a nursing mother caring for her children. Have you ever watched a godly woman caring for her young children? Such gentleness! Such patience! Such careful instruction!” My wife and I recently sat at our dining room table over “It’ll Kill... Continue Reading