A High View of the Efficacy of Baptism
The grace promised in the ordinance of baptism is actually conferred in God’s appointed time “by the right use of this ordinance.”
Covenant Baptism is not merely a symbol (Zwingli) or a “wet dedication service” where water is used. If anyone is dedicating himself in covenant baptism, it is God who is dedicating himself to keep the promises he has made to Christian parents. This is a high view of the efficacy of covenant baptism. It is... Continue Reading
What Is Worship?
Worship is a humble serving the Lord in all of life because he is the only one deserving of honor.
God was careful to define the exclusivity of worship to the people of Israel. He commanded his people to destroy the idols of the land of Canaan when they took possession of it. He does so because he requires worship to be shown to him alone (Cf. Ex. 34:14). Worship is then described as sacrifice... Continue Reading
Conviction and Consolation in the Gospel
Throughout the Bible, God’s unified work of redemption includes both an element of conviction and an element of consolation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ gives clear expression of these two elements
“The conviction and consolation we receive in Christ grandly correspond to the character of God the Father as both just and gracious (Gen 34:6-7). Though we may naturally prefer the consolation of the gospel, we must also learn to acknowledge and then to celebrate the element of conviction of the gospel.” Throughout the Bible,... Continue Reading
The Lie Of Sinning Without Suffering
In our world today, we think that we can get the pleasure of sin without its consequences
The punishment is unending–we may escape it for a day or two, or even a month or two, but it has a way of lingering for a lifetime. Verse 33 says that the one committing adultery “will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.” We’re all getting catfished. In... Continue Reading
He Made Them Male and Female
The problem that continues to raise its pesky head is the problem of essential attributes.
So we take the general observation that men are stronger than women and then we make it an essential attribute of maleness. In other words, when men are physically weak, they are no longer men. Do you see the problem? If these assertions are correct, what are we to make of a man who become... Continue Reading
The Enigma of Job
Job's central theme is the greatest enigma of all: theodicy – how do we relate a good and sovereign God to the reality of evil and suffering in his world?
Perhaps the biggest thing that arises out of the sheer size of this book is that even as God’s people we must learn to live with the unanswered questions thrown up by evil and suffering in our own experience. Indeed we need to realise that they are the kind of questions that may never be... Continue Reading
Don’t Waste Your Basal Ganglia
Please do not waste your basal ganglia. Let me explain why.
How do we know if we are wasting our basal ganglia? Would it not be just coasting through life? Turning off our brain and choosing to live with unredeemed habits that conform to the world and not been re-formed by the Spirit of God? Is it not compartmentalizing life so that the authoritative Word of... Continue Reading
May We Pray To All Three Members Of The Holy Trinity?
Christian prayer is nothing but a Trinitarian enterprise.
God knows from all eternity what we need and what we shall pray and yet it is God the Spirit, eternally proceeding from the the Father and the Son who works in us, who energizes us to pray in the name of Jesus, the eternally begotten Son incarnate, to the eternally unbegotten Father, who loves... Continue Reading
Getting Up Close with God’s Word
May we always yearn and seek to know the breadth, length, height, and depth of our Savior God
As crazy as that all sounds, we often respond that way to knowing God and his word. We step back and take in the big picture and think we know all there is to know. We are satisfied with merely a taste of who God is and then we think that’s all we need. We... Continue Reading
Learning Repentance from the Psalmist
One of the ways our emotions tell us something is wrong is in the case of our sin
“When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we feel the weight of it. It makes us grieve and feel sorrow. We feel anger toward ourselves for what we’ve done. We feel a nagging disquiet in our souls that won’t let go.” I broke my arm two years ago. It was the first broken... Continue Reading