Ephesians 1:13–14 states that in Christ we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” A seal in the ancient world did three things: it authenticated, it secured, and it marked ownership. All three elements are probably in view here. The seal of... Continue Reading

Countless people through history would have loved to have the access to God’s word that we enjoy today. We can read and we have it (most of the time) in our own language. We can afford it; we can get access for free on our phones or the internet. We have it in audio form... Continue Reading

Keep your burdens before the Throne of Grace. Prayer is an essential part of trusting the Lord in difficult times. In prayer, we unburden ourselves from our issues and give them to the Lord. This reminds us that the Lord hears, knows, and acts for us, His people.    Trust in the LORD with all... Continue Reading

Jesus didn’t just say to make disciples. He also gave his own brief summary of the announcement that is the core of the gospel we are to use in making disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (28:18). There, in 12 words, is Jesus’ gospel summary that needs to... Continue Reading

Jesus changed the meaning of death for those who follow him. Death is no longer the wages of sin. The atoning death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ has forever changed the face of the last enemy. Christ has made death a friend to be embraced, unafraid. Death has now become the doorway to eternal... Continue Reading

“He looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made... Continue Reading

God’s people aren’t just saved by some benign but far-off deity. Rather, we are saved by the Incarnate God who unites us to Himself. He is a personal, knowable God who personally saves His people to Himself, literally unites Himself to His people. How can I pray to God as my Father? Union with Christ.... Continue Reading

Rest assured, a slow and steady pace of ministry will afford you ample opportunities for affliction and adversity. Simply let the Lord lead you at his pace as you labour to understand his word and do what it says as you lead his people. If you do this, there will be no need to go... Continue Reading

As you reflect on the first use of the law, consider how it has worked in your life. Have you allowed it to reveal your sin and lead you to Christ? Or are you still clinging to self-righteousness, hoping your efforts will suffice? The law’s purpose is not to condemn you to hopelessness but to... Continue Reading

Christians must never underestimate the importance of the body of Messianic signs, especially OT types and prophecies. The signs draw the Scriptures into a wondrous Christo-centric unity. They are a chorus of witnesses, singing of the divine Prophet, Priest and King. Because of them, we see that the Old Testament confirms the New, and that... Continue Reading

The Great Commission, together with the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven, engenders confidence that “the Kingdom of God increases, stage upon stage, to the end of the world.” But neither Matthew 28:18–20 nor any other Scripture stipulates the degree to which “the universal circumference of the Gospel’s triumph,” fully inscribed by the... Continue Reading

The Christian’s relationship to his parents is based on his relationship to God. Because God has placed these specific parents in their lives, any other behavior expressed in the horizontal way (between people) involves a vertical aspect (between God and man) as well. It is God’s will to have these imperfect families knit together.  ... Continue Reading

When disasters befall our nation, our primary focus should not be to engage in minute speculation about who is being judged but to take stock of one’s own spiritual state and the spiritual state of the nation as a whole. In other words, we must be careful not to miss the reason God works his... Continue Reading

As nice as it would be to chop our passage into two sections—one dealing with believers (Rom 12:9–16) and the other with unbelievers (Rom 12:17–21)—is that Rom 12:14 also deals with unbelievers. Why does Paul put this verse about how to relate to unbelievers in the midst of a section that is more about how... Continue Reading

“Shall we say that Jesus was not really dead, and reviving from the swoon, himself crept from the tomb? This was the hypothesis of Schleiermacher. But not only is it in direct contradiction with the eye-witness testimony (1 Cor. xv. 3; 2 Cor. v. 15; Rom. xiv. 9, et saepe [and often]), which is explicit... Continue Reading

Our kids need to hear the stories of Daniel and David, but they need to know the God of Daniel and David. That happens through systematic teaching of doctrine in a relational environment. By reading my kids systematic theology, they have been asking questions about God they hadn’t asked because it is creating categories about... Continue Reading

Biblical interpretation is a complex and weighty process. Arguing that ahistoricism partially underpins attempts to redefine key Christian doctrines today by no means implies the authority of historical teachings over the Bible or that Christians never reinterpret Scripture passages.   The church is always situated in a cultural context. Ever since the early church, Christians... Continue Reading

Reviewing what is probably the most significant manifesto on it, Swain and Allen’s Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation, I notice that the most they will purport is “that there are Reformed theological and ecclesiological warrants for pursuing a program of retrieval,” “numerous examples of thoughtful appropriation of the catholic... Continue Reading

True rest comes from trusting God with the pressures of life. It means pouring out our hearts to Him—our worries, fears, and frustrations—and finding in Him the security and peace we’re looking for. But why is this so hard? Why do we resist the very rest we know we need?   Rest. It’s most likely... Continue Reading

All our ideas should conform to a biblical worldview, whether we cite or allude to the Bible or not. Paul speaks of “taking every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and that we should be “transformed through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:20). Our Lord Jesus Christ commands us to love God... Continue Reading

Scripture is full of advice on marriage and family. The nuclear family is created by God. Father, mother, and children. When those in the home follow God’s Word and plan, the family works well. When that plan is broken, so are the families.   With the disintegration of the nuclear family, an ever-increasing divorce rate,... Continue Reading

God’s strength is received by faith. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chron 16:9). Do you hear that? “Strong support” to the one whose heart is His. This means that by faith in Him,... Continue Reading

Nehemiah goes on to describe God’s dealings with a stiff-necked and rebellious people. But where he ends the tug of war is not with their sin but with God’s steadfast love rooted in His unchanging character. “Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious... Continue Reading

O that we all in the Western world, from the grass roots to those in authority, would learn this lesson today, and that our sovereign God’s Holy Spirit would move among us in power, bringing us all to our knees before him as we wait for Christ’s Return.   2 Kings 25:29-30  So Jehoiachin put... Continue Reading

Let us not forget that God has always wanted our hearts. He especially wants it now, in your anguish, tragedy, confusion, and grief. Open your heart to him in prayer; draw near to him by pouring out your pain to him. Be brutally honest with your Father in heaven. Out of your calamity, call out... Continue Reading

God never has to change His mind because He was “too” something earlier. He was never too loving, too patient, too angry, too judging – He’s not “too” at all. He’s just right, and always in accordance with His perfect character. Oh, the freedom that comes from knowing this truth.   “God is not a... Continue Reading

Bounds did include the word “early” because he wanted to call Christians not only to pray, but to make prayer the day’s first priority. Here is how he continues his thought: “He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the... Continue Reading

God sovereignly ordains events in history to speak to his people concerning his plans. We, therefore, read the historical and prophetic narratives of scripture with an eye on the fact that God was orchestrating these historical events to point to future events or to function as examples to his future people. We, therefore, must understand... Continue Reading

Are you facing pressure to compromise your faith? The early church teaches us how to stand firm when it costs you – without losing your wisdom or witness. Our faith is worth defending.   During China’s Boxer Rebellion of 1900, insurgents captured a mission station and presented students with a terrible choice: trample a cross... Continue Reading

Best of all, when you pray the Bible, you never again say the same old things about the same old things. And you don’t have to think of new things to say or different things to pray about. You’ll pray about the things you do want to pray about daily, but you’ll do so in... Continue Reading