How were people saved before Christ?
2021-07-25
Prior to Jesus’s coming, the people looked forward to Jesus and to his saving work through those images: the temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices.Continue Reading
Why did Jesus need to be baptised by John the Baptist?
2021-07-25
Jesus comes out of Egypt in Matthew 2, through the waters in Matthew 3, and then he enters a period of temptation in Matthew 4 for 40 days. It is almost as if he is walking in the footsteps of Israel. Jesus is revealing himself as the true Israel –Continue Reading
What’s wrong with our church praise music?
2021-07-25
It might be shocking to the reader to hear that much of what is so-called praise today in worship is not received by the Lord. God certainly turns his ear away from not just vain repetitions, but also empty hearts due to empty theology. It should be self-evident that ourContinue Reading
Why qualifications for church leaders matter
2021-07-25
Exposure of pastoral abuse has become all too common in our day. One of the most needful practices at the moment is for the church to give attention to the qualifications for pastoral ministry. While no pastor or elder will ever achieve perfection in this life, the standard is aContinue Reading
Hebrews 12:25-29: Privileges bring responsibilities
2021-07-25
As the author comes to the final warning passage in Hebrews 12:25–29, it helps if we see its apparent severity in the light of the principle that the indicatives of grace give rise to the imperatives of obedience. “You have not come … But you have come” (Heb. 12:18, 22).Continue Reading
The principles of Reformed worship
2021-07-19
We want to be seeker-sensitive, but we must identify the true seeker in worship. Scripture teaches that “no man seeks God”, certainly not the unregenerate; rather it is God who seeks us (Romans 3:11). Our Lord taught us that the Father seeks those who will worship in spirit and truthContinue Reading
How Jesus brings peace
2021-07-19
All forms of the social gospel that pervaded the mainline churches in America throughout the twentieth century were built on the idea that Jesus’ death was primarily concerned with world peace and the reconciliation of men to men through the example of Christ. This is not the teaching of theContinue Reading
Do not insist on your own way
2021-07-19
Church is not about our preferences but about listening to God. Christ has the words of life, after all, so where would we go? Church should not be for me or for you. It should be for God. Does that mean we can obtain some truly timeless model of churchContinue Reading
Why Reformed Christians believe in infant baptism
2021-07-19
All the Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin, held to infant baptism. Though these three great Protestants disagreed on many things, they all agreed on the Protestant doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. They also agreed that infant baptism isContinue Reading
Romans 6:14, 7:14 and 8:14 are all true of the Christian at the same time
2021-07-14
Romans chapters 6 through 8 are a unit, written by a Christian, for Christians, about Christians. We are in a covenant of grace, not a covenant of works. We are sinners. We have been freely saved and justified, and we are, therefore, being sanctified. It is all true at theContinue Reading