Is Christ’s command in Matthew 5:38-42 to forsake retaliation normative for Christians in all spheres of life? If so, then what does one do with the New Testament affirmation of the God-ordained legitimacy of civil government that bears the sword? How, then, does a Christian know when to turn theContinue Reading
No doubt, the United States and South Africa are different places in many respects. For starters, we drive on the correct side of the road and they don’t. On a whole Americans tend to be more extroverted and outgoing than we do (something I think we secretly envy about them.) Continue Reading
Gerhard Forde in his book, On Being a Theologian of the Cross, uses the analogy of addiction to describe sinful humankind’s addiction to law-abiding self-sufficiency (a theology of glory) until the “medicine” of the cross intervenes and the sinner “bottoms out”: The addict [addicted to drugs, booze, sex… etc.] mayContinue Reading
The audio of the following sermon can be found here. The blessings of the covenant (Deut 28:1-14) This life is not heaven on earth, is it? There are plenty of experiences of pain and suffering. Most things take hard work. However, two things that do come easy are expecting blessingContinue Reading
Reverend and Professor Bryan Estelle explains: “And I will put enmity between you and between the woman, between your offspring and between hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15 (NIV) “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men,Continue Reading
Can we benefit from these words of Rev. Robert Godfrey from over a decade ago written in the North American context? I think so… The Westminster Directory of Publick Worship has a significant section on the preaching of the Word. It begins by stressing the spiritual importance of preaching andContinue Reading
Perhaps you have run into a Messianic Jew or a member of the Christian Zionist movement and have wondered how their views stack up against Scripture in able to better converse with them. The following is a helpful essay by Dr. Michael Horton, writing from a Reformed and covenantal perspective,Continue Reading
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus declares that his disciples are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The saltiness and luminosity of the church is derived from the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. To replace or twist the preaching of justification of sinnersContinue Reading
Martin Luther’s commentary on Matthew 5:13: For if I cling to this, that Christ alone is my righteousness and holiness, no monk will ever persuade or mislead me by his hood, rosary, this or that work and childish human notion. For through faith I am a judge of allContinue Reading
According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question and Answer 98 and worthy of memorisation: Q. 98. What is prayer? A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God,[200] for things agreeable to his will,[201] in the name of Christ,[202] with confession of our sins,[203] and thankful acknowledgment ofContinue Reading
Reformed Church Southern Suburbs 2025