Does your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? The pious Jews of Christ’s day thought they had holiness before God figured out with their meticulous observance of the OT law. In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus destroys any notion that he had come to abolish the law or save anyoneContinue Reading
On October 27 we took a break from our series on the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew to look at the some of the exacting laws of God set forth under the Mosaic covenant in Deuteronomy 23 to govern theocratic Israel. The purpose was to highlightContinue 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
The following sermon was preached this past Sunday night, where six individuals made their public profession of faith and were received into membership. It was an evening to remember! The Lord continues to grow his church by His Word and Spirit through his ordained means of preaching and sacraments. TheContinue 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
The Sermon on the Mount or the beatitudes of Jesus found in Matthew 5-7 are notoriously difficult to interpret. This sermon on Matthew 5:1-5 is the first in a number of sermons that seeks to expound what Jesus is saying to his disciples as they sat as his feet onContinue Reading
One of the distinguishing marks of the Reformed tradition is its insistence that God’s law (commands) be carefully distinguished from his gospel (promise). The fundamental reason why there was a Protestant Reformation in the first place is because the Medieval Roman Catholic Church had confused or conflated the gospel withContinue Reading
[Sermon audio here.] So, how might this knock-off version of the gospel look today in a church that is no longer entangled by the Jewish ceremonial law? Well, if we understand that man-made religion is in essence anything that replaces or adds to the free grace of God that hasContinue Reading
Cape Town showcases some of the most staggering natural beauty that this world has to offer (see left.) The problem is that many believe that the God of salvation can be found in the mountain, trees and streams. The thing is that while the nature of things does reveal theContinue Reading
[Sermon audio here.] The book of Deuteronomy is about the gospel revealed through the law: the law given under the Old Covenant made at Mt Sinai. The nation of Israel was unique in that they were God’s chosen people. And yet their predicament under the moral law – summed upContinue Reading
Reformed Church Southern Suburbs 2025