Jesus, the Shema, and the Glorious Trinity
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The text was of great significance during the New Testament period, a significance that seems understood between Jesus and His interlocutors. Students of the Bible who read the New Testament with an ear for the Shema will find references to it elsewhere among the new covenant writings. For instance, the Apostle Paul develops the Shema in 1 Corinthians 8:6... Continue Reading
Stop Photobombing Jesus
There is a fine line between wanting God to use you for his glory and wanting everyone to know it.
John the Baptist would never have photobombed Jesus. Crowds flocked to John, but he had one mission—make Jesus known. “I am not the Christ,” he declared. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28–30). John was content serving offstage so that Jesus could be seen more clearly. pho·to·bomb (verb): To spoil a photograph by appearing in the... Continue Reading
A Concise Resource on Justification by Faith Alone from Romans 4:3-5
The Scriptures teach and history shows that confusion on this subject invariably leads to a distorted gospel of justification by works.
Any of the following types of theological confusion, such as 1) mingling justification with sanctification; 2) equating justification with church membership; 3) describing saving faith in terms of a saving faithfulness; 4) teaching that faith or righteousness is conferred by a sacrament rather than that faith is sealed by a sacrament; or 5) claiming that... Continue Reading
A Proverb for Social Media
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. Proverbs 27:2
“Self-seeking is a shameful blot upon Christian profession. Shall one that has said before God, ‘Behold, I am vile!’ be ready to say before his fellow-men, ‘Come, see my zeal for the Lord! Come, see how humble I am!’ Oh for the self-abased spirit of our glorious Master – ever ready to endure reproach, never... Continue Reading
Attending the School of God
We live in a culture that is a quick and dirty culture. We want to become mature Christians in five easy lessons.
Attending the school of God takes time and labor and energy and deeply committing oneself to prayer, to the study of Scripture, to fellowship with other believers, to ministry within the life of the church. We need to listen to Paul: “When I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in... Continue Reading
The Sweet Tea of Marriage
When you receive the fresh love of the Gospel from Christ and not your sinful spouse, you’re not angry when she can’t fulfill you.
At Texas Roadhouse, a shortage in sweet tea is a problem. Waiters or waitresses who would hoard the last pitcher of sweet tea for themselves were often despised, however, those who simply took the time to brew another pot were praised and respected. During a shortage of sweet tea, the ultimate problem wasn’t the empty... Continue Reading
What If God Takes It All Away? Trusting Him Through Financial Struggles
Although God commands us to live wisely with what he entrusts us with, he ultimately asks us to trust him above all else, no matter the cost.
God led us to a place where there was no other option but to let go of all we had saved, planned, and worked hard for. Within a few short months, my husband took a new job that brought significantly less income (but allowed him to be home more often). We sold our dream home,... Continue Reading
Doctrine Matters: Imputation
For decades as a Christian, I was taught and believed that Jesus got me in the door, but the rest was up to me. This was terrifying.
God takes my sin and places it on the righteous, holy, perfect Lamb of God and expends His wrath upon the Him. But if the story ended there, my sins would have been dealt with, but what about my life? What about God’s just requirement that we be holy as He is holy? He takes... Continue Reading
Sip It, Don’t Dip It
Rightly administering the Lord's Supper is one of the marks of a true church.
Some will no doubt believe I am spending too much time on too trivial a matter; but, in my estimation, this is an important matter to which we should give serious consideration. Should a church’s partaking of the bread and the cup in the Lord’s Supper keep the elements separate (eating and then drinking), or... Continue Reading
The One Genuine Cure for Legalism and Antinomianism
God’s grace in Christ in our union with Christ is the antidote to both legalism and antinomianism.
We are not related to the law directly as it were, or the law in isolation as bare commandments. The relationship is dependent on and the new fruit of our prior relationship to Christ. In simple terms, just as Adam received the law from the Father, from whose hand it should never have been abstracted... Continue Reading