Old and New Testament Sacraments
Why has the change to New Testament sacraments resulted in a seemingly opposite scope for circumcision giving way to baptism, and Passover giving way to the Lord’s Supper?
There might be some fruitful ground here for answering both the Baptists and the Federal Vision folks, who both have the same error in treating the NT sacraments as working the same way. Indeed, as a friend of mine once said, the problem of the FV’ers in their sacramental theology is not that they have over-reacted to Baptistic theology in every respect, but that they have not thrown off the problems of Baptistic thinking enough. It must be born in mind that most FV’ers were Baptists before they became FV.
Sinful Anger: Its Cause and Cure
Jonathan Edwards set out four things that believers are to remember in order to watch against sinful anger
Very often those that are most ready to be angry with others, and to carry their resentments highest for their faults, are equally or still more guilty of the same faults. And so those that are most apt to be angry with others for speaking evil of them, are often most frequent in speaking evil of others, and even in their anger to vilify and abuse them.
A Day in God’s House in the 1850s
The following is a lively description of a typical Lord’s Day in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Indiana in the 1850s.
The religious exercises in the “meeting- house” were named from their principal part, “preaching”. That is the meaning of the noun which I am not able to find in the dictionary; but it was so used among us in my boyhood. My mother might have said to us, “It is time to get ready to go to “preaching”; and one of the boys might have asked her, “What shirt am I to wear to “preaching” today?” or after our return one might have said, “There were a good many at preaching.” Whether all the people there used the word so, or not, I cannot tell; but such was the meaning the word conveyed to my mind. My recollection is confirmed by finding the word so employed in the earlier part of my diary. “Preaching” included all the public services on an ordinary Sabbath.
The Advent Season: Not Just Christmas
Why do you think so many Advent hymns sung at "Christmas" extol both Advents of Christ?
In a word, let's return to the historic objective of using the Advent season to affirm both the victory of Christ in His 1st Advent and our longing for the consummation of His victory in the 2nd Advent. In so doing we would not only minister to a heart-felt need in the lives of God's people we would also more effectively disciple God's people and more effectively proclaim the Gospel of Hope to the world.
Hate What God Hates
We begin today with God’s hatred of idolatry.
Why does God hate idolatry? God hates idolatry because it is libelous, because it makes false statements about his nature and character. Idolatry proclaims things to be true of God that are actually false. It inevitably recreates God in the image of man, diminishing him, emptying him of his holiness, of his transcendence. Tozer says it well: “A god begotten in the shadows of a fallen heart will quite naturally be no true likeness of the true God.” This idol may be one we can see and touch, a piece of stone or a stump of wood.
His Name is Jesus
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
“Jesus is the Friend of sinners (Mt. 11:19). Jesus is our brother (Heb. 2:11). Jesus is our Advocate (I Jn.2:1). Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11). Jesus is our Counselor (Is.9:6). Jesus is full of love (I Jn. 4:19), mercy and compassion (Mt. 20:30-34).” Jesus’ name is Holy and Awesome (Ps. 111:9). Jesus’ name... Continue Reading
Irresistible Grace: The Lord Opened Her Heart
What good news that God can and does bring dead sinners to life, opening our hearts to pay attention and believe in the good news of Jesus Christ
All the women heard Paul speak about the Gospel. And yet only one of them ended up believing and getting baptized. What accounted for the difference? That stunning phrase in verse 14, “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ given... Continue Reading
Five Myths About the Ancient Heresy of Gnosticism
Gnosticism was a heretical version of Christianity that burst on the scene primarily in the second century and gave the orthodox Christians a run for their money
“Time and again we are told that Gnostics were just as widespread as orthodox Christians, and that their books were just as popular too (if not more so). The reason they did not prevail in the end is because they were oppressed and forcibly stamped out by the orthodox party who had gained power through... Continue Reading
I’m An Adorable Deplorable
God chose to be associated with the forgotten men and women of his day. He chose the deplorables.
“That’s why we don’t pray for God’s saving love based upon any kind of superiority over others. Rather, we plead that we are deplorable and deserve to be deplored. But that’s also the first step to becoming, in God’s eyes, an adorable deplorable.” Living in Grand Rapids, where there’s a lot of Republican money,... Continue Reading
Why Christmas Is Even Better than You Think
In his engaging style, Keller interacts with a series of well-known Christmas passages with both clarity and depth; he seeks to be edifying to believers and compelling to unbelievers
“Keller beautifully displays multiple facets of the gospel within the Christmas story. In fact, insofar as it’s the fulfillment of God’s promise to save his people, the Christmas story is the heart of the gospel. Keller’s extended exposition of what it means for Jesus to be Immanuel—God with us—is an enriching section in which the core truths... Continue Reading