Perseverance (of the Saints): “They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. (Phil. 1:6, 2 Pet. 1:10, 1 John 3:9, 1 Pet. 1:5,9)” (Westminster... Continue Reading

Ultimately, this oracle of King Lemuel’s mother could be summed up as three warnings against the improper use of authority.  I have previously covered the topic of authority in some detail, describing how God gives us authority for the purpose of obeying Him and caring for the people He has entrusted to us.  Therefore, if... Continue Reading

In light of the cross and everything Jesus would have to endure at the hands of Pontius Pilate and the Jews, this is a profound statement! Jesus “loved His enemies” to the point that He would lay down His life for them while praying “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That is…mind-blowing! This... Continue Reading

There is a pernicious lie that we tell ourselves that it is okay to be rude toward men and women who have acted poorly toward us. That is the type of action the devil loves. He hopes and prayers for division between the Lord’s people especially. Rather than to allow yourself to be snared in... Continue Reading

How do we avoid making the same mistakes that they did in Moses’ day and Joshua’s day? Since we’re in danger, what do we do about it? What I love about Hebrews is that the writer doesn’t just give one answer. There’s no single solution to this question. There are a few things that we must... Continue Reading

Hold a high standard for faithful exposition and really value when your pastors faithfully expose God’s word, even when the style may need some polishing. God uses these means to encourage His saints, so may we tune in every time God’s word is opened, ready to be encouraged.   What’d you think of that sermon?... Continue Reading

We see that grace in chapter 6—God showing favour to Noah and rescuing him and his family.  We see that grace in chapter 9 with God’s covenant to preserve creation and never again destroy it with a flood.  And we have seen that grace in the promise of the serpent-crusher. What about the serpent-crusher?  Keep following the line of... Continue Reading

Sin is a serious matter. To break the commandments of Jehovah means His wrath will come down upon you. Here we see why it is when we are discussing this question of paganism and how the church is to respond that we take seriously what it is we are doing. This isn’t a philosophical competition... Continue Reading

Casting our burdens on the Lord means going to God while we are burdened, with the very things that are causing us to doubt Him, to get discouraged in prayer, to feel weighed down in real life. This is not just optimistically throwing your garbage up into the air, hoping against hope that it won’t just... Continue Reading

In Luke 19:11-27, stewardship is described as being over “cities.” We shouldn’t be too literal with this, but the fact is that we will have great responsibility. We will have jobs. We have every reason to believe that we will have to be on time to work, have certain job requirements, have a certain skill... Continue Reading