Dying, Yet We Live: How Mortification is the Way of Life in the Spirit
We are no longer debtors to live according to the flesh; rather, we are indebted and enabled to live according to the Spirit.
Putting sin to death, likewise, is a difficult duty for the Christian, but Paul teaches us that it is necessary and possible. Romans 8:12–13 states that life in the Spirit includes liberation and mortification. We are no longer debtors to this present, evil age, so we walk in a different direction, think after the realm of Christ,... Continue Reading
Sheol
When the psalmists refer to Sheol, what they most feared was not death per se, nor that they might lose themselves in death. Rather, they feared that they might lose contact with God.
With the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, the understanding of death and the afterlife changed radically for the saints. Here it is important to understand our Lord’s seventh saying on the cross: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). This final saying was a statement of consolation and filial... Continue Reading
God is a Se
He is not dependent upon anything else (or anyone else) for his being. That’s the Godness of God.
Theologians have long referred to this perfection as God’s aseity, from the Latin a se, or “from himself.” The idea is that God’s existence is his essence. All other creatures exist by way of a Creator – they came into being by way of another Being, and therefore their existence is dependent and thus not a part of their... Continue Reading
Calm Under Pressure
Recovering the Grace of Equanimity
Beholding the glory of our Lord — in his striking Gospels calmness and his present imperturbable equanimity — we are “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). We cannot study the real Christ too much. We cannot look to him too often. We cannot meditate on him... Continue Reading
Music: Theology’s Seasoning
Music plays an important role in keeping theology palatable for the saint.
Hymns are Dominantly God-Centered. Most hymns that have lasted the test of time are God-centered hymns. Even songs about personal sanctification often have the intention to draw your eyes to Christ in the midst of your trials. This is the ultimate point isn’t it? A life experiencing hardship tests the saint’s commitment to resolutely keep God... Continue Reading
The Value of Knowing Both Sides
4 ways that we can follow Solomon’s wise words and pursue understanding both sides.
Draw conclusions. I personally have very strong beliefs about God as the one and only Creator, about Jesus Christ as God’s only Son, about our need for salvation through Christ alone because of our sins, about the resurrection of Jesus, and about a number of other issues. And when we come to strong conclusions, most... Continue Reading
Horn of Salvation
In the priestly service and the worshiping life of Israel, the altar horns were indelibly associated with the provision of atonement through the shedding of blood.
Taking hold of the horns of the altar may have been an ancient way to plead for mercy, but it was no guarantee. Yet God has provided all His people with a true and eternal horn of salvation in Jesus Christ. To take hold of Him alone by faith alone is to find peace with God... Continue Reading
Union with Christ: A Biblical Overview
Every gospel blessing that we have, from eternity past to eternity future, comes to us because of our union with Christ.
Every person is either “in Adam” or “in Christ.” Those “in Adam” are dead in sin and separated from God because of their relationship to Adam and his rebellion. Those “in Christ” are dead to sin and spiritually alive unto God because of their relationship to Christ and His obedience. A Forgotten Doctrine When was the... Continue Reading
What Does the Bible Teach Us about Urgent Moral Controversies?
The Bible is routinely blamed for our evils and credited for our ideals.
The Bible is a treasury of humanity’s highest ideals and yet the Bible is brutally realistic about human evil. The clash between those ideals and human reality gives the Bible great dramatic power. The Bible is blamed for virtually every evil under the sun. Here is a summary of the rap sheet: Slavery and... Continue Reading
“The Life Everlasting”: A Place Prepared
This present fallen world is not all there is.
The life everlasting that we confess in the Apostles’ Creed is, in part, life in a unique other-worldly place, a new, transfigured world to come, in which God and man are to live together forever. What appeal, if any, does everlasting life hold for you? For us who confess I believe in … the life everlasting, those... Continue Reading
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