“The Word of God alone is to be preached, in its perfection and inner consistency. Scripture is the exclusive subject of preaching, the only field in which the preacher is to labour” (William Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, p. 9).
The God of Peace Who Crushes
INTRODUCTION:In this small portion of the last chapter of Romans, the apostle arranges a number of profound and important truths. If we have eyes to see the sweep of redemptive history, we will get it. If we do not, then we are missing some crucial aspects of the gospel. THE TEXT:“Now I beseech you, brethren, …
Staying Away from Ziba
We are gathered here at the royal table of the greater David, the one who has graciously invited us to take this meal together with him. As the Lord Jesus is the one greater than David, so we are like Mephibosheth, descended from an enemy of the king, and with no great power of our …
The Wrong Opposite
The Bible teaches that God hates. We prefer a sentimental faith to a biblical one, and so we tell ourselves that God is love, which is biblical, and that the opposite of love is hate, which is unbiblical. God hates insolence. God hates lies. God hates hands that shed innocent blood. He hates wicked imagination. …
By Forgiveness If Possible
Our Father and God, Your Word tells us plainly that You hate and despise, among other things, pride, lies, and hands that shed innocent blood. We confess to You that our nation is guilty of all three, and so we turn to You now to confess these grievous sins to You on behalf of our …
Miscreants, Scamps, Poltroons and Punks
A number of years ago I had the privilege of serving as a foreman on a jury, and I bring this up as an illustration of a principle that the American people may be in the process of rediscovering. We shall see. The principle is called nullification, and there are different places it can show …
Heading Off the Sweetest Boy . . .
“At the same time, because of sentimentalism and pietism, the definitions of piety have become increasingly feminized. The definition of what constitutes devout piety has drifted into feminine territory, and ministers have labored to keep up with the shifting expectations. The sweetest and gentlest boy in the church is the one who is told repeatedly …
What To Do With Sermons of Promise
“After writing sermons for over twenty-five years, I am still amazed at how many times I have to take all my hard work up the mountain of God, where I lay it on an altar and prepare to drive a knife through the heart of it” (Barnes, The Pastor as Minor Poet, p. 118).
Maybe Two Word Studies
“Depending on the issue and the text, liberals are sometimes more to be trusted with the message of the text than conservatives are. This is because liberals are not stuck with the results of their exegesis the way conservatives are. Because conservatives confess that the teaching of the text is normative, the conservative has to …
Preaching With a Rolled Up Newspaper
“So the minor poet doesn’t stand in the pulpit to scold the congregation by essentially calling them bad dogs. It is striking how much of contemporary preaching reduces to this: ‘You bad, bad dogs! Look at what you did.’ And those in the pews respectfully cower and look like guilty golden retrievers who know they …