“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 33 As evangelical Christians, we know that we are saved by grace through faith, and it is not of ourselves, lest any should boast. Our salvation, in other words, is gracious, and completely detached from any notion of merit or …
False Witness
This commandment strikes at the heart of falsehood and lies, which in their turn are the native language of the devil. Without truth and trust, biblical culture is an impossibility. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). First, what is the context of false witness? The commandment prohibits lying against one’s …
But For the Grace of God
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! God of ultimate wisdom, God of infinite, cascading wisdom, we worship You through the incarnation of that wisdom, our Lord Jesus. We give glory to You, for the earth is full of Your glory. We render thanks to You, because the earth …
Old Wineskins
As long as we live in this fallen world, we will be buffeted with at least two conflicting standards. The first is obviously the standard by which we are named—the wisdom of Christ, the aroma of the gospel, the scandal of the cross. But in the history of the Church, the competing standard that has …
Two Kinds of Losers
One of Christ’s most famous parables is that of the prodigal son. It could also be called the parable of the self-righteous brother, or the parable of the longing father. What it teaches us about God the Father is quite remarkable, and to a certain kind of religious mind and heart, also quite scandalous. Once …
Rejoicing in It All
Our Father and God, we rejoice in Your holy day, and we thank You for it. We rejoice in the food that is set before us, and we thank You for it. We rejoice in the fellowship that You have given to us in one another, and we thank You for it. We rejoice in …
Foundations of Marriage XI
Introduction: So what are the duties of husbands? We have discussed what their orientation and demeanor toward their wives should be (masculinity), but this is all still theoretical unless we make a point of applying ourselves in close imitation of the Incarnation. What are the duties of husbands? We may divide them into two broad …
Take It Slow
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 32 We have been emphasizing the possibility of progress, and, because we believe the promises of God we may even assert that progress is inevitable. Using the glorious imagery of the prophet, the lion will lie down with the lamb, …
Jesus and the Law
In the course of working through the Sermon on the Mount, we inevitably must come to a subject that has been greatly debated among Christians. Unfortunately, the debate is not caused because the Scripture is all that ambiguous theologically on the point under discussion. It is caused because the teaching of Scripture is difficult for …
Theft
Just as Moses assumes the permanence of marriage in His prohibition of adultery, so does he assume the legitimacy of private property in his prohibition of stealing. And as we have discovered with the other commandments, obedience is not as simple as it may appear — not all thieves break into houses at night. “You …