This Table is what it is, and it does what it does. That is to say, it is the Table of the covenant, and it winnows out covenant keepers from covenant breakers. Covenant keepers extend no hand to receive the elements but the hand of faith, and open no mouth to receive the bread and …
The Circumcision of Timothy
A common question concerns why Paul allowed the circumcision of Timothy. Not only did he allow it, he is the one who oversaw it. He is the one who did it. “Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for …
The Apostles Creed 13: Ascended into Heaven
Introduction: The intersection of heaven and earth, the boundary between the two, is not the same kind of boundary that we might find between two countries. If you were not on a marked road, crossing between countries is not necessarily something you would even notice. But crossing between earth and heaven necessitates a qualitative difference …
The Width of Our Lives
The life that Christ has called us into is a life that is not just everlasting in duration. The eternal life that He welcomes us into is qualitative. Jesus says that He is the resurrection and the life, and that life is one that the Holy Spirit weaves us into. This affects the texture and …
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 …
The Apostles Creed 12: On the Third Day He Rose Again From the Dead
Introduction: Since the first century, the Christian church has commemorated the resurrection of Jesus from the dead by meeting on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10). The Sabbath was ordained, as the Old Testament makes abundantly clear, for as long as the old creation lasted. Therefore, nothing would be adequate …
The One Who Looks Down on Galaxies
We have come to worship the one who touches the mountains and they smoke. He touches the mountains and sometimes they just disappear into the sky. We worship the one who nods, and the oceans gather into their storms. We worship the one who looks down on all the galaxies we might be able to …
God’s Low Standards
A moment’s reflection should show us that God’s standards are much too low. He has graciously invited to this Table all sorts of disreputable people. When He tells us in His Word that we should show hospitality to those who cannot repay us, we need to remember that this is something which He has already …
Why C.S. Lewis Would Not Have Liked Me Very Much
Those who have been around here for a while know that I am a C.S. Lewis junkie. I have read and reread him, and have been edified by him in ways beyond reckoning. If I were to calculate the impact that various writers have had on me—and there have been many who have—he would always …
Like a Titanium Slide Rule
So then, by way of preamble, let me say that I am as orthodox as a titanium slide rule. When it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, everything I’ve got is from the best doctors in the church, and is still under warranty. Our doctrine of God must be grounded in the Scriptures, in …