“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 59 We have already addressed the fact that Proverbs is full of generalizations, and the fact that they are generally true. We also have to reckon with the fact that the substance of some of these generalizations is repeated over …
Absolutely Uninterested
Although we are a Christian people, we still have a tendency to hide from the sheer goodness of the gospel. One of the ways we have of doing this is to turn the word sinner into a technical theological one, meaning that no one is perfect, and despite this, any one can call on God …
Ceasing From Strife
We learn from Proverbs that it is an honor for a man to cease from strife (Prov. 20:3). This is one of many examples in Scripture that show how the wisdom of God is 180 degrees out from the wisdom of man. In how many fruitless quarrels have participants refused to back down from the …
Jumping to Conclusions
We all understand what the phrase “jumping to conclusions” means. But we sometimes do not appreciate what the alternative–reserving judgment–actually means. As we live together in covenant community, it is essential that we master the art of “not jumping,” even if the conclusion looks to us like a safe landing place. This is particularly the …
Renewing Covenant
We are here in a service of covenant renewal. We know that this covenant contains blessings for obedience and chastisements for disobedience. We also know that all of us stumble and are disobedient at times, and so we wonder what is the good of renewing a covenant that we constantly break. The glorious news is …
Faithfulness Covers
As we labor to learn how to speak as Christians, we have to take care to learn our lessons from Scripture. This is because sin is always defined by God, and not by our own instincts. We must always define sins of the tongue according to the Word. Scripture says that a “talebearer revealeth secrets: …
Proverbial Generalizations
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 58 The book of Proverbs is filled with a number of divinely inspired generalizations. This means that it contains true statements that describe how God generally governs the world. For example, laziness is generally rewarded with lean times, and industry …
Confessing the Other Guy’s Sins
Living in community as we do, and living in the kind of community we live in, it is necessary that offenses will come. We provoke them, we commit them, we endure them, and frequently we will do one of these, thinking that we are doing another. We provoke offenses while thinking that we are enduring …
Basics
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 57 We sometimes think we are mature enough to start forgetting our Sunday School lessons. But we never outgrow certain things, like the fundamental principles of honesty. These are principles which are operative when you are ten-years-old and running your …
The Sound of Splintering
Come before the Father now, and do so in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we worship the Lord according to His Word, we reflect His glory into the world. But in the Bible the word glory is more than just a simple matter of brightness; it also carries the idea of weight. …