A commonplace in Christian circles understands the events surrounding the first Palm Sunday as a demonstration of the “fickleness of crowds.” But there are good reasons for questioning this common assumption. On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of …
Vanity in Prayer
In this passage Christ strikes at the heart of religiosity. Christ has no use for spiritual showboating, even if it is of the most subtle variety. The Father sees the heart in our acts of charity; He also sees the heart when we come into His presence in prayer. “And when you pray, you shall …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XV
Introduction: Forgiveness makes it possible to “start over.” The power of forgiveness is enormous—the reason it is so infrequently employed is because it transforms everything, and not because it is “a dud.” Last week we addressed what forgiveness is (a transaction), and how to understand it when the other party is being difficult. We now …
Your Father, Who Sees In Secret
True religion is always found in the presence of God. False religion is always practiced with at least one eye on man — and Jesus teaches us that whether the man is someone else is immaterial. “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you …
Love Your Enemies
This instruction shows us the heart of the Christian ethic for individuals. A common error is that we take the biblical requirements for individuals and apply them to states, and also apply the requirements for states to individuals. We do not understand governments, and as a result we commonly do not understand the instructions given …
World Conquest
42. So the Christian faith is a religion of world conquest? That is exactly right. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XIV
Introduction: Although it is not possible to separate the various aspects of marriage from one another, it is possible to distinguish them. We have come now to the third section in this series on marriage, a section that deals with marriage and sin. And in order to understand sin rightly, we have to understand forgiveness. …
Gospel Glory
35. Does the Old Testament contain visions of glory for the gospel era, and not just judgment at the beginning of that era? Yes. These Scriptures below are only a small portion of what could be gathered under this head. A diligent reading of the Old Testament will reveal many more. God gives a wonderful …
Biblical Swearing
This subject of biblical swearing provides yet another example of the necessity of systematic study in the Scriptures. It is impossible to subject to the authority of just one text as we are reading it, because submission occurs at the point of obedience in real life. And when it comes time to swear, or not …
Primer on Eschatology 3
26. What are some of the features of postmillennialism? We have already talked about preterism: Many of the prophecies of the Bible which premillennialists consider unfulfilled, postmillennialists believe have already been fulfilled. This includes Old and New Testaments both. We determine what has been fulfilled by the teaching of the New Testament. Psalm 2 provides …