Theology That Bites Back
Introduction: We have in this psalm a prayer offered up in the midst of desperate affliction. The afflicted are those who feel most in need of answered prayer. They are also those who feel like getting an answer is a true long shot. But affliction makes them eloquent anyhow, and it is the kind of …
Introduction: Those Christians who have spent much time in conservative Christian circles know that we are pro-life. That almost goes without saying. And we often have some of the basic arguments down, but we need to make sure that we have the true foundational issues down as well. That means, as you should already instinctively …
The prophet Zechariah predicted that when the shepherd was struck, the sheep would be scattered (Zech. 13:7). And the gospel writers record that this was in fact fulfilled when Jesus was arrested, tried, and killed. His disciples scattered (Matt. 26:31; Mark 14: 27). But there was more to it. When the shepherd was struck, in …
Introduction: The presence of the Lord Jesus, alive just as He had promised He would be, transforms everything. We can see this very clearly in the fall and restoration of the apostle Peter after the resurrection. The account of Christ’s care for Peter is given to us so that we might understand more of His …
Introduction: We are seeking to recover a Christian sense of time and history, and in some sense this means a recovery of the church year. But though we are seeking to escape a secularized calendar, we must never forget that we got this secular calendar (in part) because of a reaction away from the very …
Introduction: The law of God is like math. It doesn’t care about anybody’s hurt feelings. It is straight, and hard, and cold, and altogether righteous. But at the same time, when this cold, very cold law is resurrected in the body of Christ back from the darkness of the tomb, it comes to us as …
Introduction: : Every time we say the Apostles’ Creed, we confess that we believe in the forgiveness of sins. This is reasonable we might think—isn’t forgiveness of sin the entire point? “Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Yes, it is the entire point, but it is also part of the point …
Introduction: We conclude this letter by noting the emphasis that this section places on both words and names. Paul is concerned with the prayers of the Colossians, and their speech toward others outside, and for those who minister there in that region. He always wants them to pray for him, that his speech would be …
Introduction: After someone has called upon the Lord, and has been baptized, he blinks and looks around, and one of the things he sees is all the same people. He is forgiven, which is exhilarating, and he is in fellowship with God, which is a novelty to him, but when he goes back to work …
Introduction: In the Scriptures, we are given a high theology, a high Christology. Christ has ascended into the highest Heaven. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and He is Himself the infinite waterfall of holy pleasure that cascades at that right hand (Ps. 16: 11). That waterfall of infinite joy …
