“Much of the problem of preaching today in respect of its lack of biblical content is due to the fact that men are too busy running the ecclesiastical machinery of their churches to soak their minds and spirits in the truth of Holy Scripture” (Martin, What’s Wrong With Preaching Today? p. 20).
On Not Breaking a Sweat
“An idle minister — what will become of him? A pastor who neglects his office? Does he expect to go to heaven? I was about to say, ‘If he does go there at all, may it be soon.’ A lazy minister is a creature despised of men, and abhorred of God” (Spurgeon, The Greatest Fight …
A Dangerous Calling
“M’Cheyne said, ‘The man who loves you the most is the man who tells you the most truth about yourself'” (Martin, What’s Wrong With Preaching Today? p. 18).
As Paul Would Have Said
“He that cannot be safely imitated ought not to be tolerated in the pulpit” (Spurgeon, The Greatest Fight in the World, p. 40).
Surveying the Text: Jude
Introduction: In order to make applications from the text of Scripture to our own lives—which is an essential part of Christian living—it is necessary to identify what features of the biblical narrative or instruction are constant and what features change according to time and circumstance. If you are fighting devils with two horns in one …
Surveying the Text: 2 & 3 John
Introduction: These two epistles are quite distinct, but being from the same author, and being so short, we will consider them together. As it happens, some of the issues raised are intertwined in some interesting ways. The Text: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, …
Authority and Power
Introduction: We always mark and commemorate what we believe to be important. From birthdays to anniversaries, from independence days to holidays, we will take note. The issue, therefore, is what we find to be important. Attempts to banish this reality will only have the effect of selecting the wrong things to commemorate. The Text: When …
Surveying the Text: 1 John
Introduction: All passages of Scripture must be understood in context, but some by their nature require more contextualization than others. First John is one such book. Without an understanding of the errors it was written to refute, the necessary result is always going to be more error. The Text: “That which was from the beginning, …
Garments and Salvation
Introduction: The imagery of clothes in the Bible can scarcely be overestimated. This strikes us as alien on two counts. First, our clothing styles are very different from other cultures (which is nothing new), but secondly, we have adopted a notion of clothing which is entirely unscriptural and unnatural. Our problem is not that our …
Surveying the Text: James
Introduction: This short letter is famous for its instructions on “the tongue,” as well as for its emphasis on practical religion, visiting widow and orphans. There are a number of practical instruction on showing no partiality between rich and poor, as well as a stern warning against envy. What many don’t realize is that these …