Theology That Bites Back
Introduction: When we are forgiven for our sins, there are two fundamental aspects to this. First we are delivered, definitively, all at once, from the penalty of sin. Our sins and our lawless deeds God will remember no more. They are forgiven, meaning they won’t come up at all in the Day of Judgment. You …
Introduction: We are considering the two components of growth in grace. The first is getting rid of impediments to that growth, which is a necessary thing—but preliminary. The second thing is actual growth in grace. This growth in grace is a form of life, and like all life it requires food. Our spiritual life in …
Introduction:I would like to spend this week and next addressing honesty with God, and what it means to grow in grace. In brief, there are two elements to growth in grace. The first is the removal of impediments to that growth, which we will address this week, and the second is the presence of that …
Introduction: The nature of the problem dictates whether or not there can even be a solution, and if so, what that solution might be. Among evangelical Christians, the nature of the “problem” that salvation solves can be described in two basic ways. Either man is sick in his sin, needing to take the medicine, or …
Introduction: The theologians behind the Westminster Confession said something that was curious, and it was this: They did not want to say that God’s absolute sovereignty was merely consistent with the liberty of creaturely will, but rather that God’s sovereignty was what established the liberty of that will. God does not offer violence to the …
Introduction: When these precious doctrines of ours—referring to the absolute sovereignty of God over all things—are twisted in such a way as to perpetuate gloom, severity, introspection, accusations, slander, gnat-strangling, and more, the soul is never safe. The doctrines of grace are doctrines of gladness. But whenever God delivers His people in any remarkable way, …
Introduction: In the second chapter of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar the king promoted Daniel after he had been able to interpret the troubling dream that the king had had. As a result of Daniel’s influence, Daniel’s three friends were established in the rule of Babylon. Sometime later, Nebuchadnezzar established a giant gold statue of himself in the …
Introduction: What I would like to do, Lord permitting, is preach a series of messages through the basic doctrines of the Reformed faith, as we understand the teaching of Scripture. This is particularly important for you if you have been attending here for many years, or if you have grown up in this church. It …
Introduction: The apostle Paul wanted to sing in the Spirit, but he also wanted to sing with the mind (1 Cor. 14:15). In a similar way, we come here week after week to worship God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit of God. But it is important for us …
Introduction: The point of this epistle is to encourage believers to live lives of personal holiness during a time of persecution—that is, during a time when the challenge of personal holiness is beyond inconvenient. If God had wanted His people to be extraordinarily holy, the argument might go, He would have given us more help—times …
