Theology (Page 2)
The Heidelberg Catechism’s Lord’s Day 16, Questions 40–44, unveils the necessity and profound benefits of Christ’s death, offering believers unshakable assurance. From satisfying God’s justice to delivering us from hell’s torment, Christ’s sacrifice transforms our lives and eternal destiny. These truths, rooted in Scripture, call us to rest in His finished work. Question 40: Why…
Have you ever felt out of place in this world? Like a traveler far from home, longing for the familiar air of your true homeland? This is the heart of what the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus…
The Heidelberg Catechism, a cornerstone of Reformed faith, guides believers through the essentials of Christian doctrine with pastoral precision. For Lord’s Day 15, Questions 37–39 delve into the heart of the gospel: Christ’s suffering. These questions unpack the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice, revealing its necessity, judicial context, and unique power to redeem. As we meditate…
Dear brothers and sisters, picture a tree lush with leaves, promising fruit, yet empty when you reach for it. In Mark 11:12-14, Jesus, hungry, finds such a fig tree—full of foliage but barren. He curses it: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Then, in verses 15-19, He storms the temple, flipping tables,…
As Jesus was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’ “ Mark 10:17–18, ESV Among the most memorable…
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Hebrews 2:1-4, ESV Good theology is…
Therefore, he alone has duly denied himself who has so totally resigned himself to the Lord that he permits every part of his life to be governed by God’s will. He who will be thus composed in mind, whatever happens, will not consider himself miserable nor complain of his lot with ill will toward God.
The speaker is God. The time is before time was. The word is omnipotence. The result is the grandest of gifts. Darkness heard and vanished. “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Reader, strive to imagine the scene, when this first voice called this first blessing into being. This world of full delights was then one huge mass of unarranged material. It had no form, and therefore it had no beauty. It was vacancy, and vacancy lacks all that pleases. It would have been cheerless, even if robed in cheering light. But impenetrable night shrouded the lifeless void.
It is said of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he declared unto his disciples in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself,” Luke 24: 27. It is therefore manifest that Moses, and the Prophets, and all the Scriptures, do give testimony unto him and his glory. This is the line of life and light which runs through the whole Old Testament; without the conduct whereof we can understand nothing aright therein: and the neglect hereof is that which makes many as blind in reading the books of it as are the Jews, – the veil being upon their minds. It is faith alone, discovering the glory of Christ, that can remove that veil of darkness which covers the minds of men in reading the Old Testament, as the apostle declares, 2 Cor. 3: 14-16. I shall, therefore, consider briefly some of those ways and means whereby the glory of Christ was represented unto believers under the Old Testament.
Last month, we took a survey of the various views on how we should understand Genesis 1.26[1]Fesko, J.V. Last Things First: Unlocking Genesis 1-3 with the Chris of Eschatology. (Christian Focus Publications, 2007), pp. 40-45. Those views were (1) The heavenly court view; (2) The plural of majesty view; and (3) The Trinity view. Of…