Category: Bible

In my readings this week, I was in Isaiah. The passages in chapters 40-48 are well known to be strong on God’s sovereignty and the certainty of God’s plan being fulfilled. I was in an earlier section that gave a similarly cogent and compelling insight to God’s plan being irrepressible. Look at the following: “The…
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It is often recognized that portions of Scripture are geared to encourage and exhort. Sometimes, we need to hear the sweetness of a word that is timely in our downtrodden condition to uplift us emotionally and spiritually. The Proverbs speak of “a word fitly spoken” (25:11). Words have power. Not like the prosperity preachers imagine,…
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What’s in a name? Perhaps you have heard this question asked or possibly you have asked it yourself. Names still matter in our day, but we tend to link names with the past rather than choose them, or have them chosen for us, with the future in mind. Biblical examples abound with names given and…
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What did Jesus do when He died? The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews answers that question and has some amazing truths embedded within his book.  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the…
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I know how much hatred there is for the doctrines of Calvinism. I have been attacked and accused of misrepresenting God with my views. From the epithet of ‘extreme’ or ‘Hyper-Calvinist,’ to being maligned as a ‘hard determinist,’ the latter is something that I do embrace. It needs some qualification, of course, as there are…
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In James 1:18 we are reminded that the word of God is the means that God uses to bring forth (regenerate) His people. This word of truth is powerful to raise the dead. It is illustrated in the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus spoke the words, “Lazarus, Come Forth!” and the dead man emerged from the…
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For the authentic Christian faith, belief in the complete Bible is axiomatic. The famous slogan made at the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century affirmed Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). But a similar slogan has not caught on as much, Tota Scriptura (All Scripture). While many today are functionally working with a “canon within a canon,” biblical…
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This brief article is written to advocate why we should prefer the underlying Hebrew and Greek texts that have been preserved by the Lord according to His promise for any English and other language translations. The Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek (textus receptus) Ecclesiastical or Received Text are those which are superior and preserved…
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Reformed theology posits a thesis that suggests that God designed the gospel to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21), and sent Christ to die for them alone (John 10:11; Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25-27), and their salvation is guaranteed by the work of Christ (Rom. 8:32; 2 Peter 1:3,4). So far, so good. The…
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[This paper originally had footnotes, which seem to have evaporated. It was prepared as one of the requirements in a PhD seminar on Martin Luther with the late historian, Marvin Anderson in the Fall of 1999].   Introduction Martin Luther’s theology of the cross [theologia crucis] is of central significance. Luther’s impact cannot be overstated.…
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