Who can forgive sins but God alone? The synoptic gospels all record an event in the early public ministry of Christ that would, in many ways, define His ministry. Matthew, the tax collector, had just been called to be a follower of Christ. He immediately hosted a dinner, inviting his friends (many of whom […]
The schoolmaster gracefully retires. What did our Lord mean in Matthew 5:17-20 when He said He had not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it? The reader will do well to realize that this is no simple question. In two sentences (v.17), the Saviour summarizes the relationship between the whole of the […]
Know your adversary. But know your Advocate as well. In seeking to reclaim territory for the Rightful Heir, we will encounter the Enemy at every turn. Called Satan, the Dragon, the Devil, Lucifer, the Serpent, and the Accuser among other names, he is relentless in his opposition to all that glorifies the Lord, honors His […]
His kindness leads us to repentance. “For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Lk. 9:56). In the paragraph where the Lord speaks these words, we are told that the time had come for Him to be “received up” to glory. But He had one more stop […]
Read More… from Not to Destroy Men’s Lives, but to Save Them
Neutrality is not an option. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Mt. 10:34). At first glance, this statement seems incongruous with the popular conception of Jesus Christ. No doubt guided by Hollywood’s unhistorical and imaginative depictions, He is often pictured as […]
The Saviour’s standard Our Lord spoke of His Father’s will several times in chapters 4 to 6 of John’s gospel. His statements reveal that will to be of paramount importance. His food First, He told His disciples in chapter 4 that God’s will was, metaphorically speaking, His food. When the disciples queried, “Has anyone […]
A good meal has several courses. In his 1999 book How the News Makes us Dumb1, historian C. John Sommerville observes that the greatest problem with today’s news coverage is not so much that it is biased (which it is), as that it is daily. As a consequence, news is reduced to the lowest common […]
Read More… from Reader’s Guide to the Origins Debate (part 1)
Wanting for nothing Before the Lord Jesus, we were all lost in our trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1 refers to this as being dead. Our sin had separated us from God, and, in that state, we were unable to commune with Him. This spiritual darkness has defined every human being since Adam and still […]
He made Himself of no reputation. Six times in Exodus 7-10 the Lord says, “let My people go that they may serve Me.” He wanted His people out of Egypt (the world) so that they would be free to serve their God. It is still the desire of our loving, heavenly Father that we […]