At the outset, we notice that David’s sin did not begin and end with his actual adultery, but it began here, as David was walking on the roof of the king’s house. David had sent out his army with great skill to ravage and besiege his enemies. While this was occurring, however, David’s heart was being ravaged and besieged by sinful lust and adultery

And here, we see that the word of God is not impotent, but is very relevant in any and every human experience, even this very common one of sorrow and depression. 

Theology for all you busy folk!

Here, we read our blog regarding the nature of pragmatism and its tendency to undermine the Lord's prescriptions for corporate worship.

This predicament, conversion within a sinful culture, requires many new Christians to overcome the vast temptations present within a community of predominantly pagan people. Such circumstances compel Paul to inform the believers in Corinth that God provides endurance and escape amid temptation, a truth whose sustenance rests in the immutable faithfulness of a Sovereign God.

It is not uncommon for those who are bold in heart and of face (Isaiah 50:7) for the Lord and his word to be plotted against by those around us. Because we are not greater than our Master, we can expect the type of treatment he received while on the earth (John 15:20).

As service came to a close this Lord’s day, we sang Psalm 135B and it was a glorious time indeed! Before the congregation took up their Psalters to teach and admonish one another with the word of God, our pastor made a warming point from this psalm. We were told of the permanence, the ubiquity, the eternal nature of God's name. His name - and not our own - is the name that will permeate throughout time eternal and will transcend this age. It will be sung in the age to come! What an absolutely glorious thought!

Pragmatism is the practical or realistic approach to solving problems or the idea that the results themselves confirm the validity of the methods used and is often found in Christian circles. For example, if a method of evangelism doesn’t work by people confessing Christ, then one will look for another or different method to use for evangelism.

Not every Calvinist adheres to the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith or the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. Many godly men and women, brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, adhere to the doctrines of grace in salvation without embracing Covenant Theology. The purpose of this brief article is to propose to these fellow soldiers in the faith to consider an embrace of Covenant Theology on the basis that biblical covenants correspond with the doctrine of Unconditional Election.

The humanity of Christ is essential to our salvation. That may seem like a given. After all, how could we be redeemed and then represented by One who doesn’t share our nature? Besides, it’s “obvious” in our time that Jesus was human. Everyone, apart from the ignorant or intellectually dishonest, agrees that Jesus was a human who lived some 2000 years ago in the Roman province of Palestine.

Matthew’s construction of events in his Gospel unveil the astounding parallels between Moses’ giving of the Law on Sinai and Jesus’ teaching of the Law on Mount Eremos. Matthew begins unfolding these parallels in Matthew 2:19-21, when Jesus came out of Egypt (see Moses coming out of Egypt in Exodus 12:33-14:22).

The work of Christ is something that, frankly, boggles the mind; if indeed, one ponders upon it with sincerity. Grasp with me for a moment the unthinkable nature of what our Savior did for his elect. The very God who set all things as they are, with perfect purpose and power, designed to save his people.

A natural question would be “where did we get the Psalms from?” Well, of course, we understand that the Psalms were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but other than being written by Him, where did we get them?

In Exodus 17, Moses recorded a time when the freemen of Israel put God to the test. The Israelites’ thirst grew, causing an uptick in their persuasion that death by dehydration may befall them. Under intense pressure from the thirsty people, Moses sought God’s help. The Lord responded to Moses’ prayers by commanding him to use his staff to strike the rock.

The implication of this is the exact reason for having written it: The eternal Son of God resides with every single solitary manifestation of his body around the entire globe when they gather together on the Lord’s day to worship the one true living God! In the same way in the Old Testament, the tabernacle was a special place where God resided.

Among the number of alarming trends growing in the broader evangelical church is the prevailing attitude of “Bible alone” in hermeneutics and theological interpretation. More and more, laypeople and pastors alike are looking to lose tradition in favor of biblicism. This trend is unhelpful at best and dangerous at worst.

Picture Ahithophel’s king, David, sleeping on his comfortable couch. He raises out of his slumber, stretches his arms, yawns, and shuffles his feet beneath himself, hoping to touch his elusive sandal with his ever-searching hallux.

Throughout Peter’s letter, he issues a warning against the effects of false teachers on believers at large, and especially those who are “nearsighted” in their faith (2 Pet. 1:9-10). Peter expresses his belief that some Christians remain ineffective and unfruitful, in part, because of the influence of false teachers.

In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he writes that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). We stand in awe when we read this (or we ought to), because we are told that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh, and chose to live in the midst of his people.

This nullification of the purity in worship amongst the catholic (universal) church has been the result of believing that it is not limited by the scriptures in matters of worship and what's more, some “have come to regard divine worship as more or less a matter of indifference, to be determined according to human preference or convenience.”

Here we see the high places, among the princes and majesty of the world, in which the psalmist sat. He was the point of scorn among those in power, and among whom were considered his equals. Yet among these men, there was no desire more significant than to show derision and contempt toward him.