I appreciate that that's a big claim (it's somewhat reduced and relativised by the fact that we're talking about 'me' - who really cares about what I've learned...), and I don't want to minimise all the other things I've had to learn (and continue to learn) but the reality is that they flow from thi...

As I slowly work my way through Luke’s gospel, there is a slight difference in the accounts of Matthew & Luke.  Matthew says, “Then the devel left him, and angels came and attended him.”  Luke puts it this way, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him...

We start with God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father sending forth his word in the power of the Spirit to bring order out of chaos, the world out of water, light over darkness climaxing in the making of Man in God’s image (Genesis 1). We find The Man placed in God’s temple-mountain garden ...

This week’s text in Galatians focuses on adoption, God’s adoption of sinners as His sons as a result of Jesus’ work of redemption for us.  J.I. Packer comments that you can’t really understand Christianity unless you understand adoption.  John Calvin says you aren’t r...

Since I’m preaching through Galatians, one of the topics or themes is justification: how we are in a right relationship with God.  It is the main idea of the letter since they had fallen prey to false teachers with hetero-gospels. I thought it would be a good time to list my recommendations f...

Yes, John Piper has another new book out (I’m already behind).  It is called Finally Alive , and it explores the biblical doctrine of regeneration, being born again.  This is a much needed book since there is so much misunderstanding about what it means, and how it radically affects our live...

Near the end of Luke 2 there is a shift from God’s mercy to the reality that the coming of Messiah also means judgment for some.  We see this in Simeon’s prophetic song: “This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing.  But he will be the greatest joy...

Posted by Bob Mattes The Federal Vision folks like to say that their view is more Biblical, that they use words in a more Biblical way than classic Reformed formulations. Seven orthodox Reformed denominations have found otherwise, yet the Federal Vision myths persist. Dr. R. F. White wrote a comment...

I’ve got to stuff all of Galatians 2 into one sermon.  Oh the madness and folly of it all!  One of my favorite works on Galatians is Luther’s commentary.  I don’t agree with all he says, but there are some great things in there.  He had … a way with words.   Let’s...

The second section of Graeme Goldworthy’s book Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics focuses on Challenges to Evangelical Hermeneutics.  In this section he is essentially tracing the history of biblical interpretation with an eye to the way the gospel has been eclipsed in various times and methods. Th...