Three lines of argument converge to persuade us of the sufficiency of Scripture:-
(a) Jesus Christ. As Heb 1:1-2 asserts, the previous, and partial revelation of God is completed by the final and perfect revelation in Jesus Christ. And the Bible is the divinely-inspired testimony to the person and work of Christ.
(b) Salvation history. All that God has to do, and say, in connection with the bringing of salvation to the world, has been done and said.…
Calvinist theology is beset by some unfortunate terminology, which turns many would-be visitors away at the door.
One of those bits of unfortunate terminology is the expression ‘total depravity’. It is too readily taken to mean that humankind is completely and utterly wicked, and that no good at all can be found in an unregenerate heart, mind or behaviour.
In order to correct this misunderstanding, we can turn to Calvin himself, and his teaching on ‘common grace’. …
Because it is:-
1. The measure of man’s guilt, Acts 3:13-15.
2. The manifestation of God’s love, Rom 5:6-8.
3. The means of salvation, Jn 3:14-15.
4. The mark of separation, Gal 6:14.
5. The motive of service, 2 Cor 5:14f.
6. The melody of heaven, Rev 5:8-10.
(Source unknown)…
For centuries, the watchword of Christians within the reformed and evangelical tradition has been justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. However, those same Christians have taught and practiced definite standards of moral behaviour. Believing faith must and will be accompanied by true repentance.
What, then, is the relationship between salvation by grace and obedience to God’s moral law? Can a person be a believer without being a disciple? What must I do to be saved? …
Tactfulness is a notable virture. Although worldly people can show it to a remarkable degree, Lk 16:8, in its highest form it is a Christian grace. It is the offspring of love and wisdom. It is the ability to be honest without being rude.
God himself is the model for tactfulness, as shown in his dealings with our first parents, Gen 2:18-24; 3:9-19; with Cain, Gen 4:7, 15; with Abraham, Gen 12:1-3; and Jonah, Jon 4:10,11.…
It is a commonplace amongst preachers to distinguish between the various Greek words for ‘love’ (philia, storge, eros and agape) and assert that agape is the word that fits Christian love.
There is a considerable amount of truth in this, of course. Agape, scholars inform us, was a little-used word in secular Greek and therefore was conveniently available to have Christian meaning poured into it.
But the matter can easily be over-stated. …
It is interesting that the great Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon placed a chapter entitled, ‘A Defence of Calvinism’ near the beginning, and not near the end, of his autobiography. For the ‘doctrines of grace’ were not, for him, some distant climax of his faith, but, rather, its heart-beat and its foundation.
Listen to Spurgeon:-
…‘That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory, but they are not.
1. Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself but because it contradicts them.
2. The Bible was the only book Jesus ever quoted, and then never as a basis for discussion but to decide the point at issue. (Leon Morris)
3. When you are reading a book in a dark room, and find it difficult, you take it to a window to get more light. So take your Bible to Christ. (McCheyne)
4.…
Donald Bridge has some helpful things to say on this subject:-
1. Sickness is related to sin and to the fall. That does not mean that in individual illness is related to an individual sin. But it does mean that in broad terms, sickness is an enemy and a work of the Enemy. The idea of ‘wholeness’, on the other hand, is closely related to biblical concepts of holiness and of salvation.
2. Holy living is likely to lead to healthy living.…
This is the second of two sermons on Deuteronomy 6 preached at Holy Trinity, Norwich, on 15th March 2009.
Deuteronomy is one of the most important books of the Old Testament. It is one of the four OT books most frequently quoted in the NT (the others being Genesis, Psalms and Isaiah). Judging from the number of times that he quotes from it, it seems to have been the favourite book of our Lord himself.
One scholar has referred to Deuteronomy as the OT equivalent of Romans and John’s Gospel combined. …
