Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 ESV What does the final phrase of this verse mean? The ESV footnotes that shadow due to change could also be rendered a shadow of …
When we think of the Reformation, justification by faith alone or the authority of Scripture alone are typically the first theological thoughts. And those were truly central to the movement. But one of the key Reformers, John Calvin, wrote a short treatise called The Necessity of Reforming the Church, where he makes a striking comment …
Continue reading Those Who Make Them Become Like Them | Psalm 15 & Psalm 115:4-8
It’s time once again to reflect on the past year, and as always, here is my list of my ten favorite books (or, eleven, since I always include an honorable mention). This year was a little unusual for me. I read fewer books than normal, completing only twenty. But at the same time, this ended …
After question 44 answered for us, What is baptism?, question 45 takes up another essential issue: Now, again, we believe that baptism is a sign of Christ’s death and resurrection, His work on our behalf. So when we affirm that baptism does not wash away sin itself, this should not be taken as diminishing baptism …
Continue reading Question 45: Is Baptism with Water the Washing Away of Sin Itself?
Why is this chapter here? That is the big question that I have when coming to the book's final chapter. At first glance, it seems as though this chapter could have been placed anywhere else in Leviticus, which would have let the book end with chapter 26 as its climactic finish. But the LORD, in …
Baptism is the washing with water. Of course, different denominations practice different modes of baptism. As a Baptist, we practice baptism by immersion. But whatever denomination one might belong to, baptism always involves water. It is a washing with water that represents the spiritual washing in Christ. The waters of baptism do not literally wash …
Leviticus 26 is, in many ways, the climax of the book. Indeed, it is the covenantal climax. Leviticus, of course, is a book of laws. Hopefully, throughout this study, we have seen how much depth and significance there is in these laws. For instance, God gave these laws to shape Israel as they draw near …
Today is the official start of Advent, which we love to celebrate in our home. Now, I have already written a post about whether or not you should observe the liturgical calendar (Advent, Lent, etc.), and I also recently discussed it again in my sermon on Leviticus 23. You can read both of those to …
Continue reading How Our Family Celebrates Advent and Christmas
And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying… Every portion of the Bible is God-breathed, and all of it is profitable. We have seen that it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, and for correction. Paul then adds a final profitability: for training in righteousness. The word translated as training is paideia. Paideia …
The catechism now turns from the disciplines of prayer and Scripture to the sacraments or, as we Baptists most commonly call them, the ordinances. These two practices, baptism and the Lord's Supper, were instituted by Christ Himself and given to His church as what Thomas Watson calls visible sermons that proclaim the gospel. They are …
Continue reading Question 43: What Are the Sacraments or Ordinances?
B. C. Newton 