Psalm 45 is a love song. But it may not be the kind of love song that we are expecting. One commentator writes: This psalm is a hymn celebrating a royal wedding. As its title says, it is a love song. The term translated "love" (Hb. yedidot) indicates deep personal attachment but is not in …
The New Year is here. Have you already started a new devotional? A devotional is book of sort, often daily, readings. Many have 365 readings for the whole year. They are usually written to be relatable and encouraging. The more theologically robust ones typically reflect on a particular verse or passage of Scripture, sometimes encouraging …
The four-volume Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley is a massive work. Reading it cover to cover is quite a journey to embark upon but also a satisfying accomplishment to complete. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why our church has recently used this set as the primary reading of our …
Continue reading Reformed Systematic Theology | Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley
After addressing baptism over the past two questions, we now come to the second ordinance: the Lord's Supper. The catechism's answer begins by grounding the Supper in Christ's command, which again is what makes it an ordinance. Just as baptism is commanded by Christ in the Great Commission, so the Lord's Supper was instituted at …
For most of history, poetry held a primary place in people's lives. In largely pre-literate cultures, bards functioned as the great entertainers and keepers of knowledge and story. Their performances at feasts were something like the first blockbusters, as they performed epic poems about heroic deeds that captured the history and identity of their people. …
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
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 …
B. C. Newton 