Grace

  • The Distortion of Lawlessness

    Romans 6:1-14

    Of all the types of antinomianism, we are perhaps most prone to look for loopholes in the law of God. So, for instance, we may excuse certain behaviors because there is no express command in Scripture against them, even though ...Read More

  • Bearing Our Sins in His Body

    1 Peter 2:22–25

    Our lives and worship are transformed forever when by grace we realize that while God owes us nothing but wrath, He has executed His wrath not on those who trust Christ but on Jesus Himself. We should be the most ...Read More

  • God’s Fuller Revelation

    Psalm 68:1–18

    Legalism is the inevitable result when we fail to remember that the cross was the high point of redemptive history, not the covenant ratified at Sinai. As we meditate on the cross, we recall the glory seen in His death ...Read More

  • Looking through the Mirror

    Spend some time reflecting on the goodness of God. In what specific ways is His goodness being manifested to you right now?Read More

  • Listening to the Law

    Galatians 4:21–24

    Tomorrow we will examine in more detail the actual approach Paul takes in Galatians 4:21–31. For now, note that the search for hidden meanings in Scripture violates the perspicuity or clarity of God’s Word. The Bible is ...Read More

  • Bearing Spiritual Fruit

    Prayerfully examine your faith and spiritual fruit. Read More

  • God’s Hyper-Plentiful Grace

    1 Timothy 1:12-14

    How often do we take the time to meditate upon and exalt the hyper-plentiful grace of our Lord? Because of His absolute perfection, God’s grace is by definition hyper-plentiful when He condescends to redeem imperfect people. Consider today some ...Read More

  • Cursed on Our Behalf

    Galatians 3:13–14

    Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians gives this pastoral advice: “So if sin vex you, and death terrify you, think that it is (as indeed it is) but an imagination and a false illusion of the devil. For there is ...Read More

  • Faith Versus Works

    Galatians 3:11–12

    John Calvin comments, “The contradiction between the law and faith lies in the matter of justification,” and so the law “has a method of justifying a man which is wholly at variance with faith.” It is not that we are ...Read More

  • Grace for the Weary

    Matthew 11:25–30

    John Calvin writes that Christ does not elect us and redeem us that we may sin freely. Instead, Christians are “raised up by his grace, [that] they may also take his yoke upon them, and that, being free in spirit ...Read More

  • The Poor in Spirit

    Matthew 5:1–3

    Elsewhere, Jesus speaks these same words to the poor (Luke 6:20), because those who have nothing are often able to see their need for salvation most clearly. Still, one does not need to lack possessions to see the kingdom ...Read More

  • From Abraham to Exile

    Matthew 1:2–11

    Not every ancestor of Jesus trusted in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Still, the Lord’s grace overcame what could be called “impossible” odds in working through the sinful sons of David to bring about our salvation. This ...Read More

  • Grace and Forgiveness

    Genesis 1:27

    When Paul exhorts women to train women, and by implication, men to train men (Tit. 2:1–8), he is not speaking of doctrinal matters as if they are unconnected from everyday life. God wants godly men to teach and ...Read More

  • Man’s Radical Fallenness

    John 6:44

    “Regeneration precedes faith” summarizes biblical soteriology (the doctrine of salvation). Having one’s will transformed by the regenerative touch of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, must come before anyone can enter the kingdom (John 3:3, 5). If you trust ...Read More

  • A Received Doctrine

    Romans 8:29–30

    Regardless of the position we take on election, Dr. R.C. Sproul reminds us that the debate between Augustinianism and semi-Pelagianism is an intramural debate between Christians. Therefore, we must treat with respect and charity all those holding to the ...Read More