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The Focus of the Sacraments
We must know the gospel to have faith in the gospel, and we must have faith in the gospel to enjoy the sanctifying benefits of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Thus, the preaching of the Word always has a ...Read More
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Tying It All Together
Even though the Bible is filled with a variety of voices and was written over the span of nearly two thousand years, its inspiration by God the Holy Spirit has given it a unity that transcends its variety. There is ...Read More
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The Abrahamic Blessing
Apart from Christ we were without hope in this world, but in Him we will inherit the very best our God has to offer. Understanding this truth should make us long for the day when He returns to consummate His ...Read More
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Our Unity in Christ Jesus
How do we define ourselves? When other people ask us to tell them a little bit about ourselves, what do we say? If one of our friends or coworkers is asked to describe us, what do they say? If the ...Read More
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The Goal of the Law
Jesus Christ is the only one with the inherent right to be called the Son of God. In Him, however, we are adopted as children of God, and receive all the benefits that come with that status. May we take ...Read More
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The Law as Guardian
Paul’s main point in Galatians 3:23–26 is to explain the Law’s role in salvation history, but the pattern of preaching in the New Testament indicates that God’s law must play a similar role in our ...Read More
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The Law and the Promises
Christians are no longer under the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13–14). Yet until we are glorified, the presence of sin within us clouds our minds, preventing us on many occasions from seeing the truth about our own ...Read More
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One God, One People
Our unity as the people of God testifies to the unity of our Lord. To see Christians living and working together in harmony is a powerful witness that all believers possess the same Holy Spirit and share a common purpose ...Read More
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Inheritance by the Promise
Ephesians 1:13–14 says the Holy Spirit is the “guarantee” of our inheritance. When Jesus returns to usher in the new heavens and earth (Rev. 21), the promises to Abraham will reach their consummation as we are blessed with ...Read More
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Abraham’s One Offspring
Today’s passage reminds us that we receive the promised blessing of God not by genetics but through personal trust in the Messiah. Thus, the true children of Abraham are those who have faith — whether Jew or Gentile. In this ...Read More
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Cursed on Our Behalf
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
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Faith Versus Works
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
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The Curse of the Law
Martin Luther comments on Galatians 2:17 that God’s law “requires perfect obedience unto God, and condemns all those who do not accomplish the same,” and on 3:10 he says that to follow God’s commandments is not ...Read More
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Father Abraham
In justification, “our record does not change, but our guilt does” (R.C. Sproul, Faith Alone, p. 96). God does not ignore our sin when He justifies us, and He knows that until we die we will battle sin and ...Read More
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The Gift of the Spirit
Good works are not wholly absent from the Christian life. They do not earn God’s favor, but they do prove that we have faith (James 2:14–26). Martin Luther says good works “ought to be done not as ...Read More
