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The Key of the Gospel
Preachers open and close the door to the kingdom not by their own authority but by the authority of God’s Word. As they faithfully preach the gospel, they open up the way of salvation and call people to follow ...Read More
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The Church and Forgiveness
John Calvin comments that Christ “does not convey to [the Apostles and their successors] what is peculiar to himself. It belongs to him to forgive sins… . [Instead, He] enjoins them, in his name, to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, that ...Read More
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True Food and Drink
Although Christ is not advocating the view of transubstantiation, He is saying something true when He refers to His body as our bread and His blood as our drink. As noted in Calvin’s comments above, there is a real ...Read More
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A Stronger Union
We are not advocating the Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation or the Lutheran view of consubstantiation when we affirm the true presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. As we will see, we simply mean that we meet with ...Read More
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The Bread of Life
At our conversion, we make a decisive break with sin and come into the safety of Christ’s fold. Still, there is a sense in which we must continue to come to Him every moment of our lives. As we ...Read More
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The Fruit of Faith
John Calvin writes, “Before we are in [Christ], we are dry and useless wood.” After we are united to Him through faith alone, however, we become living, fruitful branches. The doctrine of justification by faith alone frees us to do ...Read More
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Righteousness and Life
When we believe in Jesus alone, we are immediately granted the gift of eternal life. There is nothing else we need to do in order to receive this life, and if we think that we must do good works in ...Read More
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Gathered, Protected, and Preserved
Today’s passage is clear that no one can snatch God’s people out of His hand. There is no doubt that the elect will be redeemed, and if there is no doubt that the elect include people from every ...Read More
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The Gift of the Spirit
Christ has ascended to heaven and has poured out the Holy Spirit to equip us for ministry, pray for us, and convince us of the truth of God’s Word. This work is necessary for us, and without the Spirit ...Read More
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The Burial of Christ
Because the Bible is the Word of God, nothing in it was included by accident. We may not always know why certain facts are recorded and not others, but we do know there is a reason for every word in ...Read More
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Particular Atonement
Christ’s death truly and eternally secured our redemption. We do not experience the blessing of the atonement because we have faith; rather, we have faith because Jesus actually atoned for our sins and sent His Spirit to give us ...Read More
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Sonship by Nature
Even though we are not children of God by nature, we become His sons and daughters when we are united by faith to Christ Jesus. As such, we enjoy the immense privilege of calling God “Father” and understanding the special ...Read More
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Augustine on Faith and Reason Part I
Whenever human beings come to a knowledge of the truth, it is because the Lord has illumined His revelation. Even impenitent sinners sometimes submit to His natural revelation, but they do not do so consistently. This explains why even the ...Read More
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Arianism
Arius’ teaching — Arianism — is alive today in cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It may also be held unwittingly by Christians who have not received good teaching and believe, implicitly, that the Father is a “higher” God than the ...Read More
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Modalistic Monarchianism
Today’s study describes a heresy known as either modalistic monarchianism or modalism. It is alive and well today in some varieties of Pentecostalism. Analogies that compare God to water (vapor, liquid, and ice) are also essentially modalistic, even though ...Read More
