Salvation / Faith

  • Strangers and Exiles

    Hebrews 11:13

    John Calvin said that if the old covenant saints, having only a shadowy glance of Christ, could persevere in faith to the end of their lives, how much more ought we do the same? We know more fully the superiority ...Read More

  • Supplement Your Faith

    2 Peter 1:5–7

    The order of the virtues listed in today’s passage emphasizes faith and love. Faith is listed first because without true faith we cannot be holy, and love is listed last because it is both our final goal and the ...Read More

  • Taken Up by God

    Hebrews 11:5

    Two thousand years ago, God spoke to His people face to face in the person of Christ Jesus. One day, Jesus will return, and we will live in the direct presence of God forevermore. We show our longing for this ...Read More

  • The Bones of Joseph

    Hebrews 11:22

    The Bible does not teach that we will spend eternity as disembodied spirits. Rather, it teaches that one day our physical bodies will be transformed along with all of creation, and that we will live on in glorified bodies. Rejoice ...Read More

  • The Content of Belief

    1 Timothy 3:16

    The portion of the medieval church that evolved into modern Roman Catholicism is actually the church that departed from the Apostles’ Creed. The Protestant Reformers who sought to uphold the ancient faith in the controversy over justification did not depart ...Read More

  • The Divine Initiative

    Ephesians 2:1–10

    If we use the doctrine of election as an excuse to do no evangelizing in the world, we have perverted the Word of God. No one but Paul more clearly explained the Lord’s gracious election, and no one was ...Read More

  • The Effective Sharing of Faith

    Philemon 6

    That too many believers rarely consult other believers and elders in the church before making a decision reflects the degree to which a non-biblical individualism has corrupted even the thinking of Christians. While the church is not to legalistically bind ...Read More

  • The Example of Abraham

    Galatians 3:6–14

    Abraham’s exemplary faith is mentioned in Genesis, Galatians, Romans, and Hebrews. His faith is the pattern for all believers. How does your faith compare? Do people speak of your faithfulness as an example to follow or hypocrisy to be ...Read More

  • The Good News of God’s Reign

    Isaiah 52:1–12

    Restoration requires faith in the Lord, but we are not able to muster up in ourselves faith that will persevere to the end. We need an atonement that covers even our unbelief, and God must create in us new hearts ...Read More

  • The Grounding of Hope

    Colossians 1:3-5a

    The apostles often refer to Christian hope in the New Testament, and it is easy for us to read our modern understanding of the term into Scripture, believing that Christian hope lacks certainty. But our hope as Christians does not ...Read More

  • The Law of God

    Exodus 20:1–17

    In recent years, there has been a lot of controversy in the United States as to the placement of the Ten Commandments in public. In all of this rancor, however, we should never forget that the commandments should first be ...Read More

  • The Lordship of Christ

    Romans 10:9

    None of the Apostles ever conceived of separating Jesus’ work as Savior from His lordship over the lives of His people. To believe one can be saved without serving Jesus as Lord is to give both ourselves and others a ...Read More

  • The Means of Salvation

    Romans 3:28

    In a few days, we will discuss the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants regarding justification in more detail. Today we will note that, according to Scripture, justification does not infuse a righteousness that we must maintain in our nature ...Read More

  • The Offering of Isaac

    Hebrews 11:17–19

    God’s command that the Messiah must die (Isa. 53) seemed at first glance to be inconsistent with His promise that Messiah would rule the earth (Zech. 9:10). But now we see that both are perfectly consistent. We must ...Read More

  • The Passover

    Hebrews 11:27–28

    The wrath of men is only temporary, but the wrath of God is eternal. Therefore, we should not be afraid to face the wrath of men. At times, however, we are more afraid of men than we are of God ...Read More