Theology / Man and Sin

  • Freed by the Blood by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2011

    Frankly speaking, sin not only contaminates, it also subjugates. It enslaves. Like a great snake — a python or anaconda — sin wraps itself around us and slowly entangles and strangles us. Like the hunter’s net, the more we struggle against …Read More

  • Death Does Not Have the Last Word by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2011

    The guns of secular naturalism, when aimed at the Christian faith, resemble not so much shotguns as carefully aimed rifles. The chief target of the naturalist is the biblical doctrine of creation. If the doctrine of creation falls, all of …Read More

  • The Secret of Sanctification by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2011

    One of the most beneficial things I learned from my professors during my seminary days was that ministers must continually preach the message of the cross to the people of God for their growth in grace. One professor in particular …Read More

  • Peace by His Blood by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2011

    In April of 1992, after four Los Angeles Police Officers were acquitted of any criminal act in the apprehension, beating, and arrest of Rodney Ki ng, the city of Los Angeles burst into some of the worst riots in its …Read More

  • The Ark of the Covenant by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2011

    It seems that every year a new children’s story Bible comes out. The captivating artwork often makes the biblical stories come alive. There is one picture in a particular story Bi ble our family has that my two-and-a-half-year-old, Elijah …Read More

  • The Allurement of Christ by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

    “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Thomas Chalmers’ sermon “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” has …Read More

  • Justified by His Blood by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

    Have you ever wondered why God loves you and desires you in His eternal blessed presence? Have you ever contemplated (seriously) why God would look favorably on you and bless you rather than condemn you? Most of us (dare I …Read More

  • Propitiation by His Blood by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    The theology of the church is filled with big words (justification, sanctification, predestination, and more). These big words carry with them big meanings. These big meanings reveal to us the bigness of our God and the greatness of our salvation …Read More

  • Our Liberating God by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    Why would anyone love the law of God? Why would we love that which constantly tells us what miserable wretches we are, daily points out all our shortcomings, relentlessly reminds us of all our death-deserving sins, and keeps knocking us …Read More

  • Lighting the Way: The Didactic Use of the Law by Robert Letham

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    In Reformed theology, the law has been seen as the guide for believers in the conduct of their lives. John Calvin described this as its principal use. In this sense, we are talking about the Decalogue — the Ten Commandments — and …Read More

  • Reflecting Sin: The Pedagogical Use of the Law by David Murray

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    “Ouch!” That first look in the mirror every morning doesn’t get any easier, does it? In fact, I’d rather do without looking in mirrors at all. And I might get away with it — for a few days. Because …Read More

  • Restraining Sin: The Civil Use of the Law by David VanDrunen

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    Of the three uses of the law, the so-called “civil” use may strike us as the least interesting theologically. It involves no inward transformation of the heart or Spirit-wrought righteousness that is pleasing in God’s sight. By this use …Read More

  • The Idol-Crushing King by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). If the heart of man is, as John Calvin described it, “an idol-making factory,” then the way in which those idols are destroyed should be of utmost importance to us …Read More

  • Not Protesting Evil by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2011

    Dear Eligos, We tempters have a job that is both easy and difficult. Thanks to our fearless leader’s victory in the garden some time ago, human beings are ridiculously, even comically, susceptible to sinning. And yet, sin itself is …Read More

  • Our Bloody Religion by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2011

    It has been said that Christianity is a bloody religion. This reference is usually made by critics who point to the wars, inquisitions, trials, and executions carried out over the years in the name of Christianity. While we must admit …Read More