Theology / Salvation

  • Our New Lord and Master

    Romans 6:1–14

    Throughout the New Testament especially, we find that the evidence of true Christian faith is a life of gratitude in which our love for Jesus is proved by our willingness to obey Him (John 14:15). This does not mean ...Read More

  • Washed, Sanctified, and Justified

    1 Corinthians 6:11b

    God conveys grace to us through the preaching of the Word and the sacraments, so we must never think of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as empty rites. We cannot understand everything that happens in baptism, for who understands ...Read More

  • The Blood and the Spirit

    1 John 1:7

    “Just as the Word of God does not return to him void, neither does the exercise and administration of his sacrament return to him void” (R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess, vol. 3, p. 89). The preaching of God’s ...Read More

  • God’s Gift of Faith

    Ephesians 2:8

    If we believe that we are capable of working up faith in our souls, we cannot boast in Christ alone. But if we understand that we have faith only because of the work of the Holy Spirit, then we can ...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

  • Christ Our Righteousness

    1 Corinthians 1:30–31

    Jesus is the only human being who has ever had perfect faith in God. The faith the Lord demands from us is real faith, not perfect faith, and faith can be real even if it is imperfect. Still, we are ...Read More

  • For Abraham’s Sake and Ours

    Romans 4:22–25

    As sinners, we regularly overlook the faults and transgressions of others. We know that no sinner is perfect, and so we are often willing to give people a pass when they do the very same misdeeds of which we ourselves ...Read More

  • Righteousness and Life

    John 3:36

    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

  • The Blessedness No One Has Imagined

    1 Corinthians 2:9–10

    The first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In glory, we will enjoy God face to face and experience His loveliness and holiness directly ...Read More

  • Our Glorious Future

    1 John 3:2

    Christ’s work of salvation is comprehensive, involving not only rescue from the penalty and power of sin but also from sin’s corruption. We who are in Jesus can look forward to the day when even our bodies will ...Read More

  • Christ’s Resurrection and Ours

    1 Corinthians 15:20–23

    John Calvin writes, “As … Adam did not die for himself alone, but for us all, it follows, that Christ in like manner, who is the antitype, did not rise for himself alone; for he came, that he might restore everything ...Read More

  • Raised Up to New Life

    Colossians 3:1-4

    John Calvin comments on today’s passage: “No one can rise again with Christ, if he has not first died with him.” If we would enjoy the new life that fuels our sanctification and grants us imperishable bodies, we must ...Read More

  • Our Living Hope

    1 Peter 1:3-5

    Jesus’ death is not significant because He was a good man who died but because He was a perfect man who died and rose again. The resurrection is certain proof that death has no rightful claim on those who obey ...Read More

  • The Lordship of Christ

    1 Corinthians 6:15–20

    John Calvin comments on today’s passage, stating that “we are not at our own disposal, that we should live according to our own pleasure.” Unregenerate people are determined to live by their own rules, to seek self-fulfillment at the ...Read More

  • Reigning With Christ

    2 Timothy 2:11–13

    The truth that we are kings and queens in Christ is not some idea conjured up to boost our self-esteem but a present reality that we will enjoy in its fullness at the resurrection of the dead. At that point ...Read More