-
Christ’s Eternal, Effectual Priesthood
John Calvin writes: “What sort of pledge and how great is this of love towards us! Christ lives for us, not for himself!” Jesus lives to magnify the glory of the Holy Trinity, but His love for us is evident ...Read More
-
Circumcised in the Flesh
Baptism is the counterpart to circumcision in the new covenant (Col. 2:8–15), and it is therefore a mark of God’s possession of us. We are “branded” by the Lord in our baptism, and every time we witness a baptism we ...Read More
-
Circumcision and Baptism
John Calvin writes that baptism does not “intimate that our ablution and salvation are perfected by water, or that [it] possesses in itself the virtue of purifying, regenerating, and renewing.” Neither is it “the cause of salvation, but only that ...Read More
-
Circumcision of the Heart
One commentator has aptly said that the honor of the covenant becomes a nightmare for those who refuse to walk by faith in it. We who have been marked out as the Lord’s by our baptism must forsake all other ...Read More
-
Cleansing the Temple
Hezekiah’s sin offerings did not effect the cleansing the people needed, but we can still learn much from his zeal to restore true worship. The most important reformation that ever takes place in the life of the church is a ...Read More
-
A Commitment to Worship
Augustine of Hippo comments on today’s passage: “Dost thou wish to be a place for the Lord? Be thou poor in spirit, and contrite, and trembling at the word of God, and thou wilt thyself be made what thou seekest.” ...Read More
-
Covenant and Kingdom
If we are in Christ by faith alone, we already enjoy new spiritual life, and this spiritual life will one day bear fruit in renewed physical life. In the new covenant, God restores the cosmos, and we will one day ...Read More
-
Covenant Blessings
The book of Job and other portions of Scripture warn us about making a strict one-to-one correlation between the blessings or trials we receive and our obedience to God. Nevertheless, we can expect the Lord to show His favor to ...Read More
-
Covenant Breakers
It is a sobering thought that every local church probably has people within it who profess Christ but in reality are far from the kingdom. Though we may not know who those people are, we must remain aware that they ...Read More
-
Covenant Conditionality
Though we must meet certain covenant conditions, salvation is ultimately all of grace because God elects only some to salvation, giving them the ability to trust Him, which is not ours by nature as Adam’s fallen children. Nevertheless, the elect ...Read More