“Father, thy word is past, man shall find grace” — John Milton, Paradise Lost I feel the seasons in my bones. They come. They go. Each passing season deposits its residue—memories, laughter, disappointments—fashioning layers like leaves. Those are the seasons of...
Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with...
The Gospel in Romans 1–4 One of the best places to start looking for a basic explanation of the gospel is Paul’s letter to the Romans. Perhaps more clearly than any other book of the Bible, Romans contains a deliberate, step-by-step expression of what Paul...
The ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven is one of the most important events recorded in the New Testament. But though it occupies an important place in Scripture, it doesn’t get a lot of attention today, even among Christians. My guess is that you probably...
John 1:1-4- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of...
Mark 8:29 – “And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’” Who is Jesus? This is a question that bears to be repeated and considered often. It is the most fundamental question of our faith. How we answer reveals our...
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series on the atonement. The Scriptures give us a robust revelation about all that Jesus accomplished on the cross. As we go about seeking to categorize all of the various dimensions of the cross, we discover that there are...
Editor’s Note: This is the first post in a series on the atonement.During the first decade of the twenty-first century, a number of prominent leaders in the emerging church movement asserted that the doctrine of substitutionary atonement is tantamount to “cosmic...
Psalm 119:41, "Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD— Your salvation according to Your word.” Notice that this stanza in Psalm 119:41-48 begins with a request. It begins with a cry for the mercies (or steadfast love) of Yahweh. And the Psalmist seems to know...
Introduction to The Reading The Psalms, from Psalm 120 to 134, are the sacred songs that the Hebrew people sang as they went up to Jerusalem for the three worship feasts of the year.[1] Concerning authorship, David wrote Psalm 122, 124, 131, and 133. Solomon wrote...
Amidst all of the fanfare, finery, and festivity of Christmastime, there could very well be something missing in your life. We are so thankful that the Word of God, the Holy Bible, speaks not only to the things that are but also to the things that are not and calls...
It doesn’t make much sense to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world without acknowledging the very reason He came. He came to earth to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. It would be a tragedy to enjoy the presents, food, time with family and...
Do you have any words you outlaw in your home? Perhaps you forbid words such as “shut up” or “stupid.” One of the words I limit in our house is the word “hate.” I can’t say that I hate the word because I think it's a powerful word that should be used properly. It...
Some Christmas cards are brightly colored red, green, or mystic-blue and golden beams, or Courier and Ives prints and unmistakably Christmastime greetings. Such cards remind me of Isaiah 40 and of the birth narratives in the Gospels. There's no mistaking the...
“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). There is a library full of lessons in this single verse...
Only a single word remained, “Croatoan.” It was all that Governor John White could find of the 115 people (including his own family) he left behind three years earlier in 1587. Roanoke colony had vanished. There were no bodies, no gravesites; even the buildings had...
God’s judgment is just as terrible as his salvation is wonderful. Nowhere is this made more apparent than in the ninth chapter of Isaiah, as the Lord describes in vivid detail the impending doom that he will bring to those who have continued in rebellion against...
“And Asaph begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Uzziah; and Uzziah begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah” (Matthew 1:8-9). Many devout Bible reader’s eyes have glazed over by the midpoint of the genealogy of Christ in...
In the movie Shawshank Redemption, Andy writes a letter to Red and includes the following remark, “Remember Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” If I could respond to Andy, I would simply say, “Amen.” The reason, of...
2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” WHAT IS SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT? The cross of Jesus is where the substitutionary atonement happened. On the cross, Jesus served as...
“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34) Jesus Christ, the God-Man, committed the most scandalously humble act in human history: He made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born as a man who was...
In the wonderfully heart-warming, spirit-lifting, worship-inducing story of the birth of Jesus, as it is related to us by Matthew, there is one crucial element of the whole event that is often overlooked. That a virgin would bring forth a son is astounding; that...
“Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself" (Psalm 80:17). Psalm 80 is written by Asaph. This is one of 12 Psalms written by this musical and liturgical leader appointed by David. Asaph's identity is...
On one hand, the Apostle Paul teaches us that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, “have died to the law through the body of Christ” (Romans 7:4) and on the other hand that “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (12). Which is it? Paul...
Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, I remember when Danny Thomas, the founder of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, died in February of 1991. Local and national cartoonists paid tribute to him in the next day’s newspapers, many of them showing him entering heaven “at...
Good News for the Unwanted Exclusion, expulsion, alienation, and forsakenness—these were major themes in the ancient Jewish world.[1] The “impure” could be expelled from the community. The carcasses of sacrificed animals had to be burned outside the camp. The...
As part of a Wednesday night summer series, our church has been studying some of the "salvation words" that are found in Scripture. As we've worked our way through concepts like substitution, reconciliation, and redemption a particular truth with which I have been...
At my local church, we have a Good Friday service where we nail a piece of paper with our sins to the Cross. This event is symbolic of what Christ has accomplished for us. It is about more than just subscribing to our belief in the sufficiency of Christ finished...
Jesus didn’t stutter when he said that he is the truth: I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” he said, “no one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Why did Jesus claim to be the truth, versus one single truth among many other truths? Why did he...
The Deceptive Draw of Greed In the movie Wall Street, Michael Douglas’ character, Gordon Gekko, says “Greed is good!” He lies, deceives, and cheats his way to riches only to be convicted and sentenced to prison by the end of the movie. But this is only a movie...
Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” I don’t know about you, but I readily admit to suffering on repeated instances from bouts with anger. Mind you this is not anger that results in being physically abusive, throwing...
Perhaps the fiercest and most hostile arch-nemesis to joy is Pride. It may be no surprise to us when we often hear that pride is the root of all sin. You can trace Pride’s evil touch in everything else, after all. It is, as one called it, “the chief vice.” It may...
The word gospel has experienced a bit of a resurgence of late. All one has to do is take a walk. down the aisle of their favorite Christian bookstore or go to their favorite blogger's website to see this term utilized in seemingly every book or blog post title. We...
Nothing serves to strengthen our faith so much as seeing the various patterns which God has woven into the pages of Scriptures in order to form a beautiful tapestry of His redeeming grace in Christ. It is not uncommon for theologians to refer to the meta-narrative,...
In approaching Easter, we come closer to the day in which many will pile into churches across the land, singing songs about Jesus being alive, and powerful accounts from the Gospels will loudly proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. It is a magnificent story, a...
The Destiny of the Unevangelized and the Nature of Hell In order to explicate the destiny of the unevangelized, one must ascertain a biblical exegesis of the term “unevangelized” to determine if it is within the bounds of scriptural exposition. Psalm 19:1 declares...
INTRODUCTION The issue of justification has had a lasting influence on the Christian understanding of the topic of salvation and its relationship to eternal security. Biblical scholars have developed numerous stances on this theological understanding often...
Over the month of June, we have posted many articles here at Servants of Grace as part of a series on the Deity of Christ. The purpose of this series is to help Christians think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. This...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
I had to learn the hard way. Isn’t that sometimes the best way though? I remember as a child learning the importance of prayer. Bowing your head, folding your hands, and closing your eyes were all key elements. My friends and I made a game out of the process,...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Nick wrote on the...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Dave wrote on seeing but not believing. Today Nick writes...
Editor's note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers think through what the deity of Christ and it's importance to the Christian faith. Dave opened our series by looking at Jesus the Divine Word. Today Dave writes on seeing but not believing....
Augustine once wrote, “Thou wouldst perhaps be ashamed to imitate a lowly man; then at least imitate the lowly God. The Son of God came in the character of man and was made low…He, since He was God, became man; do thou, O man, recognize that thou art man? Thy...
The Christian never graduates from the Gospel. It is the very “grace of God in truth” that serves as the foundation for our new life in Christ. Therefore, we should remember, rehearse, and recite the Gospel regularly. Here are Nine Bible passages on the Gospel that...
Over the month of March, we considered the topic of sin here at Servants of Grace. As we’ve looked at this topic, I’ve received a number of email’s and responses to this series in particular on how helpful it was. I appreciate those comments. We aim with each...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. David Dunham opened our series on sin with a look at sin...
Editors note: The purpose of this series is to help our readers understand what sin is, how serious sin is, and how great the grace of God, who offers redemption to sinners from sin and new life in Christ. Today David Dunham opens our series on sin with a look at...
We’ve thus far defined the gospel, talked about its cosmic implications, and last time showed one practical way in which the gospel affects our relationships. I have argued that the gospel is more than just good news—and certainly nothing less—as well as it...
Last time we looked at the “big picture” implication of the gospel message. And it would be appropriate to clarify that yes, it is a message, but it is also more than that. It is a message that has cosmic implications because it deals with the spiritual and natural...
Yesterday we explored the definition of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. There are many other passages we could look to in order to understand the gospel, not the least of course, are Jesus’ first words in Mark’s Gospel narrative, “The time is fulfilled, and the...
If there’s something I’ve learned about faith, Jesus and Christianity it is this: the gospel is something we need every second of every day. As I open up the Scriptures and study the life of Jesus and the theology of the New Testament, I conclude that we are all on...
Over the month of December, we have posted many articles here at Servants of Grace as part of a series on the person and work of Christ. The purpose of this series is to help our readers this holiday season to think through the doctrine of the person and work of...
This article is part 6 in a series titled Jesus, the Truer and Greater Moses. You can go back and read the introduction, along with our articles describing how Jesus is the greater prophet, the great law-fulfiller, the greater mediator, and the greater deliverer....
This article is part 5 in a series titled Jesus, the Truer and Greater Moses, in which we look at how the life and ministry of Moses is but a shadow of Jesus Christ. You can read part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. Exodus 1. Here’s the scene: Israel’s prominence...
This article is part 4 in a series titled Jesus, the Truer and Greater Moses, in which we look at how the life and ministry of Moses is but a shadow of Jesus Christ. You can read part 1, part 2, and part 3. Moses not only spoke only behalf of God to His people, he...
This article is part 3 in a series titled Jesus, the Truer and Greater Moses, in which we look at how the life and ministry of Moses is but a shadow of Jesus Christ. You can read part 1 and part 2. As a prophet of God, Moses spoke God’s words to God’s people. He...
This article is part 2 in a series titled Jesus, the Truer and Greater Moses, in which we look at how the life and ministry of Moses is but a shadow of Jesus Christ. You can read part 1 here. When you consider the question, “Who was Moses?”, what is the first word...
In this article, we introduce a new blog series called Jesus, the Truer and Greater Moses. Some people treat the Old Testament and New Testament as the Bible before Jesus and the Bible after Jesus, respectively. But to say this is to miss the point of the whole...
Editors note: This is a brand new series on the Gospel designed to help our readers think through what the Gospel is and what it demands. The first post in this series was by Chris Poblete who wrote on the Triune Work of Salvation. The second post in this series...
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matt 20.28 “…serving God as a grateful response to the gospel is the calling of every Christian.” Nate Palmer Gospel service comes in two parts. First, in gospel...
Introduction Psalm 32 is often classified by scholars as a thanksgiving hymn, one in which worshipers give thanks to God for the joy of having their sins forgiven. Due to the phrase “when I kept silent” found in verse 3, it has been common to connect this Psalm to...
Introduction The result of God’s just wrath being satisfied is reconciliation (katallaso, katallage). We do not reconcile ourselves to God; God reconciles Himself to us and us to Him. Paul especially emphasizes this point in Romans 5. Romans 5:7-11 says, “For one...
Many evangelical churches truncate the gospel. They focus primarily on the benefits of the gospel for us. They explore the depths of our salvation, but rarely talk about Creation, Fall, or Consummation. Salvation is a crucial act in the gospel story as we explored...
What are we saying when we gather to worship on Easter Sunday? We are actually saying something radical, are we not? We’re saying that an itinerant rabbi who lived 2,000 years ago in a backwater town in the Middle East is actually God. But we’re saying more than...
I am so very thankful for the recent resurgence among the “Young, Restless, and Reformed”—as Collin Hanson with the Gospel Coalition would call it—who preach the gospel and it’s core doctrine of justification by faith alone week by week. Sadly, the American church...
Jesus Expiate That In our home in Tulsa we had an oubliette in the garage. Oubliette is French for “a place of forgetting”. Whenever something broke, I would stick it in that corner and leave it. Sometimes this would be for weeks, months, or even a year. I loved...
The impu-what? I hope I didn’t lose you already! You may be thinking, “Seriously? Is this a theology lesson?” I recall in my undergrad studies, literally hating theology—I remember telling my wife how “dumb” it was. Little did I know I would receive a dual Masters,...
I couldn’t contain my emotion… joy bubbled up and over, each tear singing hallelujah for what God had done - my son Gavin was born! Even now the memory of his birth stirs me deeply. Perhaps you can relate. Each of us experiences a wide range of emotions as we move...
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) WHAT IS SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT? The cross of Jesus is where the substitutionary atonement happened. On the cross, Jesus...
“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34) Jesus Christ, the God-Man, committed the most scandalously humble act in human history: He made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born as a man who was...
A study put together using notes from the classic Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you...
Introduction Criticism can either be helpful or unhelpful. Criticism is unhelpful when it aims to attack the person and belittle them. Criticism is helpful when it aims to help the person grow to be like Jesus. In today’s post from Luke 23:6-12, we will...
God uses ordinary people in exordinary ways for His glory. At first it may seem that that statement isn’t quite right and you may not believe it. After all aren’t only “super Christians” used by God?” You may be thinking, “I’m just a lay person what can God do with...
The whole work of salvation for sinners is a uniquely Trinitarian work. Consider the following passages: The Father ordains the work of salvation Salvation was His Plan. John 17:1-7, "When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,...
This is the second part in a blog series on why God came as man. You can go back to read part 1 or part 2. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be...
This is the second part in a blog series on why God came as man. You can read part 1 here. Is the doctrine of the atonement central to the Scriptures? Why must Jesus, the God-Man, be the one to provide salvation?In the Institutes of the Christian Religion, John...
The doctrine of the Incarnation is important to Christianity. It reminds us that Jesus is both God and man. And this is important because it’s impossible to talk meaningfully about who Jesus is without talking about who He was and what He did. Around the turn of...
What are we saying when we gather to worship on Easter Sunday? We are actually saying something radical, are we not? We’re saying that an itinerant rabbi who lived 2,000 years ago in a backwater town in the Middle East is actually God. But we’re saying more than...
I am so very thankful for the recent resurgence among the “Young, Restless, and Reformed”—as Collin Hanson with The Gospel Coalition would call it—who preach the gospel and it’s core doctrine of justification by faith alone week by week. Sadly, this is not the case...
If you're embarrassed by God's wrath, then you're embarrassed by God's holy character; and you're practicing arrogant disbelief. -D. A. Carson
"The Wrath of God Enhances Our Grasp of God's Love; It Does Not Diminish It." -D.A. Carson
The Bible speaks of the love of God in five distinguishable ways. If you over or under emphasize one of these ways, you distort the love of God.