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...
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...
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...
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,...