Christ Came To Save Sinners

I've been working my way through Walter Marshall's The Gospel Mystery Of Sanctification recently. Thus far it has been a fantastic book, one in which I will likely find myself reading again (and again). Marshall has been paving a road between those who would add works to faith and those who seem to have a total disregard for the works of faith, and he does so through the lens of our union to Christ. It would take a better man than me to do justice in summarizing this book, but tonight's reading brought back a simple truth of the gospel to the forefront of my mind: Christ came to save sinners.

From Genesis To Revelation

At my church we're going through a book called Sacred Bond in our adult Sunday school class. It's a brief introduction to covenant theology, and a very helpful resource thus for. It is a very accessible book for the person who is new to covenant theology, or the uninitiated layperson. Concepts are simple and well explained, and it is quite pleasant to read. I read a lot of theology for fun, but I find myself really enjoying getting back to the basics. This was very true when we went through the chapter on the Covenant of Grace.

The Temple Of God Is Union With Christ

Exodus 32-34 is an infamous chapter in Israel's history. As Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the law from the finger of God, the congregation returned to the idolatry of Egypt and created a golden calf to worship. As Moses descended from Sinai, a great confrontation began between God and his people. It is from this confrontation that Moses, who was afraid to speak before Pharaoh, stands boldly before God and intercedes for the congregation. There are many things that can be developed from this narrative, but I want to focus specifically on how, in this conflict, we see the nature of the relationship between God and his people.

Never Forget The Gospel

Today is September 11th. Today many will post pictures of the twin towers, many will recall what they were doing during the attack, and many will reaffirm that they are ever-vigilant and will never forget that around 3000 Americans died that day. Anyone reading this blog likely knows my politics, so I am not going to hash out my views of foreign policy or our country's role in the middle east. I am not going to comment on our relationship to Islam, or anything really pertaining to American current events. That being said, I am going to think about that phrase: "never forget".

Who Will Save Us?

This last Lord's Day, I was visiting a friend's church. His sermon was on 1 Samuel 13. The theme of the sermon was "Who will save us?" Saul had just been called by the people and installed as king over Israel after the people rejected God as their king and demanded a king like the nations. Saul was the picture of a good king, from worldly standards, but as we saw in the text, his pomp and pride were his undoing. After one victory, he declared his superiority by blowing a horn to signal victory. This incited the Philistines, his enemy, to gather a crushing army and, in fear, the majority of Saul's army fled and hid. The ones who remained by his side trembled, unarmed and afraid. His next misstep was that instead of waiting until Samuel was there to offer a sacrifice and give him the word of the Lord, as he was commanded, he waited until the appointed time and then took the offering of a sacrifice upon himself. When confronted with his sin, he blamed the people, the Philistines, Samuel, and ultimately God for forcing him to sin. As the chapter ends, you are left with a scene where Saul and his son Jonathan are standing with 600 unarmed men (with make-shift weapons) against well over 30,000 Philistines who were marching toward them for battle. Will Saul save the people?