Category: Gospel
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psalm 22 (3)… suffering physical and social
12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is…
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ot believers… regenerate… roms 7
One of the difficult questions to answer is the status and experience of OT believers. This post does not pretend to answer this question but I hope it points to fruitful fields of inquiry. Old Testament believers were justified by faith (Roms 4: Gen 15:6). Abraham’s faith=justification serves as the template for all future justification…
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redemption in christ jesus
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,…
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isaiah 55… attention all who thirst’
Which of us has not heard a gospel appeal based on Isaiah 55. Those of us of a certain vintage and background have certainly. And the preacher was not misguided for this chapter is just that – a gospel invitation from the Lord. It is the Lord who appeals. While the whole of the OT…
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isaiah’s suffering servant… the fourth song 52:13-53:13 (1)
An introduction We have reached the fourth and final servant song. (at least those where he is designated servant). We have previously noticed the ambiguity of the servant in Isaiah. It is clear that Israel, the nation, is God’s servant, his chosen one (41:8-10). Yet Israel is a disobedient servant, a rebellious servant, blind and…
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the bible’s big story
Below is an attempt to summarise the Bible’s ‘Big Story’ in a few paragraphs. Among the many waypoints it is difficult to know which to include and which to miss out. My summary will not satisfy everyone (it doesn’t really satisfy me). Perhaps you may find it useful to write your own summary. As a…
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unto us a child is born…
I don’t know about you but there are times I see the world as an increasingly hostile and threatening place. It can be threatening to non-Christians and is so for many in some deeply troubled places in the world. For Christians it is threatening too for it is at heart hostile to God. This has…
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what is the gospel?
What is the gospel? Perhaps one of the best known (at least it once was) and most succinct summaries is a verse from the fourth gospel, the gospel of John; John chapter 3 and verse 16. It says this. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in…
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a story greater than star wars is here
Films vie for a Christmas slot, especially ‘feel good’ family orientated ones. The new Disney Star Wars film will no doubt win this years accolades. I know little about it but it will almost certainly involve the triumph of good over evil, the hero over adversity. Whatever its merits, whatever its heroics, it will be…
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mark 8 and 9… an overview (1)
Recently I had occasion to look a little at Mark’s gospel. This post and the following have arisen from so doing. mark 8 For me, a constant marvel and one more evidence of inspiration is the subtlety of the gospel record. The gospels, of course, can be read by a newcomer and their main message…
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romans 8:1-4 the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in us
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own…
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i am crucified with christ (2)… dead to law
If we are dead and our life is hid with Christ in God we will discover that this death is not simply to sin. Our death, in Christ, has even farther-reaching implications. We have died not only to sin but to every power and authority that would seek to control us in a fallen world. …
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I am crucified with christ (1),,, dead to sin
Recently, I was asked to speak on the implications of the cross in the life of the believer. The following three posts are simply my presentation on this topic. I hope they will prove useful. Please excuse the less literary and more oral nature of the post. The Living Cross We are gospel people. And…
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the glory of the cross
Est 6:6 (ESV) … the king said… , “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honour?” The story is set in Susa, the Persian capital, during the reign of King Ahasuerus, better known by his Greek name, Xerxes I (486–464 b.c.). Some Jews had returned to Jerusalem, where they enjoyed a…
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the righteousness of god in the gospel (2)
Our previous post argued that when Paul speaks of ‘the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel’ (Roms 1:17) he means precisely that; in the gospel God reveals himself acting righteously, that is, acting consistently with all he is in himself (Roms 3:21-26). Among the ways God reveals himself acting righteously is in declaring righteous those…
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the righteousness of god in the gospel (1)
This is the first of an intermittent series of posts that reflect on aspects of what is involved in the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel. The subject of God’s righteousness is large and has been the focus of fierce debate in recent years. These short posts can only hope to be snapshots of…
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getting the facts right
All too often I hear whispers that I and others who share the same basic gospel I do are simply right-wing evangelicals. In the jargon of my ecclesiastical circles, I am ‘tight… narrow-minded… strict…’ not to mention other other less savoury labels. In fact, it is of little moment to me how I am categorized…
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celebrating the son-rise
(A guest blog by Jim Gamble.) It was good to celebrate and proclaim the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday. Some argue that it doesn`t really matter whether Jesus was physically resurrected or not and others deny the resurrection altogether, they see it as mere myth or legend. This sort of…
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the samaritan, the law, and grace
We are all, I guess, familiar with the parable of ‘the good Samaritan’. If we were asked its point we would probably say it illustrates ‘neighbourliness’. And we would be right. Jesus says as much in his punchline question. Here is Luke’s record of the parable. Luke 10:25-37 (ESV) And behold, a lawyer stood up…
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works of law and works of grace
In a recent blog I argued that Christianity is all grace. The OT Law, by contrast, was a covenant of works. It did not function on the premise of grace or faith but human achieving. Paul makes this crystal clear in Galatians. Gal 3:10-14 (ESV) For all who rely on works of the law are…
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the church and fellowship after the apostolic age (2) the apostasy of the church from grace
My contention is that the apostasy of the Christian Church, already underway before the demise of the apostles, led to the Judaizing of the church – a tendency already present during the lives of the apostles. The NT church was plagued by both Jewish (Judaistic) and gentile (Greco-Roman) notions from early days. Many of the…
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on why the reformation is not over
Since recently it was ‘Reformation Day’, Michael Jensen of Moore Theological College has 20 theses why ‘The Reformation is NOT over’. He writes: Whereas: – 1. Continued division between Christians who hold to the orthodox faith is deplorable and regrettable and we should work to heal it; 2. Insisting on division based on mere prejudice…
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the obedient life of christ was not vicarious
I know we should not use the weakest expression of a position to criticise it. I know it is easy to knock straw men. The following example is both. However, it is a view that I hear echoed regularly online; it may be a weak expression of a belief but it is certainly a prevalent…
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only the gracious, know grace
Have you noticed how those who agitate and protest most loudly for a gospel of grace are often the least gracious of persons? Preach grace, they say, I must have grace, the gospel is grace. Yet they show little of this grace in their treatment of others. They are quick to mock and quick…
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the love of law and the love of grace
The Law of Moses demanded love. Love was a fulfilling of the law. And so, we are told this love which the law demanded is the love which as Christians we should reflect. But is this so? It is true that the heart of the commandment was love for God and neighbour. And it is…
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the justification/sanctification debate and a biblical voice
I have been following the debate over at the Gospel Coalition Website on the relationship between justification and sanctification. At the heart lies the place of the law in the Christian life. This link (here) should get you started if you are interested. There is a lot of confusion in some Reformed and Reformed/Lutheran quarters…
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preaching postmortem salvation is neither legitimate nor loving
A number on the evangelical left (for evangelical left read neo-liberals) are intent on foisting some version of universalism (that all will ultimately be saved) or quasi-universalism on the evangelical community. Unfortunately, among many they are likely to find an open ear for not only do many have a woefully inadequate basic knowledge of what…
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christianity explored
‘Christianity Explored’ has opened a new website, ‘designed specifically for anyone investigating the Christian faith… The idea is for this site to be a welcoming, unpressured and jargon-free place for people to explore the Christian faith. It is packed with answers to tough questions as well as some wonderfully engaging real-life stories of people who…
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gospel freedom
“The gospel doesn’t just free you from what other people think about you, it frees you from what you think about yourself.” Justin Buzzard
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what is the gospel
It’s hard to make a concise summary of the Gospel that is not reductionistic. Here is D A Carson’s definition. ‘… the gospel is integrally tied to the Bible’s story-line. Indeed, it is incomprehensible without understanding that story-line. God is the sovereign, transcendent and personal God who has made the universe, including us, his image-bearers.…
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romans, and the righteousness of god (2)
Rom 1:16-17 (ESV) I am not ashamed of the gospel… for in it the righteousness of God is revealed… A world that is right is what is needed. Creation groans eager to birth a world right in every way, a new world suffused with righteousness where righteousness is the plumb-line (Isa 28:17), flows like the…
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the potter’s wheel
Joe Munro is an eighty-eight year old member of my local church. He continues to be active in the Lord’s service embracing new technologies in so doing. Whose faith follow.
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law love and gospel love – what’s the difference?
Sometimes we are told that legal love (the love that the Law demanded) is the same as gospel love (the love that the gospel supplies). Is this the case? I don’t believe it is. Legal love or law love is founded on the demands of a relationship; I must love the Lord my God and…
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romans, and the righteousness of god (1)
Righteousness gets a bad press in life. In fact, it is a word rarely used today (we may speak of justice, or right, but not righteousness). If used or conceptualised it tends to suggest ideas of a moral uprightness devoid of love. We connect it with assumed moral superiority; righteousness for us means self-righteousness. Even…
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imputed active obedience (IAO), a must or a misdirection? (12)
The intention of the last couple of posts (here and here) on this topic has been to demonstrate that the Bible does not support the reformed construct of IAO. We have seen that the OT knows nothing of a law-keeping life lived on behalf of another. In the OT, when the law is broken only…
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Tullian Tchividjian and a healthy gospel focus
Tullian-T has another excellent post on making the gospel our focus. Though, I think he slightly overstates his case, his emphasis is nevertheless important. Too many spend too much time looking in examining their navel when they should be looking out exulting in their Lord.
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horton, hood, turk… law and gospel
Some of you may have been following the online debate involving Michael Horton, Jason Hood, Frank Turk and others. It is a debate about the relative weighting of indicatives and imperatives. Some concerned that the gospel is being turned into mere moralism (calls for holy living), a legitimate concern, stress vehemently the ‘done’ aspect of…
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gospel and legal mortification of sin
Tullian Tchividjian has what is overall an excellent blog on the difference between legal and gospel putting to death of sin. Here and there I am inclined to disagree (particularly on #4 and Roms 7) but there is so much that is good here that I recommend it to you.
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imputed active obedience (IAO), a must or a misdirection? (11)
I return after a few weeks gap to the topic of IAO. NT Wright has a gripe with conservative evangelicals (among whom I firmly place myself). His gripe is that too often we approach theology through thought categories of the C16,17 reformation rather than through those of the Bible. Now I don’t always agree with…
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the gospel according to david wells
David Wells’ on the gospel needs to be heard and heeded. TT: How can the church maintain an effective witness as we move into a decidedly post-Christian era in the West? DW: We need a little perspective here. Our situation in the U.S.A., relative to Christians elsewhere, is not unusually difficult. It is true that we…
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call his name jesus…
“… for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus means ‘Yahweh the Saviour’. Israel needed a Saviour – not from Rome but from her own rebellious heart. She, like all of us, needed saved, from her ‘sins’. Yahweh had always promised that he would be her Saviour. Indeed, he was her only…
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where are you adam?
When God asked Adam in the garden where he was, it was not because he, God, did not know, but because Adam did not know? It is the first question in the Torah, the shortest question in the Torah (in Hebrew apparently only one word), and probably the most penetrating question in the Torah. Adam…
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you and the gospel
The gospel teaches us the proper way to think of self. The gospel may be summed up like this: ‘It is not about you but it is for you.’ In other words the gospel appropriately deals with ‘self’. The gospel meets the needs of the legitimate self but puts to death the sinful self that…
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following the star and finding the king
Isa 60:1-22 (ESV) Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and…
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do this and live
The Law, that is, the Sinai Covenant, in the words of the NT, is ‘not of faith’ (Gals 3:11). God’s covenant with Abraham relied on God’s promise for its fulfilment received simply by faith (Gals 3:17-19, 22). Law, by contrast, depends on human ‘works’. It is a covenant of works and so Paul speaks regularly…
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the gospel according to secular humanism
The Christian Gospel brings two great blessings from God into the world. It brings life and light. To a world dead in sin Jesus comes as the one who has ‘life in himself’. Those who believe in him are born again (Jn 3). To a world living in moral and spiritual darkness Jesus comes as…
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imputed active obedience (IAO), a must or a misdirection? (10)
The Bible and IAO. My intention in the next few posts is to demonstrate that the Bible locates justification in the infinitely valuable death of Christ and his subsequent resurrection without reference to IAO. Indeed, I hope to show that IAO is not only absent but does not fit as presented into the biblical contours…
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imputed active obedience (IAO), a must or a misdirection? (9)
In previous posts I tried to demonstrate that it is mistaken to claim that IAO is to evangelical orthodoxy. In the next few posts I shall contend that IAO is inadequate biblically; the case is biblically wanting. But first, a recap. Let’s remind ourselves of the basic position of those who argue for IAO. They…
Cave Adullam 