Posts by Jeffrey Stivason

  1. Posts by
  2. Posts by

Posts by

Blogging Through the Golden Book: Using the Present Life

Jeffrey Stivason
May 8, 2021
In the last section of the golden book Calvin asks how the present life and its comfort should be used by the Christian. The question of use invites us to think about fit. In other words, says Calvin, we must let the use of God’s gifts “be governed by their author’s purpose.” [1] Imagine a group of...

One Another Texts: Sing

Jeffrey Stivason
Apr 8, 2021
A beautiful singing voice is amazing. But then again the whole notion of music can be unfathomable. Maybe you think that is an overstatement or editorial license. But think about it. How can some people with aphasia, a communication disorder, sing with fluency? We see the same phenomenon with those...

Notifying Lazarus

Jeffrey Stivason
Mar 18, 2021
The raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11 always elicits memories of what older preachers have said as they thundered through the text. I’m not sure who said it but someone somewhere once said, “Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb by name lest all the dead arise!” And I can imagine George...

Healing the Nobleman's Son

Jeffrey Stivason
Mar 1, 2021
Many years ago my wife and I participated in a very large scavenger hunt. We had tremendous fun and wasted a lot of gas! But imagine a humorous scenario. Picture one of our colleagues finding a clue and instead of using it to press on to find the next clue he became enamored with the current clue...

The Signs of John

Jeffrey Stivason
Feb 24, 2021
Disciplines and vocations have access points. When you enter college as an economics major you start with Economics 101. When you begin an exercise program for the first time you hire a trainer or as an experienced friend for help. You may even read a basic book on nutrition. Why? Because you are...

Warfield: 100 Years Later

Jeffrey Stivason
Feb 22, 2021
On December 24, 1920 Benjamin B. Warfield fell ill after being struck with angina pectoris. He died on February 16, 1921. Why should we pause this week to remember a Princeton theologian who has been with the Lord for one hundred years? Perhaps Isaac Newton’s reason is enough, “If I have seen...

The Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

Jeffrey Stivason
Feb 15, 2021
Goodness is a word that can obviously mean upright. Think of the oft used comparison between good and evil. But the word can also point up the benefit or qualities possessed by another. We might say something like, “The teachers are good here.” Of course, by that we mean that the teachers are the...

Rethinking Rethinking Incarceration

Jeffrey Stivason
Feb 11, 2021
The dangers facing the church today are subtle. They are like those facing the family. Imagine a young man sits his parents down at the kitchen table for a talk. He then outs himself as gay or perhaps transgendered. The danger facing that family at that moment is very real. Traditionally they have...

The Fruit of the Spirit: An Introduction

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 20, 2021
What Metaphor? The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians five brings to mind images of an orchard. It’s a serene and beautiful scene. However, the more I look at the text of Galatians I start to think that the orchard metaphor may be a more pleasing one but not entirely consistent with what we find in...

The Deadly Sins of Proverbs 6:16-19: Hands that Kill

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 8, 2021
Perhaps you have noticed by now that Proverbs 6:16-19 is not simply a list of ills that God hates though it most certainly is that. But it is more. On the surface of this list is an explanation. God is not only telling us the things He hates but why He hates them. Have you noticed what is included...

A Walk of Deliberation: Ephesians 5:15-20

Jeffrey Stivason
Dec 30, 2020
As we come to the end of our series on walking in the book of Ephesians it is appropriate that Paul would urge believers to walk carefully. [1] The adverb “carefully” has the idea of walking deliberately. I can just imagine a young person carelessly trundling along only to hear his mother bark out...

Good News of Great Joy

Jeffrey Stivason
Dec 25, 2020
When I was in college I took a class on various religious traditions. My class visited a Jewish synagogue and while there the priest said this in response to a question asked of him that I no longer remember, “You Christians claim to have Jesus but we Jews have something better. We have the law.” I...

Jeremiah, Christ & Forgiveness

Jeffrey Stivason
Dec 16, 2020
The holidays are a wonderful time of year. However, for some they are a time of guilt. The season reminds them of things they said and did or did not say or do and those thoughts bring guilty. Strikingly, man is able to pull the galaxies close through a telescope and a microscope can enlarge a...

Communicable Attributes: God is Holy

Jeffrey Stivason
Dec 7, 2020
When I was a young teen trying to get comfortable in my own skin words were a commodity that could make or break you. Utter one wrong word and social standing could be tenuous. The best you could do was hope that people had short memories and so never bring up your words again. Today things are...

Liar Liar

Jeffrey Stivason
Nov 7, 2020
Several years ago I sat across from someone who lied to me. At the time I would have called him a friend. He certainly was no friend. However, in the moment he lied to me I had one up on him. I knew the very story he was attempting to falsify. I knew that every word dribbling off of his tongue was...

The Psalms: A Mentor to Our Spiritual Experience

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 21, 2020
How do we think about the Old Testament saint’s believing experience in relation to our own? Perhaps we think better of them than we do of ourselves! Or maybe we use them as an excuse for our bad behavior. For instance, how many times has David’s name been invoked as an excuse for unfaithfulness?...

Persecution: Lessons from Pliny, Newsom and Lightfoot

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 12, 2020
Paul once commented to Timothy, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” [1] This text tends to make the typical American Christian uncomfortable. They immediately compare their experience to that of the underground church in China or something similar. Yet...

Stand in the Day of Trouble

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 6, 2020
When Freud arrived in America to give five lectures at Clark University he is said to have quipped, “We are bringing them the plague.” He knew of what he was speaking. He wrote to a colleague referring to his invitation to Clark University saying, “By the way, we could soon be ‘up [expletive] creek...

Sanctification: The Spirit's Influence

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 3, 2020
One afternoon a group of bored boys decided to bother an old man working in his yard. After causing the man a little trouble they moved on. However, the town wherein they lived was a small one and so having recognized one of the boys the old man called on the father of that particular boy. When the...

The Resurrection: Motivation for Holiness

Jeffrey Stivason
Jul 22, 2020
Motivation is what moves us to do something. For some, the reason for being at the gym is the ten or twenty pounds they need to lose. Some study for grades. Some study to get beyond the poverty in which they grew up. Motivation is the thing that moves us. So let me ask you a question. What...

Brothers, It's Time to Wake Up

Jeffrey Stivason
Jul 4, 2020
I am a pastor in Pennsylvania. And I appreciate my brothers who are laboring hard to understand how to handle the governor’s guidelines. As an aside, guidelines are almost a euphemism for dictatorial power. On March 6 th Governor Wolf declared a state of emergency and placed himself in charge of...

What Would Martin Luther King, Jr. Think of Black Lives Matter?

Jeffrey Stivason
Jun 25, 2020
What would Martin Luther King, Jr. think of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the violence it has spawned? What would he think of the death of Horace Lorenzo Anderson in CHOP? [1] What would he think about the shooting in Chicago that claimed the life of Mekhi James, a three year old boy? [2] What would...

The Gospel Matters

Jeffrey Stivason
Jun 17, 2020
Let me begin with an affirmation. The Gospel Matters. Some will immediately accuse me of being antagonistic. After all, Stan Wischnowski ran a headline that read “Buildings Matter” and he found himself without a job. [1] But I am not an antagonist. I am a minister of the Gospel. Others will ask, “...

Gospel Unity or Black Lives Matter

Jeffrey Stivason
Jun 13, 2020
As a pastor, I am for unity. It is part and parcel of the fabric of what it means to be a Christian. I am united to Christ by virtue of the Spirit of unity indwelling me. The Apostle Paul clearly enjoins every believer to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bound of peace. There is...

A Contrast in Growth

Jeffrey Stivason
Jun 12, 2020
Everybody loves the Joseph story. Chapters thirty-seven through fifty with the minor exception of chapter thirty-eight seem to be all about Joseph. And that is exactly why we have to remind ourselves that the story is not Joseph’s but Jacob’s story. Genesis 37:2 reminds us that these are the...

Justification and the Old Perspective

Jeffrey Stivason
May 13, 2020
Charles Spurgeon’s famous quip goes something like this, “I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus.” We might say something similar about justification. We may describe it...

Justification and the New Perspective

Jeffrey Stivason
May 4, 2020
The New Perspective now feels old. Or to say it differently, it has gained stability in the academy and in the church. Tom Wright, its leading salesperson, is as intelligent as he is winsome. He also has the instincts of a pastor. Hence the Everyone’s Commentary, which has quickly become a staple...

Justification: A New Series

Jeffrey Stivason
Apr 15, 2020
Justification has been described in various ways by Reformers we respect and admire. Luther spoke of it as the foundation of the church and Calvin said it was the main hinge on which religion turned. However, we say it the doctrine is central. What is more, it’s as beautiful as it is ministerial...

The Ordo Salutis: Union with Christ

Jeffrey Stivason
Mar 14, 2020
I indicated in the introduction to this series that there was an ordo docendi to the ordo salutis . My comment had the placement of union with Christ in mind. Where does it belong? Do we place it at the end of the list of benefits as John Murray did in his understandably famous Redemption...

The Ordo Salutis: Introduction

Jeffrey Stivason
Mar 4, 2020
Today Theology for Everyone begins a new series. It is a familiar topic. However, it is one that needs to be set within a context. We are going to explore the ordo salutis or the order of salvation. For those not familiar with the expression it primarily deals with the application of the gospel to...

Humiliation & Exaltation: Christ's Second Coming

Jeffrey Stivason
Feb 26, 2020
One of my favorite Peanuts cartoons opens with Linus and lucy staring out the window. Rain is pouring down outside. Lucy, in a rare moment of weakness, confesses her fright to Linus. She is worried that if it continues to rain heavily the earth will flood! Linus calmly explains to his sister that...

Humiliation & Exaltation: Incarnation

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 31, 2020
Let’s start our series on the humiliation and exaltation of Christ from the beginning. Obviously, humiliation comes before exaltation and so we start our study with the former. But we can be even more specific. We are going to start with the incarnation. Now, I dare say that most Christians...

Estates, Conditions & a New Series

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 30, 2020
I am not a scientist nor the son of a scientist. Therefore, my understanding of and ability to explain a scientific concept is, to say the least, limited. So, here goes nothing! The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that an isolated system left to its own devices will move toward disorder. Take...

Greater Works than the Son?

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 25, 2020
Some Bible passages are perplexing. That may be an understatement. We wonder about some of them. Like unruly children who cannot be harnessed and corralled these passages too are hard to handle. When we have finished our daily chores and obligations we ponder them. Better than the illustration of...

The Spirit's Presence from the Old to the New Testament

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 21, 2020
There is an interesting view that circulates around the church about the Holy Spirit. It goes something like this. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit did not indwell anyone but only remained with people. However, in the New Testament the Spirit literally dove into His work. In other words, He...

Why the Virgin Born Son?

Jeffrey Stivason
Dec 23, 2019
Have you ever wondered why Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14? Perhaps the ready answer is that the quote substantiates the virgin conception and birth of Christ, which is true enough. However, the text raises a number of questions. For instance, why did God promise a virgin conceived and virgin born...

The Ten Commandments: The Fifth

Jeffrey Stivason
Nov 27, 2019
The Fifth Commandment is weighty. The finger of God inscribed it this way, “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” In the Westminster Larger Catechism, the commandments are typically explained by asking what the duties of a...

The Ten Commandments: Why the Law?

Jeffrey Stivason
Nov 11, 2019
According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, “The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof….neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation” (WCF, 19.5) Obviously, the Westminster Divines were not...

Sanctification and the Holy Spirit

Jeffrey Stivason
Oct 28, 2019
One afternoon a group of bored boys decided to bother an old man working in his yard. After causing the man a little trouble they moved on. However, the town wherein they lived was a small one and so having recognized one of the boys the old man called on the father of that particular boy. When the...

Sanctification: God's Will for You

Jeffrey Stivason
Oct 18, 2019
For Christians, there are proverbial perennial questions that are, well, perennial. Every May graduating Christians seek the will of God for where they will take further education. Every college student wonders who God has for them on campus. And after boy meets girl and both graduate they labor to...

Little Greek Gems: God with Us

Jeffrey Stivason
Sep 16, 2019
The opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel is, for some, like watching paint dry on a wall! Genealogies are not everyone’s thing. But this genealogy ought to be. It’s obviously the genealogy of Jesus. Yet, not so obvious is the Davidic background of the genealogy. David alone is mentioned five times!...

Little Greek Gems: To Bind or Beg?

Jeffrey Stivason
Sep 5, 2019
He surely saw him from the boat. The Lord watched the erratic and unstable demoniac who was as unruly as the storm he had recently silenced. The man’s appearance alone made him an imposing figure against the otherwise peaceful shores of the Garasenes. One can’t help but wonder if the disciples...

The One Book: The Pilgrim's Progress

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 24, 2019
I was once asked what I considered the best theology text. I took a breath and as I did the person reiterated, “ The best.” Their emphasis on the definite article reminded me that they wanted one and only one. It brought me up short as does the question before me. What one book has made a singular...

Unfailing Love for the Unnoticed

Jeffrey Stivason
Jul 24, 2019
The story of the man born blind in John 9 is well known. It’s one of those stories that take work to read because we have to disabuse ourselves of contemporary concern for those with disabilities. For example, there were no Seeing Eye dogs, Braille books or reading machines. This man was a beggar...

If I Could Preach Only One Sermon: Hebrews 10:19-25

Jeffrey Stivason
Jul 10, 2019
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to own a time machine? Who wouldn’t want to return as a spectator to the most significant moments in history? To witness bishop Leo face off with Attila the Hun outside the gates of Rome or Farel beseech Calvin to stay in Geneva or the Westminster Assembly debate...

Five Crucial Things for Sunday Morning

Jeffrey Stivason
Jun 15, 2019
I love to see families walking through the doors of the auditorium on Lord's Day morning. I see each of them as a living stone coming together to form a living temple in order to worship the living God. They were once like the dry bones of Ezekiel's vision scattered about in the valley of the...

Children & Church Membership

Jeffrey Stivason
Jun 7, 2019
A few weeks ago the session on which I serve was interviewing some young teenage girls for communicant membership in the church. When a child in the congregation I serve approaches me about making their profession of faith before the session I ask them two questions. First, I ask to hear their...

Seven Letters Seven Dangers: Speaking Truth

Jeffrey Stivason
May 31, 2019
Dear Theophilus, You have been so inquisitive. Your questions demonstrate your great desire to learn more of the faith. However, allow me in this last letter to speak to you about one of the greatest dangers facing the church today. You have been so zealous and sincere in your pursuit of the truth...

Seven Letters Seven Dangers: Christ-less Christianity

Jeffrey Stivason
May 28, 2019
Dear Theophilus, I find that the greatest danger facing the church today is Christ-less Christianity. I realize that this expression will raise your eyebrows and well it should for what is Christianity if not Christ? But if I leave it undefined you will ask what it means in your next letter! So,...

Seven Letters Seven Dangers

Jeffrey Stivason
May 8, 2019
Several weeks ago I sent my cadre of writers a question. I asked them, “If you could identify and warn your fellow believers about the greatest spiritual danger that they may face in life what would it be?” I was a little shocked at how fast they responded. The response was immediate, which told me...