Theology for Everyone

Before I had come to truly embrace the doctrines of grace, I remember being incredibly hung up on the idea of the perseverance of the saints. I simply could not understand how it was remotely possible that a Christian could be saved and then would never need to fear losing their salvation. After...

The three uses of the law—restraining sin, convicting sinners, and guiding believers in holy living—reflect its multifaceted role in God’s moral order. While the third use promotes societal order and the second provides a blueprint for Christian living, it is the first use that acts as a catalyst...

Perhaps more than anything, we need to be heard by God. That is, we need divine favor. We need God to look upon us sinners favorably. The problem is, we’re sinners, and the God whose eyes are too pure to look well upon evil must look away from our defiled selves (Hab. 1:13). One of the of the...

In his book The Orthodox Church, the late Bishop Kallistos Ware, shared the story of a group of emissaries sent out by Prince Vladimir in search of “true religion.” They make their way through various kingdoms and religions all found unsatisfactory. Finally, they reach Constantinople and worship at...

One of the first sermon series I ever preached was on the life of Samson. I was new, at the time, to expository preaching, and I wanted to start with something manageable and familiar. Little did I know, a careful study of Judges 13-16 would radically alter my understanding of not just Samson, but...

It’s a plot fit for a Hallmark Christmas movie. A young widow follows her mother-in-law to a small town where she is considered an outcast. She catches the eye of a kind and wealthy bachelor, who makes a grand gesture to redeem her as his wife and gives her an inheritance and a son. Yet the well-...

Christ’s cry from the olive press in Gethsemane has a strikingly similar resonance to Job’s anguished complaint from the ash heap of Uz. The resemblances have led some commentators to identify Job as a “type” of Christ, a biblical figure that formally anticipates the coming of our Savior. While...

Josiah is introduced in 2 Kings 22 as the new king of Judah who is merely eight years old. As a young boy growing up in church, this story intrigued me. Later in elementary school in writing for an assignment asking what person in the Bible would I most like to spend one day with and what would we...

Two summers ago, I preached through the book of Jonah. It remains one of the biblical narratives that I identify with most personally. Like Jonah, I once ran from God’s call on my life. The story of Jonah is straightforward, but its depths are profound, particularly in how it points us to Jesus...

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 – During Christmas, I often find myself thinking about the miraculous nature of Jesus as the God-man. Early on in the Church, there were a number...