biblical doctrine

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” – James 1:17 The truth of God’s immutable nature, a truth stated plainly by James near the beginning of his epistle, is foundational to the entirety of the...

High school students love biology class for one simple reason. They get to dissect frogs, worms and other once living things. In addition to grossing out their weak stomached classmates they also learn a thing or two. They learn things not otherwise gleaned if the subject of dissection were still...

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Romans 8:7-8 We continue now in our meditation upon Romans 8, and we’ve been exploring Paul’s understanding of how there are essentially...

Many years ago I was listening to Christian radio. It was in the early 90s and there was a lot of talk about self-esteem. In fact, if you were raised in the 80s and 90s you probably remember the government, media, books and lingo associated with the self-esteem craze. Maybe you were small enough to...

What moves you to sing? Is it the clock that signals the end of a long work day, the child that wants you to sing to them before bed, the celebration of a milestone in life, or the spouse you hold so dear? All of these are good reasons to sing, but Scripture gives us a better reason. In Psalm 19 we...

God reveals Himself not as “Mother,” but “Father,” and so fatherhood is foundational [1] as is maintaining Biblical gender designs during the annual Gay Pride Month this June. While prototypical man and woman were in many ways the same, they also were given sex distinctions so that they could fit...

Calls to Worship, Invocations, and Benedictions Pastors and worship leaders recognize the significance of every liturgical element in the organization of a worship service. Today’s guest offers both a guide to Scripture-filled worship and some historical background on the use of these all-important...

The Law, though written on tablets of stone, is still able to condemningly penetrate into the depths of our hearts, and the last Commandment leaves us all with our “mouths stopped”, as Paul argues (Romans 3:19), that in our own strength we are unable to love the Lord our God with all our heart...

At face value, the 9 th commandment could be read as merely a prohibition against committing perjury or lying under oath. However, this commandment encompasses so much more. According to both the Westminster Shorter and the Baptist catechisms, “The ninth commandment requires the maintaining and...

The Works of God and the Fall of Man Dutch theologian Petrus van Mastricht ministered in a time much like our own. Emerging scientific methods, the politics of the day, and other 16 th century issues were bringing into question accepted beliefs concerning the origins of the created order and sin...