Biblical Exposition

It should go without saying that preaching, praying and the progress of God’s kingdom through the gospel are inseparably bound up with each other. Jesus taught his people to pray, ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done’ and made it clear that all believers are all involved in the answer to this...

While Calvin’s life certainly did leave ministers a worthy example, we will consider now the second matter of whether his method of preaching was likewise exemplary. It is perfectly possible for a man to be marked by great measures of grace in his life and yet to be woefully lacking in his ability...

Throughout history, people have been fascinated by angels, those mysterious beings who pop up in Scripture at important times. Around the Christmas story, there are lots of angels. They worship God the Trinity. They serve at God’s bidding. They never sit in God’s presence. They never share God’s...

Eight years-ago this month a friend gave me a copy of N.T. Wright’s new book, Justification: God’s Plan...

In this quincentennial year, marking Martin Luther’s memorable act of defiance in Wittenberg, much has been said regarding his famous dictum about ‘the Word doing its work’. Far from attributing the impact and success of the Reformation on his own natural abilities or dogged persistence, he humbly...

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of union (Rom 6:3-5) and communion (1Cor. 10:16) with Christ. As a result, they signify union (1Cor. 12:13) and communion among believers as members of Christ’s spiritual body (1Cor. 10:17). Yet these symbols of unity have often become points of deep division...

In 1 Peter 2:9, the Bible teaches that the church is a “royal priesthood”. The background from this passage is a quote from Exodus 19:6 where God gave the nation of Israel the same call: Exodus 19:6 “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall...

There is an episode from Luther’s life in which he played a prominent role. It is not a story with a happy ending, but we should be familiar with the Marburg Colloquy because it holds important lessons for the Reformed community today. In the middle of the 1520s, key Protestants desired a political...

I don’t know about you, but I find it interesting that Hebrews 13 ends with an encouragement to obey and submit to the elders of the congregation. In fact, leaders are mentioned three times from v. 7 to the end of the chapter. Now, we’re not told why it ends this way but one certainly wonders. And...

For the proper functioning of the church, God has established the offices of elder and deacon. Elders have the function of overseeing the church, proclaiming the Word, and shepherding the flock. While all elders must be able to teach (1 Tim. 3:2), it seems that in 1 Tim. 5:17 the early church...