Grace

John Calvin, the great French Reformer who devoted most of his ministry to the church in Geneva, ranks amongst the most influential theologians of all time. His legacy to the church – and, indeed to the world – goes far beyond what many realise. But out of the many aspects of his legacy there is...

The transcendentals – goodness, beauty, and truth – they’re called the transcendentals because they are ubiquitous; they’re not merely parts and aspects of our reality, they are the moral-fabric that make up all of reality. Being as they are communicable attributes of our Creator God it stands to...

Among professing Christians in America, there is perhaps no word, and the reality to which it refers, more used and abused than grace . Space only allows us to glance at the subject, but understand this: There is an application of God’s grace that actually saves the people whom he chooses to save...

Kindness is one of God’s communicable attributes, those He shares with humans in some measure. We use the word often when we speak of a kind person or a kind gesture. THE SOURCE OF KINDNESS If we are called to emulate God’s character, we must go to the Teacher himself. We must be thoroughly...

Catharine Brown – Cherokee Missionary and Teacher When Catharine Brown arrived at the Brainerd School, the missionaries thought she wouldn’t last long. Beautiful and proud, she carried herself with gravity and reticence, as it was fitting for the daughter of an influential family. Would she be able...

Asaph, reflecting on some of his deepest struggles in the life of faith, concludes one ohis psalms by saying, ‘But as for me, it is good to be near God’ (Ps 73.28). David says something similar in the most memorable of his penitential psalms with the words, ‘Cast me not away from your presence and...

I remember hearing this question in a Bible study more than once, and this was the common answer: “Mercy is not getting what we deserve.” While it's short and pithy, is mercy as simplistic as that? Is it only the commutation of a sentence or stay of execution? Or is mercy much richer and deeper? To...

When we study one of the Lord’s attributes we focus on a characteristic that is attributed to His essence or being to tell us what He is like and Who He is. Some attributes are exclusive to God and so referred to as incommunicable. [1] But God shares other of His characteristics with His redeemed...

The Exclusivity of the Gospel Jonathan and James have a one-on-one conversation to sort through three views surrounding the way of salvation. Is Jesus Christ really the only way? If so, what is required? Can one be saved without any knowledge of Christ’s person and work? Romans chapter one offers...

An advice column dedicated to gift-giving in December accidentally explored a very biblical topic – the relationship between love and the law. Question one: What shall I do about a boyfriend who buys expensive but inappropriate gifts? The mind wanders: Did he buy her a chain saw last year? Hang-...