Posts by Gabriel Williams

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Sobriety and the Gospel

Gabriel Williams
Oct 18, 2019
In my previous post , I discussed how patience (along with the closely-related virtues of endurance and perseverance) is one of the most valuable Christian virtues in connection to Christian maturity. However, there is another virtue of the Christian life which, when duly exercised, will contribute...

Patience and Maturity

Gabriel Williams
Sep 25, 2019
Over the past several months, I've taken a break from regular writing and blogging because I've been pondering the importance of Christian maturity. The apostle Paul himself stated that one of the central goals of his ministry was to "present every man complete in Christ" (cf. Colossians 1:28-29)...

3 Crosses of Discipleship

Gabriel Williams
Jan 28, 2019
Recently, my pastor has started a Men's Bible Study series on discipleship by examining a classic passage for discipleship: In Luke 9:22-24, Jesus said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things; He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day...

Approaching the Throne of Grace

Gabriel Williams
Nov 6, 2018
As we think about the Protestant Reformation, one topic that I think about often is the intercession of Christ. Regarding this topic, the Westminster Larger Catechism states the following: Q. 55: How doeth Christ make intercession? A: Christ maketh intercession, by His appearing in our nature...

The Scripture's the Limit

Gabriel Williams
Sep 21, 2018
Worship is truly the greatest privilege of the creature and all of creation is morally obligated to worship the Creator. When the topic of worship is usually discussed today, however, so much of the discussion involves musical style and preferences. This was not, in fact, the focus of the Reformed...

Canaanized?

Gabriel Williams
Aug 6, 2018
Throughout this summer, my wife and I have been walking through the Book of Judges as part of our family devotions. As all would attest, Judges is a difficult (and depressing) book to study in depth because of the constant refrain of the book: “In those days, there was no king in Israel;...

Our Cross

Gabriel Williams
Jul 9, 2018
As Christians who have fixed our hope on the appearing of our Lord Jesus, we have been called to follow in the footsteps of our Lord. Thus, the call of discipleship is a central theme of the Christian life and this calling is intimately connected to our sanctification. Jesus Himself gives an...

A Fixed Hope

Gabriel Williams
Jun 11, 2018
This summer, I have been greatly encouraged through reading the works of John Bunyan. In his work Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners , John Bunyan concludes his Preface with the following thought: "My dear children - The milk and honey is beyond this wilderness. God be merciful to you, and...

Neither Poverty nor Riches

Gabriel Williams
May 21, 2018
Recently, I had the privilege of meeting a new family in our church. They've spent the last several years of their life in Connecticut where they struggled to find Christian fellowship, and by God's providence, they have been able to move down to Charleston. On this past Sunday, our families had...

A Time to Listen, A Time to Speak

Gabriel Williams
Apr 17, 2018
In recent days, social media has been inundated with podcasts, articles, and videos in which individuals have sought to speak to the issues surrounding ethnic tensions and relations. While there has been much controversy, there has also been growing hostility and contention regarding ethnic strife...

The Spirit and the Supper

Gabriel Williams
Mar 28, 2018
One of the most characteristic features of Calvin’s teaching on the Supper is the way in which he understood the Lord’s Supper to be “spiritual food." It is here where we find the most obvious influence of biblical wisdom theology. The Supper as Empowering Food The first...

The Way They Should Go...

Gabriel Williams
Mar 1, 2018
During my early days as a Christian, perhaps my favorite book of the Bible was Proverbs primarily because I felt that Proverbs was written for me – a young and impressionable teenager who was trying to understand life. I read through this book for the first time when I was about 15 years old...

No Little Sins?

Gabriel Williams
Jan 25, 2018
After reading Nick's article on whether some sins are worse than other sins, a related conversation came to mind. Some time ago, I was talking with a man who did not believe in the scriptural truth regarding eternal judgment. He certainly believed that some sins are worse than others; however, his...

Complicating Manhood and Womanhood

Gabriel Williams
Nov 22, 2017
For the majority of my Christian life, I was built up in the faith and nourished within conservative Pentecostal and Wesleyan-influenced churches. Within those circles, there were a number of topics that were constantly discussed, almost to the point of obsession (such as spiritual warfare, end...

Wisdom Christology and the Bread of Life

Gabriel Williams
Sep 28, 2017
When Calvin speaks of sharing the Lord's Supper with Christ, covenantal concepts naturally arise, most notable when Calvin is discussing 1 Corinthians 10-11. Throughout his commentaries, Calvin frequently emphasizes that in the Supper we enjoy both the presence and the benefits of Christ. These are...

Very Superstitious

Gabriel Williams
Aug 28, 2017
Many Christian social commentators have lamented the devolution of American culture into a form of anti-culture . It is certainly true that the rejection of the Christian religion in our society has led to moral degeneration within our culture. However, sin not only affects the moral faculties of a...

Wisdom Christology in James and 1 John

Gabriel Williams
Aug 15, 2017
In the previous post in this series, we briefly considered how Calvin's appreciation of wisdom theology is particularly present in his comments on the Johannine literature. In Calvin's commentary of 1 John, we discover one of the marks of the wisdom theology, namely, its appreciation of the...

Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John: The Prologue

Gabriel Williams
Jul 13, 2017
Having grown up in traditional Black churches, I have learned that being Reformed is more than simply assenting to a number of important doctrines ( e.g. the doctrine of grace, the regulative principle of worship, covenant theology, etc.). By sitting under Reformed preaching and probing the mind of...

Don't Leave Those Kids Alone

Gabriel Williams
Jun 15, 2017
Because of the obsession of what has been called "youth culture," it has been said that 1 Timothy 4:12 ("Let no one despite you for your youth...") may be the most incomprehensible passage in our modern American culture. A cursory look at our culture (such as our clothing selections, diet regimens...

A Christian in the Secular Academy

Gabriel Williams
May 26, 2017
When many individuals think of the life of a college professor, the general perception they have formed (fueled by articles such as this ) is that we only work for a few days a week and have the entire summer "off." Many misunderstand the nature and extent of this profession and are not aware of...